n 


c3^.    /Av- 


\ 


BIOGRAPHICAL  REVIEW 


VOLUME    XXI 


CONTAINING  LIFE  SKETCHES  OF  LEADING  CITIZENS  OF 

STRAFFORD  AND  BELKNAP 

COUNTIES 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE 


"Biography  is  the  home  aspect  of  history' 


BOSTON 

Biographical  Review  Publishing  Company 

1897 


ATLANTIC  STATES  SERIES   OF   BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEWS. 


The  V 


oliimcs  issuL'fl   ill   tliis  slmIcs   up  to   date  are   the  following: 


I.  Otsego  Couniv,  Nkw  York. 

II.  Madison  County,  New  York. 

III.  Broome  County,  New  York. 

IV.  Columbia  County,   New  York. 
V.  Cayuca  County,  New   York. 

VI.  Delaware  County,  New  Ydrk. 

\ll.  Livingston     ANn    W'ydmini;     Couniiks, 

New  York. 

VI 11.  Clinton  and  E^.sex  Counties,  New  York. 

IX.  IIami'uen  County,  Massachusetts. 

X.  Franklin  County,  Massachusetts. 

XI.  Hampshire  County,  Massachuseits. 

.\11.  1,1 1 CH field  County,  Connecticut. 


XIII.  York  County,  Maine. 

XIV.  CUMIiERLAND    CoUNTY,     MaINE. 

XV.     Oxford     and     Franklin     Counties, 
Maine. 
XVI.     Cumberland  County,  New  Jersey. 

XVII.      Rockingham     County,     New      Hamp- 
shire. 

.X\'II1.     Plymouth   County,   Ma.ssachusetts. 
XIX.     Camden    and    Buri.ingt.in    Counties, 
New  Jersey. 
XX.     Sagadahoc,      Lincoln,      Knox,      and 
W'aluo  Counties,  Maine. 

XXI.        SiRAFFORD      and       BeI.KNAI'      CkIINTIES, 

New  Ha.mpshire. 


.Notk. —  /Vll  the  biographical  slietches  puljlishetl  in  this  volume  were  submitted  to  their  respective  subjects  or  to  the  sub- 
scriber.<,  from  whom  the  facts  were  primarily  obtained,  for  their  approval  or  correction  before  going  to  press  ;  and  a  reasonable 
time  was  allowed  in  each  case  for  the  return  of  the  typewritten  copies.  Most  of  ihein  were  returned  to  us  within  the  time  allotteil. 
or  before  ihe  work  was  printed,  after  being  corrected  or  revised;  and  these  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  reasonably  accurate. 

A  few,  however,  were  not  returned  to  lis;  and,  as  we  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  they  contain  errors  or  not,  wr 
camiot  vouch  for  their  accuracy.  In  justice  to  our  readers,  and  to  render  this  work  more  valuable  for  reference  purposes,  we  Iiuvl 
indicated  the.se  uncorrected  sketches  by  a  small  asterisk  (*),  placed  imniediate'y  after  the  name  of  the  subject.  They  will  all  be 
found  on  the  last  pages  of  the  book. 


July,  1S97. 


H.   R.  I'Vli.  CO. 


PREFACE. 


HAVING  labored  with  dilig'cnce  and  with  the  liclp  of  many  hands,  as  is  needful 
in  tliis  fast-going-,  news-lo\-ing,  novelty-producing  age,  availing  ourselves  of 
the  material  kindlv  pi  iced  at  our  disposal  by  our  patrons  in  StrafTord  and 
lielknap  Counties,  representative  citizens  of  New  Hampshire,  whose  cordial  co-opera- 
tion has  made  the  work  possible,  we  are  happy  to  announce  the  completion  of  another 
Biographical  Remew,  the  twenty-first  yolume  in  our  Atlantic  States  Series,  whose 
puljlication  we  began  a  few  years  since,  have  carried  on  without  intermission,  and 
are  still  continuing. 

The  local  biographer  supplements  the  work  of  the  town  and  county  historian, 
and  lights  up  with  living  interest  the  dry  names  and  dates  dear  to  the  genealogist, 
while  freely  conceding  to  the  census  enumerator  the  palm  for  longer  schedules. 
W'ell-born,  (jf  reputable  ancestry,  sprung,  some  of  them,  from  early  colonists  of  two 
hundred,  yes,  even  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago  —  ior  Dover,  it  must  Ije 
remembered,  was  the  first  permanent  settlement  in  the  State  —  the  persons  whose 
life  stories  are  here  outlined  have  earned  the  right  to  be  commemorated.  The 
accounts  here  given  are  of  used  talents  and  opportunities,  of  industry,  energy,  and 
enterprise,  far-reaching  and  to  good  ends,  not  of  slothfulness,  not  of  selfishness, 
knavery,  and  greed,  but  of  fair  dealing,  of  public  spirit,  i}atriotism,  self-sacrifice. 
Some  attention  has  been  given  to  tracing  lines  of  descent  and  kinship,  interesting 
in  themselves  and  often  valuable  as  showing  the  transmission  of  both,  physical  ami 
mental  traits.  Every  wise  generation  does  its  own  work  in  its  own  way,  and,  writmg 
its  own   records,  leayes   its   reputation   and   its  example  as  a  legacy  to  posterity. 


JOHN    J.    MORRILL. 


BIOSRAPHIGAL 


OLONEL  JOHN  J.  MOR- 
RILL, late  an  esteemed 
resident  of  Gilford,  N.  H., 
was  a  citizen  well  known  in 
public  life,  for  many  years 
an  influential  factor  in  the 
State  politics.  A  son  of 
Barnard  Morrill,  he  was 
born  in  Gilford,  on  August 
3,  1816;  and  he  died  in  the  same  house  and 
the  same  room  on  January  20,  1892. 

Abraham  Morrill,  who  at  an  early  date 
settled  in  Amesbury,  Mass.,  was  the  immi- 
grant founder  of  the  family  in  New  England. 
Barnard  Morrill,  father  of  John  J.,  came  from 
Brentwood,  N.H.,  to  Gilmanton,  now  Gilford, 
which  had  then  but  few  inhabitants.  By  occu- 
pation a  tanner  and  shoemaker,  he  became  a 
prominent  citizen,  and  in  the  years  that  fol- 
lowed held  all  the  important  offices  within  the 
gift  of  his  townsmen,  being  Selectman  and 
Justice  of  the  Peace  many  years.  While  a  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace,  he  sat  on  a  majority  of  the 
trials  held,  and  he  also  devoted  considerable 
time  to  other  legal  duties.  He  married 
March  23,  1809,  Judith  Morrison,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Morrison,  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
who  was  a  descendant  of  a  New  England  pio- 
neer. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnard  Morrill  had  a 
son,  John  J.,  and  two  daughters  —  Rhoda  and 
Sally.  Rhoda  Morrill  married  John  Davis,  a 
resident  of  what  is  now  Lakeport,  N.  H.,  who 
was  at  one  time  agent  for  the  Lake  Company, 
and  was  also  associated  as  a  partner  with  B.  J. 


Cole  at  Lakeport,  under  the  firm  name  of  Cole 
&  Davis. 

John  J.  Morrill  attended  the  district  school 
in  his  native  town,  and  subsequently  received 
the  benefit  of  a  few  terms  at  Gilmanton  Acad- 
emy and  New  Hampton  Institution.  He  then 
studied  under  the  tuition  of  Dudley  Leavitt, 
who  was  well  known  as  the  originator  of 
Leavitt's  Fanners  A/iiiaiiac.  In  this  way 
Mr.  Morrill  acquired  an  unusually  good  edu- 
cation for  his  day.  His  principal  business 
was  tanning  and  the  lumber  trade.  He  was 
also  engaged  in  farming.  Energetic,  ambi- 
tious, and  capable,  he  was  brought  into  jnib- 
lic  notice,  and  was  appointed  on  the  staff  of 
General  VVadleigh  of  the  old  State  militia, 
with  the  title  of  Colonel.  He  was  agent  of 
the  town  of  Gilford  for  years,  and  handled  its 
law  suits  and  other  important  legal  matters. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Whig  Convention  in 
Baltimore  in  1840,  which  nominated  William 
Henry  Harrison  for  the  Presidency.  The 
campaign  which  followed  was  one  of  the 
most  exciting  in  the  history  of  this  country, 
and  became  known  as  the  "log-cabin  and  hard 
cider "  campaign,  because  the  opponents  of 
General  Harrison  undertook  to  bring  up  his 
past  life  against  him.  The  Whig  party, 
however,  swept  the  country,  and  its  candidates 
were  triumphantly  elected.  Subsequent  divi- 
sions among  its  adherents,  owing  to  slavery 
becoming  the  leading  issue,  led  to  its  dis- 
ruption; and,  after  electing  Taylor  in  1848, 
and  failing  to  elect   Scott  in  1852,  the  North- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


cm  Wliii;s  became  Free  Soilers  and  by  1856 
Republicans.  Mr.  Morrill  took  an  active  part 
in  the  exciting  politics  of  the  times,  and  was 
one  of  the  influential  factors  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Republican  party  in  New  Hamp- 
shire. He  represented  Gilford  in  the  State 
legislature  several  years,  and  lie  was  a  member 
of  Governor  Straw's  Council  in  1872  and  1873. 
His  abilities  soon  brought  him  into  wider 
notice;  and  as  the  opponent  of  General  Mars- 
ton,  one  of  New  Hampshire's  ablest  men,  he 
lacked  but  a  few  votes  of  receiving  the  nom- 
ination of  Representative  to  Congress,  a  posi- 
tion that  he  was  well  qualified  to  fill.  He  was 
also  a  I'residential  elector  in  1876.  About  the 
time  that  he  was  proposed  for  Congress  he  was 
spoken  of  by  many  as  a  candidate  for  the  gov- 
ernorship. Si.x  years  before  his  death  he  was 
stricken  with  paralysis,  which  was  subsequently 
followed  by  a  second  and  fatal  attack  on  the 
morning  of  January  20,  1892.  Mrs.  Nancy 
Sanborn  Morrill,  his  wife,  taught  school  sev- 
eral terms  before  their  marriage.  She  was 
born  on  January  27,  18  19,  in  15rentwood,  N.H. 
Her  parents  afterward  removed  to  Gilford, 
where  her  father,  Mesech  Sanborn,  was  for 
many  years  a  prominent  citizen.  They  had 
three  children,  namely:  Stark;  John  Barnard, 
who  was  born  December  26,  1849,  and  died 
July  20,  1852;  and  John  B.,  who  is  now  the 
only  survivor.  Stark,  born  on  December  9, 
1846,  died  on  June  8,  1880.  He  was  educated 
in  the  district  school  and  at  New  Hampton  In- 
stitution, and  for  several  years  before  his  death 
was  associated  with  his  father  in  carrying  on 
the  tannery.  He  was  a  capable  and  successful 
business  man. 

John  B. ,  the  youngest  child,  was  born  on 
November  11,  1854.  He  attended  the  district 
schools  of  Gilford  and  the  high  school  in  what 
is  now  Laconia,  then  studied  with  S.  C.  Kim- 
ball,   A.M.,   a  noted   tutor,    who  was  at   that 


time  pastor  of  the  Free  Baptist  church  in  Gil- 
ford. He  fitted  for  Bates  College,  but  went 
instead  to  Dartmouth,  and  was  graduated  in 
the  class  of  1879,  taking  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Science  in  Chandler  Scientific  Course, 
and  is  permanent  Secretary  of  his  class.  It 
was  his  intention  to  take  a  com]3lete  course  in 
civil  engineering,  but  the  illness  of  his  brother 
and  an  accidijnt  to  himself  interfered;  and  re- 
turning home  he  took  up  his  father's  business, 
lumbering,  real  estate,  and  farming.  He  has 
given  considerable  attention  to  stock-raising, 
trading  in  cattle  to  a  large  extent.  Of  late 
years  he  has  taken  many  premiums  for  fancy 
teams  exhibited  at  fairs.  He  keeps  Hereford 
stock  principally. 

On  November  9,  1882,  Mr.  Morrill  married 
Miss  Mary  S.  Rowe,  a  daughter  of  Simon 
Rowe,  of  Gilford.  She  completed  her  educa- 
tion at  New  Hampton  Literary  Institution, 
and  was  a  teacher  before  her  marriage. 

Mr.  Morrill  has  always  adhered  to  the  Re- 
publican principles  loved  by  his  father.  He 
was  at  the  last  Constitutional  Convention  held 
in  1889,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Republican 
State  Central  Committee.  In  1895-96  he 
represented  the  town  of  Gilford  in  the  New 
Hampshire  legislature.  The  past  three  years 
he  has  been  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Select- 
men, and  has  held  various  minor  town  offices. 
Since  the  organization  of  the  Gilford  Public 
Library  he  has  been  one  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees. 


ENRY  KIMBALL,  attorney  and  coun- 
sellor-at-law,  and  superintendent  of 
the  public  schools  of  Rochester, 
N.  H.,  was  born  in  Shapleigh,  Me.,  December 
14,  18331  son  of  Daniel  S.  and  Love  (Wilson) 
Kimball.  His  father  was  born  in  North  Ber- 
wick, Me.,  May  24,  1804,  and  his  mother  in 
Shapleigh,  April  17,  1806. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Daniel  S.  Kimball  was  reared  to  agricult- 
ural pursuits,  and  the  active  period  of  his  life 
was  spent  in  tilling  the  soil  of  a  good  farm  in 
his  native  town.  A  prosperous  farmer  and  a 
useful  citizen,  he  gained  by  his  upright  Chris- 
tian character  the  sincere  esteem  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen.  He  died  April  28,  18S2;  and  his 
wife  died  May  2,  1893.  Both  were  members 
of  the  Congregational  church,  the  father  act- 
ing as  Deacon  for  many  years. 

Henry  Kimball  prepared  for  college  at  the 
Maine  Wesleyan  Seminary,  and  was  graduated 
at  Bowdoin  College  with  the  class  of  1863. 
His  legal  studies  were  pursued  under  the 
direction  of  his  uncle,  Increase  S.  Kimball, 
of  Sanford,  Me.  ;  and  he  was  admitted  to  the 
York  County  (Maine)  bar,  June  30,  1866. 
He  remained  with  his  uncle  for  three  years, 
and  in  1869  settled  in  Rochester,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  Teaching  school  was  a  favorite 
occupation  in  his  younger  days,  and  his  in- 
terest in  educational  matters  has  never  been 
allowed  to  die  out.  In  connection  with  his 
law  practice  he  has  occupied  his  present  posi- 
tion of  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  in 
this  city,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  short 
intervals,  since  1871. 

Politically,  Mr.  Kimball  supports  the  Re- 
publican party,  but  has  never  taken  an  active 
part  in  politics,  excepting  such  as  pertains  to 
educational  interests. 


-AMES  D.  HARTLETT,  senior  member 
of  the  firm  Bartlett  &  Smith,  con- 
tractors and  builders  of  Meredith,  and 
an  ex-member  of  the  New  Hampshire  legis- 
lature, was  born  July  27,  1833,  in  Centre  Har- 
bor, N. H.,  son  of  Samuel  G.  and  Sally  (Rowe) 
Bartlett.  His  great-grandfather  was  Abiel 
Bartlett,  son  of  Adam  Bartlett,  who  was  a 
native  of  Beverly,  Mass.      Abiel   Bartlett   re- 


sided in  Deerfield,  N.  H.,and  died  in  1816, 
aged  sixty-five  years.  The  maiden  name  of 
his  wife  was  Margaret  Goodhue,  and  his  chil- 
dren were:  Abiel,  John  G.,  Joseph,  Moses, 
and  Mary  Jane.  James  D.  Bartlett,  the 
grandfather,  was  born  in  Deerfield.  During 
his  active  jieriod  he  cultivated  farms  in  Mere- 
dith and  Centre  Harbor,  and  was  one  of  the 
stirring  agriculturists  of  his  day.  In  politics 
a  Democrat,  he  served  as  a  Selectman  in 
Centre  Harbor,  and  died  January  5,  1861. 
He  married  Olive  Libbey,  daughter  of  Sheriff 
Libbey,  of  VVolfboro,  N.H. 

Samuel  G.  Bartlett,  father  of  James  D. 
Bartlett,  born  in  Meredith,  March  2,  1807, 
learned  the  trades  of  a  carpenter  and  mill- 
wright, which  he  afterward  followed  for  ten 
years.  Then  he  bought  a  farm  in  Centre  Har- 
bor, where  he  resided  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
He  voted  with  the  Democratic  party;  and, 
although  not  an  aspirant  for  office,  he  was 
Supervisor  and  a  member  of  the  School  Com- 
mittee a  number  of  years.  He  died  July  22, 
1896.  His  wife,  Sally,  who  was  born  in  Gil- 
ford, N.H.,  October  20,  1803,  daughter  of 
Ezekiel  Rowe,  became  the  mother  of  eight 
children,  six  of  whom  attained  maturity. 
These  were:  James  D.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Elizabeth  R.,  wJio  married  Charles  P. 
Leavitt,  of  Meredith,  and  is  now  deceased; 
Lucinda,  who  married  John  R.  McCrillis,  of 
Centre  Harbor;  Emily  Jane,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Jonathan  Fox,  of  the  same  town;  Josiah  R., 
who  resides  in  Centre  Harbor;  and  Arvilla 
R.,  now  deceased,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Joseph  Howard,  of  Northfield,  Mass.  The 
mother  died  August  23,  1857.  Both  parents 
were  members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church,  and 
the  father  was  one  of  its  choristers  for  many 
years. 

James  D.  Bartlett  acquired  a  public-school 
education  in  his  native  town.      At    the  age  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


seventeen  he  went  to  Lowell,  Mass.,  and  there 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  three  years  at  the 
mason's  trade.  Having  become  well  ac- 
quainted with  brick-laying  and  plastering,  he 
was  for  two  seasons  engaged  as  a  journeyman 
in  Boston  and  for  the  same  length  of  time  in 
Manchester,  N.H.  In  1S58  he  settled  in 
Meredith,  where  he  did  general  mason  work 
until  1 88 1.  He  then  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  present  associate,  and  is  now  doing 
quite  an  extensive  contracting  and  building 
business  both  in  New  Hampshire  and  Ver- 
mont. He  was  Chief  of  Police  for  two  years, 
and  at  the  head  of  the  fire  department  for  the 
.same  length  of  time.  He  served  for  four  years 
as  inspector  of  the  check  list;  and  he  wras 
elected  to  the  New  Hampshire  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives in  1886,  in  which  he  served  on 
tlio  Committee  on  Fisheries  and  Game. 

On  March  i,  1856,  Mr.  Bartlett  married 
Lydia  R.  Hubbard,  daughter  of  Rodney  Hub- 
bard, of  New  London,  N.H.  He  is  a  member 
of  Chocorua  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  is  Past 
Grand  of  Belknap  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  a 
member  of  Meredith  Lodge,  Knights  of 
Pythias;  and  of  Winnepesaukee  Grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry.  Mrs.  Bartlett  is  con- 
nected with  the  Daughters  of  Rebecca.  Both 
are  members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church. 


"IRAM  SAWYER  OSBORN,  an  ex- 
tensive farmer  of  Rochester,  was 
born  in  Loudon,  N.H.,  March  26, 
1831,  son  of  Green  and  Mehitabel  (Barton) 
Osborn.  The  Osborn  family  in  America  is  of 
English  origin.  The  great-grandfather  of 
Hiram  S.  was  one  of  three  Quaker  emigrant 
brothers  of  that  name,  who  came  to  this  coun- 
try in  the  early  days  and  settled  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts colony,  probably  driven  to  this  step 
by  the  persecution   of  non-conformists   in   the 


parent  country.  lilijah  Osborn,  the  grand- 
father, was  presumably  born  in  Salem,  Mass. 
After  learning  the  trade  of  a  potter,  while 
still  a  young  man,  he  removed  to  Loudon, 
N.H.,  and  settled  down  on  a  farm,  although  he 
still  continued  to  work  at  his  trade.  His  re- 
ligious principles  were  those  accepted  by  his 
Quaker  forefathers.  The  maiden  name  of  his 
wife  was  Margaret  Green. 

Green  Osborn,  born  in  Loudon,  N.H.,  son 
of  Elijah  and  Margaret  (Green)  Osborn,  after 
completing  his  education  in  the  district 
schools  of  his  native  town,  began  to  learn  his 
father's  trade  of  potter.  This  purpose  he  soon 
after  abandoned,  and  turned  his  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  his  father's  farm.  When 
about  forty  years  of  age,  he  took  up  a  farm  in 
Pittsfield,  N.H.,  and  was  thereafter  occupied 
in  its  cultivation  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  married  Mehitabel  Barton,  of  Pittsfield, 
and  had  a  family  of  nine  children,  eight  of 
whom  attained  maturity.  They  were:  Eliza- 
beth Ann,  now  deceased,  who  married  Hiram 
Walker,  of  Amesbury,  Mass.,  also  deceased; 
Charles  B.,  deceased;  Mary  Jane,  who  married 
Nathaniel  O.  Sawyer,  of  Amesbury,  Mass.  ; 
Hiram  Sawyer,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and 
the  twin  brother  of  Mary  Jane;  Margaret,  who 
married  George  O.  Harmon,  of  Haverhill, 
Mass.,  and  is  now  a  widow;  Warren  Gl,  resid- 
ing in  Dover,  N.H.;  Angeline  A.,  who  mar- 
ried Munroe  Wiggins,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.  ; 
and  David  G.,  now  living  in  Rochester. 
Although  Green  Osborn  was  a  man  of  a  retir- 
ing disposition,  he  served  in  some  of  the 
minor  town  offices. 

Hiram  Sawyer  Osborn  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  Loudon  and  Pitts- 
field, N.  H.,  and  of  Ouincy,  Mass.  In 
Quincy,  between  the  school  sessions,  he  was 
employed  by  a  wealthy  quarry  owner.  After 
completing  his  education,  he  learned   the   car- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


penter's  trade,  and  thereafter  followed  it  con- 
tinuously for  more  than  forty  years.  In  the 
year  1852  he  went  to  California,  and  pro- 
spected for  gold  along  the  Yuba  and  Feather 
Rivers  with  a  fair  degree  of  success.  After- 
ward he  engaged  in  farming  for  a  year  and  a 
half  in  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin  River, 
and  worked  at  his  trade  for  about  one  year.  In 
1S61,  after  returning  PZast,  he  bought  the  farm 
in  Rochester,  N.H.,  where  he  now  resides. 
Although  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  this 
farm  for  a  period  after,  he  devoted  the  larger 
share  of  his  time  anti  attention  to  his  trade, 
which  developed  into  the  business  of  a  con- 
tractor and  builder.  Of  late  years,  however, 
he  has  applied  himself  almost  exclusively  to 
agriculture.  His  farm  contains  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  or  more.  He  makes  a  spe- 
cialty of  milk,  which  he  ships  daily  to  Boston, 
Mass.  Besides  wintering  some  twenty  head 
of  cattle,  he  cuts  from  forty  to  fifty  tons  of  hay 
annually.  Intermittently,  between  1865  and 
1885,  Mr.  Osborn  taught  plain  and  ornamental 
penmanship.      He  is  a  good  penman  to-day. 

The  first  of  Mr.  Osborn's  two  marriages  was 
contracted  with  Nancy  Jane  Waldron,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Waldron,  of  Rochester.  By  her 
he  became  the  father  of  two  children,  namely: 
Caroline  J.,  who  married  George  Whitehouse, 
of  Dover,  and  is  now  deceased;  and  Annie  B., 
who  married  Oliver  M.  Vickery,  of  Rochester. 
By  his  second  marriage  he  was  united  to  Mary 
E.  Ham,  of  Rochester.  She  has  borne  him 
one  daughter,  Nellie  F.,  who  married  John  L. 
Foss,  of  Dover.  In  politics  Mr.  Osborn  is  a 
Republican.  He  enjoys  an  unusual  share  of 
the  good  will  and  confidence  of  the  townsfolk, 
who  have  elected  him  to  their  Board  of  Select- 
men and  to  other  public  offices,  and  who  would 
gladly  place  him  in  more  important  positions, 
could  he  spare  the  needful  time  from  his  per- 
sonal   affairs.      He     is   a    Mason    of    Strafford 


Lodge,  No.  29,  of  Dover.  Taking  an  earnest 
interest  in  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  he  is 
connected  with  Cocheco  Grange,  of  which  he 
is  a  Past  Master,  with  E.  N.  H.  Pomona 
Grange,  the  New  Hampshire  State  Grange, 
and  the  National  Grange.  Successful  through 
his  industry  and  sterling  worth,  Mr.  Osborn 
is  highly  esteemed  in  Rochester. 


ILLIS  P.  EMERSON,  one  of  the 
most  energetic  young  business  men 
in  Alton,  was  born  in  this  town, 
November  13,  1866,  son  of  Charles  P.  and 
Ellor  J.  (Jones)  Emerson.  His  grandfather, 
William  Emerson,  came  to  Alton  over  a  hun- 
dred years  ago,  and  was  engaged  in  trade  here 
for  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  William  lived 
to  be  about  eighty-two  years  old;  and  his 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Susan  Rollins, 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  They 
reared  si.x  sons;  namely,  Walter  G.  C,  Seth 
R. ,  Lewis,  Charles  P.,  Chester  B. ,  and  Smith. 
Walter  was  a  merchant  in  West  Alton;  Seth 
resided  in  Alton;  Smith  was  in  early  life  a 
trader  in  this  town  and  later  station  agent  in 
Dover,  N.H.  All  except  Smith  married  and 
reared  families.  Chester  B.  is  the  only  one 
now  living. 

Charles  P.  I'lmerson,  father  of  Willis  P., 
was  born  in  Alton,  September  16,  1823. 
When  a  young  man  he  started  a  mercantile 
business  at  Alton  Bay,  and  afterward  for  sev- 
eral years  had  a  large  and  profitable  trade.  At 
a  later  date  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
shocks.  Business  reverses  came  upon  him  sud- 
denly with  disastrous  effect;  and  he  died  May 
30,  1882.  He  was  an  upright,  conscientious 
man,  and  an  exceedingly  progressive  business 
man,  whose  enterprises  were  very  beneficial 
to  the  community;  and  his  untimely  death 
was  generally  deplored.      Politically,  he  was  a 


>4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Republican,  and  his  business  ability  naturally 
led  him  into  prominence  in  public  affairs. 
He  was  twice  elected  a  Representative  to  the 
legislature,  and  for  over  twenty  years  he  was 
Postmaster  of  Alton  Hay.  He  married  Ellor 
J.  Jones,  daughter  of  James  N.  Jones,  of  Al- 
ton, and  became  the  father  of  two  children, 
namely:  Mary  Belle,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one;  and  Willis  P.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

Willis  P.  Emerson  acquired  a  good  practical 
education.  But  sixteen  years  old  when  his 
father  died,  his  only  inheritance  was  a  busi- 
ness overwhelmingly  in  debt.  The  task  of 
liquidating  the  many  claims  upon  his  father's 
old  store  was  enough  to  discourage  a  much 
older  and  experienced  person.  However,  the 
youth  went  earnestly  to  work  at  it,  and  the 
result  attained  will  long  remain  a  bright  spot 
in  the  memory  of  the  townspeople.  By  the 
closest  attention  to  business  and  the  exercise 
of  the  most  rigid  economy  young  Emerson 
gradually  lessened  the  debts  left  upon  his 
shoulders,  until  all  the  creditors  were  satisfied 
in  full.  The  business  which  he  so  nobly  and 
perseveringly  reclaimed  is  now  in  a  most 
flourishing  condition.  Modestly,  but  emphat- 
ically, he  declares  that  his  mother's  guiding 
hand  did  more  toward  retrieving  the  fallen 
fortunes  of  the  family  than  did  his  own 
efforts.  Those  who  were  in  a  position  to 
know,  however,  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that 
a  case  has  never  come  within  their  observa- 
tion in  which  a  youth  without  business  ex- 
perience displayed  so  much  real  energy  and 
determination  and,  above  all,  such  a  steadfast 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  integrity. 

Since  entering  mercantile  life  Mr.  Emer- 
son has  rapidly  advanced  in  prosperity,  as 
might  be  expected  from  a  man  of  his  character 
and  progressive  tendencies.  He  carries  on  a 
well-stocked   store,    receives  a   large  share   of 


patronage,  and  is  a  popular  as  well  as  a  suc- 
cessful merchant.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  he  served  with  ability  as  Postmaster 
for  four  years.  He  is  a  member  of  Winnepe- 
saukee  Lodge,  No.  75,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. ;  and  of 
Cocheco  Lodge,  No.  28,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
of  Alton. 

OHN  F.  CLOUTMAN,  a  leading  shoe 
manufacturer  of  Strafford  County  and 
an  esteemed  resident  of  Farmington, 
was  born  in  New  Durham,  this  county,  De- 
cember 27,  1 83 1,  son  of  John  F.  and  Patience 
T.  (Edgerly)  Cloutman.  The  family  origi- 
nated with  three  brothers,  who  came  from  Scot- 
land, and  respectively  settled  in  Conway, 
N.H.,  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  and  Maine.  John 
F.  Cloutman,  Sr. ,  was  a  carpenter  by  trade, 
and  also  followed  the  occupation  of  farmer. 
The  early  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  New 
Durham  and  his  last  years  in  Rochester.  He 
married  Patience  T.  Edgerly  in  New  Durham. 
Of  thei'r  nine  children,  three  are  living:  John 
F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  James  A.,  of 
Farmington;  and  Ellen  F.,  the  wife  of  E.  I). 
Seymour,  of  Lynn,  Mass.  The  father  died  in 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven,  of 
congestion  of  the  brain. 

John  F.  Cloutman  received  but  a  limited 
amount  of  schooling.  After  reaching  his 
majority,  he  took  up  the  shoe  business,  first 
learning  to  cut  shoes.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  he  set  up  in  business  for  himself  at  Farm- 
ington in  a  small  way.  This  humble  begin- 
ning has  since  developed  into  bis  present 
prosperous  business.  P'or  twent)'-three  years, 
commencing  in  1S71,  he  manufactured  for 
Wallace  Elliott  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  medium 
grades  of  children's,  women's,  and  misses' 
shoes.  At  the  present  time  he  gives  employ- 
ment to  about  one  hundred  hands,  whose 
weekly  pay-roll  takes  about  a  thousand  dollars; 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


IS 


and  he  sells  mostl}'  to  Boston  jobbers.  Mr. 
Cloutman  built  the  factory  in  which  Wallace 
Elliott  &  Co.  do  business  at  the  present  time 
in  Farmington.  He  has  been  twice  married, 
on  the  first  occasion  to  Amanda  M.  Davis,  of 
Alton,  who  died  in  1868,  leaving  no  children. 
His  present  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
lijla  E.  Kimball,  is  a  native  of  Bradford, 
Mass.  They  have  two  children:  Nellie  A., 
who  is  book-keeper  for  her  father;  and  John 
F-  Cloutman,  Jr. 

In  politics  Mr.  Cloutman  has  remained 
faithful  to  the  Democratic  views  since  his 
majority.  The  first  office  to  which  he  was 
elected  was  that  of  Representative  to  the  State 
legislature  for  the  year  1 861-62.  fie  was 
Town  Treasurer  and  Moderator  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  State  Senator  for  two  years,  1876 
and  1S77.  Of  the  Town  Committee,  com- 
posed of  J.  E.  Fernald,  Alonzo  Nute,  and  Mr. 
Cloutman,  that  built  the  Opera  House,  he  is 
the  only  survivor.  He  is  a  prominent  Mason, 
belonging  to  Fraternal  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. ; 
Columbian  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.;  and  Palestine 
Commandery,  K.  T.,  of  Rochester.  For  si.\ 
years  he  was  Master  of  his  lodge.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  Woodbine  Lodge  and  Mad  River 
Encampment,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  and  of  New  Hamp- 
shire Grange,  of  which  he  was  Master  for 
one  year.  The  family  attended  the  Baptist 
church. 


'ON.  SAMUEL  BAILEY  SMITH, 
Mayor  of  Laconia,  and  an  ex-member 
of  the  New  Hampshire  legislature, 
was  born  in  West  Newbury,  Essex  County, 
Mass.,  May  11,  1837,  son  of  Moses  and  Mary 
A.  (Bailey)  Smith.  On  the  father's  side  he 
is  descended  from  one  of  three  brothers,  who 
emigrated  to  this  country  from  England.  His 
parents,  who  were  prosperous  farming  people 
of  West  Newbury,  are  no  lortger  living.      They 


reared  a  family  of  seven  children,  two  of  whom 
are  residing  in  Dedham,  Mass;  three  in  West 
Newbury,  Mass;  one  in  Merrimac,  Mass;  and 
Samuel  Bailey,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  in 
Laconia  for  the  past  thirty-four  years. 

After  completing  his  education  at  Phillips 
Andover  Academy,  Samuel  Ikiiley  Smith  en- 
tered on  his  business  career.  He  was  first 
employed  in  the  cutting-room  of  a  shoe  manu- 
factory. Later  he  had  charge  of  a  dry-goods 
and  clothing  store  in  Lawrence,  Mass.  In 
the  spring  of  1862  he  came  to  Laconia,  antl 
formed  a  partnership  with  A.  G.  P'olsom, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Folsom  &  Smith. 
This  concern  carried  on  the  dry-goods  and 
clothing  business  until  1869,  when  I\Ir.  Smith 
bought  the  interest  of  his  partner,  and  con- 
tinued the  business  at  the  old  quarters  in  Fol- 
som ]?lock,  but  sulisequently  leasing  the  two 
other  stores  comprising  the  remainder  of  the 
block.  In  1882  he  sold  his  business  to  the 
Lougee  Brothers.  He  has  been  engaged  in 
the  real  estate  business  here  since  1875,  fre- 
quently taking  an  active  part  in  securing 
public  improvements.  He  was  a  promoter  and 
one  of  the  largest  subscribers  to  the  stock  of 
the  Laconia  Street  Railway  Company.  In 
1885  he  built  the  Smith  Block,  erected  a  five- 
tenement  block  on  Beacon  Street  in  1876, 
built  a  three-story  business  rind  tenement 
block  at  the  comer  of  Beacon  and  Mill  Streets 
in  18S7,  and  in  1892  enlarged  and  remodelled 
the  Tucker  House,  dividing  it  into  seventeen 
tenements  with  modern  improvements.  Prom- 
inently identified  with  financial  matters  for  a 
prolonged  period,  he  has  been  a  Trustee  of  the 
Laconia  Savings  Bank  and  a  Director  of  the 
People's  Bank  since  its  incorporation. 

In  June,  1869,  Mr.  Smith  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Ada  A.  Folsom,  youngest 
daughter  of  A.  G.  Folsom,  of  Laconia,  and 
has  now  one  son   and    two   daughters.      One  of 


i6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  ilaughters  is  married;  and  his  son,  James 
S.,  is  now  employed  at  the  People's  Bank. 
In  politics  Mr.  Smith  is  a  Republican,  and 
has  advocated  the  principles  of  that  party  since 
he  became  a  voter.  Although  he  has  never 
sought  for  public  office,  his  business  ability 
and  knowledge  of  finance  make  him  especially 
competent  for  the  discharge  of  its  duties. 
When  elected  a  member  of  the  School  Board, 
he  declined  to  serve.  He  subsequently  ac- 
cepted a  seat  in  the  City  Council.  While  in 
this  body  he  was  its  Chairman  for  most  of  the 
time,  and  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Sewers  under  the  old  town  government. 
Seeking  to  have  municipal  work  carried  on  as 
economically  as  possible,  he  succeeded  in 
keeping  the  departments  over  which  he  pre- 
sided within  the  limit  of  their  respective 
appropriations.  In  1895  he  was  elected 
Mayor,  and  the  good  results  expected  of  his 
administration  of  that  office  have  been  fully 
realized.  While  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  1889-90,  he  served  upon 
the  Committees  on  Banks  and  Labor;  and  he 
was  closely  connected  with  the  building  of 
the  State  Normal  School  in  Plymouth. 


/^^TeORGE  E.  DURGIN,  Clerk  of  the 
\^J  Supreme  Court  at  Dover,  N.H.,  has 
held  this  position  for  a  score  of  years, 
and  during  the  time  has  discharged  the  duties 
connected  with  it  with  .such  eminent  ability 
and  fidelity  as  to  command  the  respect  and  win 
the  confidence  of  all  concerned.  He  was  born 
May  13,  1 83 1,  in  the  adjacent  town  of  Mad- 
bury,  a  son  of  Walter  and  Hannah  (Woodman) 
Durgin. 

Walter  Durgin  was  a  native  of  Strafford 
County,  born  January  30,  1801,  and  was  reared 
to  farming  pursuits,  an  occupation  in  which, 
in  conjunction   with   carpentering,  he  was   en- 


gaged during  his  active  life.  In  1856  he 
removed  to  Pipping,  Rockingham  County,  pur- 
chasing a  farm  on  which  he  spent  his  declining 
days.  He  died  September  17,  18S1,  in  his 
eighty-first  year.  In  politics  he  was  a  sound 
Democrat,  clear-headed,  capable,  and  always 
faithful  to  his  trust.  He  frequently  served  as 
Moderator  of  town  meetings,  was  a  Selectman 
several  terms,  and  later  was  on  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners.  He  is  remembered 
as  a  man  of  many  sterling  qualities,  who 
enjoyed  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all  who 
knew  him.  His  wife,  also  a  native  of  this 
county,  lived  to  the  venerable  age  of  fourscore 
and  two  years,  passing  away  December  12, 
1 891.  The  parental  household  included  five 
children,  all  sons,  namely:  George  E. ,  the 
subject  of  this  biographical  sketch;  Charles 
C,  who  died  December  20,  1861;  John  A., 
who  died  November  8,  1884,  at  Providence, 
R.I.,  where  he  was  superintendent  of  locomo- 
tive works;  Henry  S. ,  who  died  while  in  ser- 
vice during  the  late  Civil  War,  August  14, 
1863,  at -Cairo,  111.;  and  Walter  Frank,  now 
living  on  the  old  homestead  in  Epping,  N.H. 
George  E.  Durgin  remained  with  his  parents 
on  the  home  farm  until  eighteen  years  old, 
obtaining  his  elementary  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  In  the  shoe  business  he  worked 
diligently  until  he  had  saved  one  hundred  dol- 
lars, when  he  began  fitting  himself  for  the 
position  of  a  teacher,  studying  at  a  private 
school  in  Lee,  N.H.  He  subsequently  taught 
school  winters  in  the  towns  of  Lee,  Madbury, 
Rochester,  and  Barrington,  this  State,  and 
West  Newbury,  Mass.,  for  fifteen  years,  and 
worked  at  farming  in  the  summers,  making  his 
home  in  Lee,  where  he  was  one  of  the  board 
for  examining  teachers.  During  this  time 
Mr.  Durgin  held  different  local  public  offices. 
In  1871  and  1872  he  served  in  the  State  legis- 
lature; and   in    1874,   having    been  appointed 


\ 


GEORGE    E.   DURGIN. 


rtcd 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


19 


Repjistrar  of  Probate  of  Strafford  County,  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  Dover,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  Two  years  later  Mr.  Dur- 
gin  was  appointed  to  his  present  position,  in 
which  he  is  giving  universal  satisfaction.  He 
is  ju.stly  held  in  esteem  by  all  who  know  him, 
being  a  man  of  strict  integrity,  and  is  often 
called  upon  to  serve  in  important  financial 
matters.  He  has  probably  settled  more  estates 
than  any  other  person  in  the  city,  and  at  times 
has  held  the  guardianship  of  as  many  as  a 
dozen  minors  and  pensioners  at  once. 

On  April  18,  1854,  Mr.  Durgin  married 
Miss  Lydia  Ann,  daughter  of  David  and  Betsey 
Mathes,  of  Lee,  N.H.  Mrs.  Durgin  was  a 
woman  of  fine  character,  dee]ily  imbued  with  a 
religious  spirit,  and  an  active  worker  in  the 
Advent  Christian  Church  of  Dover,  whose 
house  of  worship  was  erected  and  freed  from 
debt  largely  through  her  efforts.  She  was 
noted  for  her  benevolence  and  generous  hospi- 
tality, her  house  and  home  being  ever  open  to 
preacher  and  layman,  and  to  the  poor  and  des- 
titute as  well  as  to  those  of  affluence  and 
influence;  and  her  death,  which  occurred 
August  5,  1893,  was  a  severe  loss  to  her 
friends  and  to  the  community.  One  who  had 
been  acquainted  with  Lydia  A.  Mathes  in 
"her  school  days,  when  a  pupil  of  one  of  the 
best  teachers  this  country  ever  knew,  Moses 
A.  Cartland,  of  Walnut  Grove  School,  Lee, 
N.H.,"  who  was  a  cousin  of  the  poet  Whittier, 
thus  wrote  of  her:  "From  him  whom  she  so 
admired  she  caught  her  deep  spiritual  insight 
and  feeling  which  found  its  outlet  in  a  formal 
profession  of  religious  faith  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  Advent  Christian  church  at  Lee  in 
1854,  the  year  of  her  marriage.  F^rom  that 
day  until  the  day  of  her  death  she  never  fal- 
tered or  grew  faint  in  well  doing.  Her  relig- 
ion was  real  and  aggressive.  Her  thought  by 
day  and  her  dream    by  night   was   how   best   to 


serve  her  Master.  Gifted  as  a  school  girl 
with  a  voice  of  peculiar  power  and  jiersuasion, 
she  became  gifted  in  prayer  and  h)'mn  ;  and  for 
thirty-nine  years  that  voice  edified  and  made 
strong  many  fainting,  doubting  hearts,  and 
cheered  and  sustained  many  a  discouraged  mis- 
sionary and  preacher." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Durgin  had  but  one  child, 
Ella  Gertrude,  who  remains  with  her  father. 
Politically,  Mr.  Durgin  is  an  adherent  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and,  religiously,  is  a  firm  be- 
liever in  the  teachings  of  the  Advent  Christian 
church. 


UjLMER  STEPHEN  TILTON,  a  manu- 
facturer of  hosiery  in  Tilton,  but  a 
resident  of  Laconia,  Belknap  Coun- 
ty, N.H.,  was  born  in  Laconia,  October  11, 
1869,  son  of  George  H.  and  Marietta  (Rand- 
lett)  Tilton. 

His  grandfather,  Joseph  S.  Tilton,  a  worthy 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  families,  was 
a  resident  of  Laconia,  where  he  was  one  of  the 
originators  of  the  hosiery  business,  which  he 
carried  on  successfully  for  many  years.  Dur- 
ing the  Civil  War  he  was  P'irst  Lieutenant, 
but  served  as  Captain,  of  Company  H,  in  the 
Twelfth  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  and  was 
wounded  at  Chancellorsville.  He  married 
I?etsy  Ham,  who  lived  near  Strafford,  N.H.; 
and  they  had  four  children.  Grandfather  Til- 
ton died  in  1S79. 

George  H.  Tilton,  the  father  of  P'lmer  S., 
was  formerly  in  the  hosiery  business  in 
Laconia.  In  i8gi  he  removed  the  industry  to 
Tilton,  N.H.,  where  he  still  manages  it  with 
excellent  financial  returns.  He  also  served  in 
the  Rebellion,  in  Company  D,  Fourth  New 
Hampshire  Regiment.  In  the  engagement 
before  Petersburg,  Va.,  he  received  a  sun- 
stroke. His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Osgood 
Randlett,  who  belonged   to   one   of  the    oldest 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


families  ill  Ik-liiiniit,  N.II.  Airs.  Tilton  died 
when  Elmer  S.,  their  only  child,  was  but  four 
years  of  age.  Mr.  Tilton  was  a  Representa- 
tive to  the  legislature  during  1891-92. 

Klmer  S.  Tilton  was  graduated  at  the 
Laconia  High  School  in  the  class  of  1887,  and 
has  since  been  associated  in  business  with  his 
father  in  Tilton.  In  politics  Mr.  Tilton  affil- 
iates with  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Republican  City  Committee, 
and  is  reputed  to  be  one  of  the  hardest  party 
workers  in  Ward  Three.  In  1894  he  was  de- 
feated in  his  candidacy  as  a  Representative 
to  the  legislature  by  only  si.x  votes,  and  in 
1896  he  was  elected  to  the  office.  He  is  also 
one  of  the  Auditors  for  Belknap  County. 

In  1892  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Lilian  G.,  a  daughter  of  E.  B.  Harrington,  of 
this  city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elmer  S.  Tilton  have 
two  sons  —  Charles  Henry  and  Elmer  Har- 
rington. Fraternally,  Mr.  Tilton  is  a  member 
of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  & 
A.  M. ;  Union  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  7, 
Pilgrim  Commandery,  K.  T. ;  and  Mount  Bel- 
knap Lodge,  No.  20,  K.  P. — all  of  Laconia. 
He  is  also  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  being 
a  member  of  Edward  A.  Raymond  Consistory, 
of  Nashua,  N.  H.  He  also  belongs  to  Aleppo 
Temple,  Mystic  Shrine,  of  Boston,  Mass. 


^'"^  '  '  ILLARD  T.  SANBORN,  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Dover  Water 
Works,  was  born  September  26, 
1859,  at  South  New  Market  (now  Newfields), 
Rockingham  County,  this  State.  His  father, 
Rufus  Sanborn,  a  native  of  Epping,  N.H., 
was  there  reared,  and  subsequently  worked 
there  as  a  mechanic.  Moving  to  Rockingham 
County  after  his  marriage,  Rufus  continued  at 
his  former  occupation,  and  is  still  residing 
there,  being  now  about  seventy  years  old.      He 


married  Clara  P.  Paul,  of  South  New  Market, 
N.H.,  who  died  August  23,  i860,  after  having 
been  his  faithful  and  devoted  companion  for 
many  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  two 
children  —  Alice  P.  and  Willard  T. 

Willard  T.  Sanborn,  who  early  showed  a 
natural  talent  for  mechanics,  soon  after  gradu- 
ating from  the  district  schools,  was  sent  by 
his  parents  to  the  Institute  of  Technology  in 
Boston.  Here  he  took  a  full  course  in  the 
mechanical  department,  spending  his  vaca- 
tions in  a  machine  shop.  On  leaving  the  in- 
stitute, he  served  an  apprenticeship  in  a 
machine  shop,  becoming  an  efficient  machin- 
ist. Mr.  Sanborn  then  secured  a  position  as 
fireman  on  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad. 
About  a  year  later,  July  24,  18S0,  he  was  ap- 
pointed engineer  on  the  same  road,  remaining 
in  that  capacity  until  January,  1886.  He  was 
then  offered,  and  he  accepted,  the  responsible 
position  of  superintendent  of  the  Dover  Gas 
Light  Company  at  Dover,  an  office  which  he 
filled  to  the  utmost  satisfaction  of  the  com- 
pany for  seven  years.  On  March  i,  1S94,  he 
assumed  charge  of  the  city  water-works  of 
Dover,  of  which  he  is  still  the  superintendent, 
his  management  being  strongly  characterized 
by  good  judgment  and  skill. 

On  March  17,  1S86,  Mr.  Sanborn  married 
Miss  Emma  J.  Manson,  of  Boston,  a  daughter 
of  John  T.  and  Mary  J.  (Sawyer)  Manson. 
He  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party, 
being  one  of  the  most  ardent  advocates  of  its 
principles.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Common 
Council  in  1890  and  1891,  serving  in  the 
latter  year  as  President  of  the  Board;  and  in 
1892  and  1893  he  was  an  Alderman,  represent- 
ing Ward  Two.  Besides  being  a  Knight  of 
Pythias,  he  is  prominently  connected  with  the 
Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has  attained  the 
thirty-second  degree,  and  belongs  to  the  Scot- 
tish Rite. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


KORGE  H.  BROWN,  M.D.,  of  Gil- 
manton,  where  he  is  ii  popular  and 
successful  physician,  is  a  native  of 
Haverhill,  Mass.,.  born  April  3,  1S53.  He  is 
a  son  of  Horace  and  Valeria  (Clarke)  Brown, 
and  a  grandson  of  Ebenezer  Brown.  The 
latter,  who  was  a  resident  of  Sanbornton, 
N.  H.,  and  carried  on  farming  on  a  large  scale, 
served  as  a  Major  in  the  War  of  18 12,  was 
prominent  in  the  State  militia,  represented 
Sanbornton  in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature, 
and  served  acceptably  in  some  town  offices. 
He  married  Susan  Taylor,  who  belonged  to  an 
old  family  of  Sanbornton,  and  who  bore  him 
three  children — Jonathan  C,  Theodocia,  and 
Horace.  Theodocia  first  married  Eben  Tay- 
lor, a  merchant,  by  whom  she  had  two  chil- 
dren —  Kate  and  Eveana.  Eveana  is  now  the 
widow  of  John  P.  Piper,  and  lives  in  New 
Hampton,  N.  H.  For  her  second  husband 
Theodocia  married  Charles  Cawley,  a  large 
farmer  of  Sanbornton,  by  whom  she  has  had  no 
children.  Horace  Brown,  the  third  child  of 
his  parents,  after  attending  the  schools  of  San- 
bornton and  New  Hampton,  went  into  a  mer- 
cantile business  on  his  own  account.  Subse- 
quently he  kept  the  American  House  in  Haver- 
hill, Mass.,  for  many  years.  From  Haverhill 
he  went  to  Boston,  and  there  continued  in  the 
hotel  business  for  some  time  longer.  Then  he 
returned  to  the  homestead  in  Sanbornton,  and 
engaged  in  farming.  His  wife,  Valeria  M., 
was  a  daughter  of  Archibald  S.  Clarke,  a  mer- 
chant of  Sanbornton.  They  had  two  children 
—  Ella  A.  and  George  H.  Ella  married  Jere- 
miah L.  Fogg,  who  is  engaged  in  the  meat 
business  in  Manchester,  N.H. 

George  H.  Brown  was,  like  his  sister,  a 
student  of  Tilton  Seminary.  After  leaving 
school  he  engaged  in  the  meat  business  in  Bel- 
mont. Later  he  drove  a  stage  between  Gilman- 
ton  and    Tilton    for   two   years,  and    tlien    con- 


ducted a  grocery  store  for  an  equal  length  of 
time.  Influenced  by  his  association  with  Dr. 
Wight,  of  Gilmanton,  whose  friendship  he  had 
acquired,  he  ga\'e  up  trade,  and  turned  his 
attention  to  the  study  of  medicine.  After 
spending  four  years  under  Dr.  Wight's  tui- 
tion, he  took  a  three  years'  course  of  medical 
lectures  at  Vermont  University  in  Burlington, 
and  there  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  in  1882.  Thereupon  he  entered 
upon  his  profession  in  association  with  Dr. 
Wight,  and  quickly  made  his  way  in  the 
esteem  of  the  public.  Upon  the  latter's  death 
Dr.  Brown  assumed  entire  charge  of  the  prac- 
tice, which  covers  a  circuit  of  some  six  miles 
around  the  village  of  Gilmanton.  Much  in- 
terested in  horses,  the  Doctor  acquired  posses- 
sion of  one  which  he  recently  sold  for  fifteen 
hundred  dollars.  He  takes  quite  an  active 
part  in  town  affairs.  He  served  as  Town 
Clerk  for  three  years,  and  was  legislative  Rep- 
resentative for  two  terms. 

On  December  31,  1889,  Dr.  Brown  married 
Miss  Henrietta  Orange,  of  Gilmanton.  Her 
father,  Henry  S.  Orange,  a  retired  merchant 
of  Gilmanton,  had  an  extensive  business  in 
Lowell,  Mass.,  for  many  years,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  city  government.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Brown  have  one  child,  George  Clinton, 
now  two  years  old. 


AMES  ELBRIDGE  LOTHROP,  of 
Dover,  N.H.,  is  the  head  of  the  well- 
known  family  of  Lothrops,  whose  senior 
members  are  leading  business  men  in  New 
Hampshire  and  in  I^oston,  Mass.  He  was 
born  November  30,  i82r5,  in  Rochester,  Straf- 
ford County,  N.H.,  son  of  Daniel  and  Sophia 
(Home)  Lothrop. 

The  family  history  has  been  traced   back  to 
John  Lowthorpe,  of  whom  little  more  is  known 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


than  that  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century  he  lived  in  Lowthorpe,  Yorkshire, 
England.  It  is  assumed  that  he  derived  his 
name,  which  signifies  low  field,  from  that 
of  the  town,  in  accordance  with  the  practice 
of  the  time  of  distinguishing  individuals  by 
their  paternity,  birthplace,  occupation,  or 
some  local  feature  associated  with  them.  His 
son  Thomas  is  known  to  have  resided  in  Bur- 
ton Cherry  and  subsequently  in  I'Llton,  and  to 
have  had  two  sons,  John  and  Mark,  who  are 
believed  to  have  been  natives  of  the  latter 
place.  John,  who  was  a  minister  of  religion, 
after  laboring  at  his  sacred  calling  in  Egerton, 
County  Kent,  for  some  time,  became  a  non- 
conformist, and  subsequently  was  pastor  of  the 
Separatist  church  established  in  Southwark, 
London.  At  a  later  date,  after  suffering  im- 
prisonment for  his  religious  opinions,  the 
Rev.  John  Lothrop  and  his  brother  Mark  came 
in  the  ship  "Griffin"  to  this  country;  and  he 
was  pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Scituate, 
Mass.,  in  1634,  and  of  the  First  Church  in 
Barnstable  in  1639. 

After  residing  for  short  periods  in  Salem 
and  Du.xbury,  Mark  settled  permanently  in 
Bridgewater,  Mass.,  where  he  died  in  1686. 
His  son,  Samuel  Lothrop,  a  native  of  Bridge- 
water,  married  Sarah  Downer,  who  had  by 
him  a  son  Mark,  also  a  native  of  that  place, 
born  September  9,  1689.  This  Mark,  who 
was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Easton,  Mass., 
and  died  there  in  1777,  married  March  29, 
1722,  Hannah  Alden,  a  daughter  of  Deacon 
Joseph  Alden,  of  Bridgewater,  and  a  great- 
grand-daughter  of  John  Alden,  who  came  in 
the  "Mayflower."  Their  son  Jonathan,  who 
was  born  in  Bridgewater,  March  11,  1723,  and 
died  in  1771,  married  on  April  13,  1746, 
Susanna,  a  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Susanna 
(Edson)  Johnson,  of  Bridgewater.  Jonathan's 
son  Solomon,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 


this  sketch,  born  in  Easton,  February  g,  1761, 
was  for  some  time  a  resident  of  Norton,  Mass., 
where  he  died  October  19,  1843.  His  wife, 
Mehitable,  was  a  daughter  of  Cornelius  White, 
of  Taunton,  Mass. 

Daniel  Lothrop,  son  of  Solomon  and  Mehit- 
able Lothrop,  was  born  in  Easton,  Mass.,  Jan- 
uary 9,  1 801.  In  1827  he  removed  to  Roches- 
ter, N.H.,  and  there  bought  a  farm  situated  on 
Haven's  Hill.  At  first  he  worked  at  his  trade 
of  stone  mason.  Subsequently  he  joined  his 
sons  in  a  clothing  business  in  Dover,  with 
branch  houses  in  Rochester  and  Great  Falls, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Daniel  Lothrop  &  Sons. 
He  was  much  respected  in  Rochester,  where 
he  took  a  prominent  part  in  public  affairs. 
He  was  twice  married.  His  first  marriage  was 
contracted  October  16,  1825,  with  Sophia 
Home,  daughter  of  Deacon  Jeremiah  Home, 
of  Rochester.  She  was  a  descendant  of  Will- 
iam Home,  who  was  one  of  the  settlers  of 
Dover  in  1662,  and  who  met  his  death  in  the 
massacre  of  June  28,  1689.  Home's  Hill, 
the  estate  left  by  him,  is  still  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  family.  Another  of  Sophia's  an- 
cestors was  the  Rev.  Joseph  Hull,  a  graduate 
of  Cambridge  University,  England,  who  in 
1662  took  up  his  residence  in  Durham,  N.H. 
By  his  second  marriage,  which  took  place  Sep- 
tember 24,  1S49,  Daniel  Lothrop  was  united 
to  Mary  E.  Chamberlin.  His  children  by 
both  wives  were:  James  Elbridge,  the  subject 
of  this  article;  John  Colby,  born  September 
12,  1828;  Daniel,  born  August  11,  1831; 
Matthew  Henry,  born  January  i,  1S51;  and 
Mary  Sophia,  born  August  15,  1S53.  The 
parents  were  members  of  the  Methodist 
church.      The  father  died  May  31,   1870. 

James  Elbridge  Lothrop  spent  the  first  fif- 
teen years  of  his  life  on  the  Haven's  Hill  farm 
in  Rochester.  His  early  education  was  ac- 
quired by  attending  the  district  school  in  win- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


23 


ter.  In  the  summer  he  was  usually  employed 
on  the  farm.  On  the  frequent  occasions  that 
Daniel  Lothrop  was  obliged  to  be  absent  from 
home  in  the  pursuit  of  his  calling,  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  farm  vvoriv  was  intrusted  to 
James  E. ,  as  the  eldest  son.  Among  the 
duties  that  devolved  on  him  in  this  way  at  the 
age  of  ten  was  that  of  taking  loads  of  wood  to 
Dover  and  making  sale  of  them  in  the  market- 
place. Having  finished  with  the  district 
school,  he  attended  the  Rochester  and  Straf- 
ford Academies  for  a  short  time.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen  he  taught  for  brief  periods  suc- 
cessively in  a  winter  school  and  a  private 
school  in  Rochester. 

In  the  following  year,  abandoning  his  pur- 
pose of  pursuing  a  collegiate  course,  he  went 
to  Fall  River,  Mass.,  where  his  uncle,  Jere- 
miah Home,  besides  attending  to  a  lucrative 
medical  practice,  conducted  a  flourishing- 
drug  store.  Here,  learning  the  drug  business 
under  his  uncle's  instruction,  Mr.  Lothrop 
passed  two  years,  in  the  course  of  which  lie 
also  began  to  read  medicine.  Early  in  1845 
he  went  home  to  Rochester;  and  in  the 
autumn,  upon  a  capital  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars borrowed  from  his  fatlier,  he  opened  a 
drug  store  in  Dover.  A  year  later  he  gave  it 
in  charge  to  his  brother,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  pursue  his  medical  studies.  He  subse- 
quently attended  the  winter  lectures  at  Jeffer- 
son Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  and  ob- 
tained his  medical  degree  from  that  institution 
in  1848.  His  plan  was  to  follow  Mr.  Home's 
example  by  uniting  the  practice  of  medicine 
to  the  dispensing  of  drugs.  This  he  found 
impracticable  soon  after  his  return  to  Roches- 
ter, whereupon  he  devoted  himself  exclusively 
to  the  management  of  his  store. 

At  this  time  he  took  his  brother  Daniel  into 
partnership,  and  they  adopted  as  the  firm 
name  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.      The  next   important 


event  in  this  firm's  history  was  the  opening  of 
another  drug  store  in  New  Market,  N.  H., 
under  the  management  of  Daniel.  Shortly 
after,  a  third  brother,  John  C,  was  taken  into 
the  firm,  and  sent  to  New  Market  to  learn  the 
business.  Other  stores  were  then  established 
in  Great  Falls,  Meredith  Village,  and  Ames- 
bury.  When  John  C.  was  duly  qualified,  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  store  in  Great 
Falls.  Subsequently  the  stores  in  New  Mar- 
ket, Meredith,  and  Amesbury  were  disposed 
of;  and  the  firm  made  a  new  departure  by 
opening  a  clothing  house  in  Great  Falls. 
This  venture  proved  so  much  more  profitable 
than  the  drug  store  in  the  same  town  that  the 
latter  was  abandoned  in  order  that  John  C. 
might  give  the  former  his  whole  attention. 
The  establishment  in  Dover,  however,  had 
been  so  successful  that  the  firm  were  encour- 
aged to  open  another  there.  This  was  con- 
ducted solely  by  clerks  until  1866,  when  it 
was  sold.  At  the  original  store  further  help 
in  the  management  became  necessary;  and  a 
half-interest  was  disposed  of  to  Alonzo  T. 
Pinkham,  after  which  the  place  was  conducted 
under  the  style  of  Lothrops  &  Pinkham. 

Later,  taking  their  father  into  partneiship, 
the  brothers  formed  the  firm  Daniel  Lothrop 
&  Sons,  who  thereupon  opened  a  clothing 
house  in  Dover  and  branches  in  Rochester 
and  Great  Falls.  After  the  death  of  Daniel 
Lothrop,  Sr.,  Matthew  Henry  Lothrop,  who 
had  been  employed  as  a  salesman  by  the  firm, 
bought  an  interest  in  the  clothing  business 
here,  and  was  in  charge  of  it  until  1880,  when 
he  went  to  Boston.  Charles  H.  Farnham  was 
then  admitted  as  a  partner;  and  the  firm  name 
became  Lothrops,  Farnham  &  Co.  Some  time 
before,  musical  instruments  had  been  added  to 
the  stock  in  trade.  The  business  of  the  house 
has  since  increased  to  dimensions  scarcely 
equalled  in  New  England. 


24 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


In  1850  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  first  engaged  in 
the  business  of  booi<sellers  by  purchasing  the 
stock  of  Klijah  Wadlcigh,  of  Dover.  Having 
carrieil  it  on  with  retail  and  jobbing  depart- 
ments, and  publisiiing  now  anil  again  for  some 
time,  they  decided  to  enter  a  wider  field.  For 
this  purpose  the  business  was  removed  to  Bos- 
ton. Here  their  first  store  was  located  on 
Cornhill.  In  February,  1876,  the  Cornhill 
stanil  was  abandoned  for  one  on  Franklin 
Street,  which  in  turn  was  forsaken  for  one  on 
Washington  Street.  In  1890  the  publishing 
firm  was  organized  as  a  corporation,  under  the 
style  of  the  D.  Lothrop  Company.  Their 
advent  in  the  wider  field  justified  their  most 
sanguine  anticipations.  As  publishers  they 
acquired  a  national  reputation,  and  they  prob- 
ably became  known  wherever  the  English  lan- 
guage was  spoken.  They  were  especially  suc- 
cessful with  books  and  other  publications  for 
the  young,  for  whom  they  employed  some  of 
the  most  accomplished  pens  and  the  deftest 
pencils.  Their  periodicals — Babyland,  Pansy, 
Utile  Men  and  Women,  and  Wide  Aivake  — 
attained  a  unique  degree  of  excellence.  All 
this  was  chiefly  due  to  the  business  sagacity  of 
Daniel  Lothrop. 

The  financial  management  of  the  main  firm, 
as  well  as  the  exclusive  direction  of  the  Dover 
establishments,  remained  from  the  beginning 
in  the  hands  of  James  Elbridge  Lothrop. 
After  the  death  of  his  brother,  Daniel  Lothrop, 
in  1892,  he  purchased  the  entire  property  of 
D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  in  New  Hampshire,  but 
subsequently  sold  that  part  of  it  located  in 
Great  Falls  to  his  brother  John  C.  Lothrop. 
The  publishing  house  he  carried  on  conjointly 
with  Mrs.  Daniel  Lothrop  for  two  years  longer, 
and  then  became  convinced  that  the  magnitude 
of  his  interests,  together  with  his  advancing 
years,  demanded  a  change.  Accordingly,  with 
the  consent  of  his  late  brother's  wife  and  John 


C.  Lothrop,  he  organized  the  Lothrop  Publish- 
ing Company,  as  successors  to  the  D.  Lothrop 
Company,  but  bound  to  carry  on  the  business 
upon  the  principles  and  plans  of  the  original 
founders  of  the  house.  At  the  same  time  he 
withdrew  from  the  management,  and  has  since 
devoted  himself  to  the  care  of  his  various 
establishments  in  New  Hampshire.  Regard- 
ing his  other  business  connections  it  will 
suffice  to  mention  that  James  E.  Lothrop  was 
chosen  Director  of  the  Cocheco  National  Bank 
in  1858,  Vice-President  in  1873,  and  has  been 
its  President  since  1876;  he  was  made  a 
Director  of  the  Cocheco  Aqueduct  Association 
in  1 87 1,  the  clerk  of  the  association  in  1872, 
and  the  President  in  1875;  and  that  he  has 
been  a  Director  of  the  Portsmouth  &  Dover 
Railroad,  of  the  Eliab  Bridge  Company,  of  the 
Dover  Street  Railroad  Company,  and  the  Pres- 
ident respectively  of  the  Dover  Board  of  Trade 
and  the  Dover  Improvement  Association. 

In  1852,  September  29,  Mr.  Lothrop  was 
united  in  matrimony  with  Mary  E.  Morrill,  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Morrill,  of  Amesbury, 
Mass.  Mr.  Morrill,  who  was  interested  in  the 
Cocheco  Manufacturing  Company  of  Dover,  in 
the  course  of  time  acquired  a  large  amount  of 
real  estate,  the  care  of  which  became  his  prin- 
cipal occupation  in  his  later  years.  Mr. 
Lothrop  has  been  a  teacher  in  the  Methodist 
Sunday-school  over  forty  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lothrop  are  members  of  the  Methodist  church. 
In  politics  he  supports  the  Republican  party. 
In  1S72  Mr.  Lothrop  represented  Dover  in  the 
State  legislature,  and  in  1882  and  1883  he  was 
Mayor  of  the  city.  The  origin  of  the  Dover 
public  library  was  largely  due  to  his  persever- 
ing efforts.  Devotion  to  the  public  welfare 
has  been  a  characteristic  of  Mr.  Lothrop  in  his 
private  capacity  as  well  as  in  his  official  life. 
He  has  been  prominent  in  all  movements  de- 
signed for  the  moral  elevation  or  material  good 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


25 


of  tlie  community  in  which  he  has  resided. 
Eminently  successful  in  business  without  de- 
scending to  ignoble  means,  and  doing  good  on 
the  way  as  the  occasion  served,  Mr.  Lothrop 
reflects  high  credit  upon  the  business  men  of 
New  England. 


DVVIN  GEORGE  MORRISON,  of  the 
firm  O.  &  E.  Morrison,  manufact- 
urers of  woollen  goods  in  Northfield, 
N.H.,  was  born  in  that  town,  November  2, 
1S62,  son  of  Byron  K.  and  Hannah  (Munsey) 
Morrison.  His  great-grandfather,  Ebenezer 
Morrison,  a  native  of  Northfield,  followed 
the  trade  of  a  tanner  and  currier  in  addition  to 
farming. 

Thomas  L.  Morrison,  the  grandfather,  was 
born  in  Northfield,  December  27,  1813.  He 
followed  his  father's  trade  for  several  years, 
and  then  purchased  a  farm  in  his  native  town, 
where  he  became  a  successful  general  farmer 
and  stock-raiser,  and  still  resides.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican.  He  married  Susan 
Capen,  and  has  had  five  children,  namely: 
Byron  K.,  who  is  no  longer  living;  George 
P.;  Mary;  Nellie  Susan;  and  Obadiah  G. 
Nellie  Susan  married  George  F.  Chase,  of 
Northfield.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  L.  Mor- 
rison are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church.  Byron  K.  Morrison,  born  in  North- 
field  in  1840,  learned  the  tanner's  and  cur- 
rier's trade,  and  subsequently  worked  at  it 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  when  he 
enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  G,  Twelfth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteers.  He 
contracted  typhoid  fever  while  in  service,  re- 
turned to  Gilford,  N.  H.,  and  died  of  a  relapse 
soon  after.  He  married  Hannah  Munsey, 
daughter  of  George  W.  Munsey,  of  Gilford; 
and  Edwin  G.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is 
the  only  child  of  the  marriage. 


Edwin  George  Morrison,  but  ten  months  old 
when  his  father  died,  was  brought  up  by  his 
maternal  grandparents  in  Gilford.  He  ac- 
quired a  district-school  etlucation,  and  at  tlie 
age  of  fourteen  began  work  in  Richard  l-'irth's 
woollen-mill,  of  wjiich  he  is  now  part  proprie- 
tor. After  spending  a  year  and  a  half  in  tlie 
finishing-room,  he  received  charge  of  the  same 
department  of  another  mill  of  Mr.  Firth's  in 
Ashland,  N.H.,  where  he  had  been  employed 
for  five  years  when  his  health  became  im- 
paired. He  was  ne.xt  employed  in  a  wholesale 
paper  store  in  Washington,  D.C.,  for  a  year; 
and  in  June,  1S86,  he  went  to  Los  Angeles, 
Cal.,  where  he  stayed  until  the  following 
March.  Upon  his  return  to  New  Hampshire 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  uncle,  under 
the  firm  name  of  O.  &  E.  Morrison,  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  on  the  woollen  manufact- 
uring business.  They  bought  a  shoddy-mill 
in  Northfield,  and  have  prosperously  conducted 
it  since.  They  employ  ninety  hands.  The 
mill  and  their  woollen  looms  have  been  run- 
ning night  and  day  for  the  past  two  years  in 
filling  their  orders.  Their  goods  find  a 
market  principally  in  the  West. 

On  February  25,  1891,  Mr.  Morrison  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Carrie  B.  Glines, 
daughter  of  James  and  Abigail  (Chapman) 
Glines.  Having  had  no  children  born  to 
them,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison  are  bringing  up 
Gladys  Belle  Healey,  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Mor- 
rison's deceased  sister. 

Mr.  Morrison  is  actively  interested  in  pub- 
lic affairs.  In  1896  the  Republicans  elected 
him  legislative  Representative  of  Tilton, 
where  he  resides.  On  that  occasion  he  polled 
the  largest  vote  ever  thrown  for  a  legislative 
•candidate  in  Tilton,  receiving  a  majority  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  although  Tilton 
is  a  Democratic  town.  He  was  made  a  Mason 
in  Ashland,  and  is  a  Past  Master  of  the  lodge 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


in  that  town.  At  the  present  time  lie  is  Wor- 
shipful Master  of  Doric  Lodge  and  a  member 
of  St.  Omer  Chapter  in  Franklin.  He  is  also 
connected  with  Clark  Camp,  Sons  of  Veterans, 
and  is  a  charter  member  of  Mount  Belknap 
Lodge,  .Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
Both  he  and  Mrs.  Morrison  attend  the  Con- 
cresational  church. 


LBERT  F.  SEAVEY,  the  junior  mem- 
ber of  the  enterprising  firm  of  J. 
Frank  Seavey  &  Co.,  clothing  deal- 
ers of  Dover,  and  well  deserving  the  high 
regard  generally  accorded  him  in  the  city,  was 
born  December  29,  1843,  i'l  the  town  of  l^och- 
ester,  this  county,  son  of  Samuel  F.  and  Eliza 
K.  (Ham)  Seavey,  both  of  whom  were  lifelong 
residents  of  that  place.  A  fuller  ancestral 
history  will  be  found  on  another  page,  in  the 
sketch  of  J.  Frank  Seavey. 

Albert  F.  Seavey  was  reared  on  the  old 
homestead  in  his  native  town,  receiving  his 
education  in  the  old  Rochester  Academy. 
During  his  youthful  days,  when  not  busy  at 
his  studies,  he  assisted  in  the  daily  labors  of 
the  farm.  Subsequently,  not  finding  these 
occupations  congenial  to  his  tastes,  he  sought 
other  employment.  Coming  to  Dover  when  a 
youth  of  eighteen  summers,  he  secured  work 
in  a  shoe  factory,  where  he  remained  four 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  tliat  time  he  and 
his  brother,  J.  Frank  Seavey,  united  their 
forces  and  funds,  and  established  their  present 
business.  They  have  an  extensive  and  lucra- 
tive trade  in  clothing  of  all  kinds,  under  the 
special  management  of  the  younger  brother; 
and  their  store  is  one  of  the  largest  of  its  class 
in  Dover.  Mr.  Seavey  is  likewise  connected 
with  the  firm  of  Charles  H.  Seavey  &  Co., 
prominent  lumber  manufacturers  and  dealers 
of   this  city.      A   man    of   excellent    judgment 


and  tact,  Mr.  Seavey  has  met  with  eminent 
success  in  his  career,  and  holds  a  high  rank 
among  the  substantial  men  of  Dover  and 
vicinity. 

On  July  31,  1S83,  Mr.  Seavey  married  Miss 
Marietta  Fogg,  a  daughter  of  Charles  F.  and 
Rebecca  F.  (Webster)  Fogg,  of  this  city. 
The  union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of 
five  children  —  Alice  E.,  Marion  W.,  Harry 
L.,  Helen  Grace,  and  Catherine.  Politically, 
Mr.  Seavey  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Democratic  party;  and  he  has  taken 
a  prominent  part  in  local  affairs.  In  1874  and 
1875  he  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council 
from  Ward  Two,  he  represented  the  same  dis- 
trict in  the  State  legislature  throughout  the 
succeeding  two  years,  and  in  1874  he  served 
as  a  member  of  the  staff  of  Governor  James  A. 
Weston.  An  active  and  influential  worker  in 
Masonic  circles,  he  has  taken  the  thirty-second 
degree  of  the  order.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
Olive  Branch  Lodge,  No.  6,  K.  of  P.,  Uniform 
Rank;  of  the  Knights  of  Honor;  and  of  the 
Improved  Order  of  Red  Men.  Religiously, 
he  is  not  connected  with  any  organized  body, 
while  he  is  a  regular  attendant  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a 
member. 


RTHUR  H.  LAMPREY,  a  successful 
farmer  and  prominent  resident  of  Bel- 
mont, was  born  where  he  now  re- 
sides, November  15,  1841,  son  of  Asa  and 
Deborah  (Sanborn)  Lamprey.  The  farm 
which  Mr.  Lamprey  owns  and  occupies  was 
purchased  by  his  father  in  1828.  Asa  Lam- 
prey, who  was  an  upright,  conscientious  man 
and  a  useful  citizen,  gained  the  sincere  esteem 
of  his  fellow-townsmen  by  his  personal  virtues 
and  his  valuable  public  services,  and  died  July 
31,  1850.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen  for  a  number  of  years,  represented 


JAMES    P.    OSBORNE. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


this  town  in  the  legislature,  and  in  politics 
supported  the  Democratic  party.  His  wife, 
Deborah,  whom  he  married  November  25, 
1830,  was  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Sanborn,  a 
prosperous  farmer  of  Gilmanton.  Ancestors 
of  the  Sanborn  family  were  among  the  first 
settlers  in  this  section.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Asa 
Lamprey  were  the  parents  of  ten  children; 
namely,  Alfred  A.,  Emily  A.,  Frances  M., 
George  H.,  Laura  O.,  Arthur  II.,  Sarah  A., 
Mary  E.,  Clara  M.,  and  Juliet  A.  Alfred  A., 
who  was  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  grocery 
business  in  Lawrence,  Mass.,  is  now  Manager 
and  Treasurer  of  the  Lawrence  Lumber  Com- 
pany. He  wedded  Matilda  A.  Gamble,  of 
Linneus,  Me,,  and  has  had  five  children  — 
Frances  Kate,  Alfred  Edwin,  Lelia  Matilda, 
Alice  Ella,  and  Clara  May.  Clara  May  died 
young.  Emily  A.  Lamprey  is  the  wife  of 
J.  W.  Rice,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  Gutta-percha  Paint  Company  of  Provi- 
dence, R.L,  and  has  two  children.  Frances 
M.  Lamprey  married  Samuel  N.  Weston, 
a  reed  manufacturer  of  Fitchburg,  Mass. 
George  H.  Lamprey  served  in  Company  K, 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  Massachusetts  Volun- 
teers, during  the  Civil  War,  reaching  the 
rank  of  Captain.  He  was  in  the  grocery 
business  in  Litchfield,  Mass.,  for  several 
years,  and  died  in  Laconia,  N.IL,  in  1881. 
By  his  wife,  Adeline  L.  (Farrar)  Lamprey,  a 
native  of  Belmont,  he  became  the  father  of 
five  children — -Clarence  R.,  Howard  A., 
Christina,  Lillian  A.,  and  E.  Gertrude. 
Laura  O.  Lamprey  in  1871  married  A.  W. 
Kimball,  of  Lawrence,  Mass.,  and  died  in 
1874.  Sarah  A.  died  in  Providence  in  1874. 
Mary  E.  is  a  book-keeper  for  the  United 
States  Gutta-percha  Paint  Company,  Provi- 
dence, R.L  Clara  M.,  after  teaching  school 
for  some  years  in  Laconia  and  Belmont,  be- 
came the  wife  of  Benjamin  W.  Gallup,  who  is 


in  the  brokerage  and  insurance  business  in 
I'rovidence,  and  has  six  children.  Juliet  A. 
Lamprey  is  employed  as  a  book-keeper  in 
Providence,  R.L  Mrs.  Asa  Lamprey  died 
October  29,   1880. 

Arthur  H.  Lamprey  acquired  a  good  practi- 
cal education.  Owing  to  the  death  of  his 
father,  he  was  compelled  to  take  charge  of  the 
farm  at  an  early  age.  After  his  majority  he 
bought  the  interests  of  the  other  heirs,  and  jjy 
making  additions  to  the  property  now  owns 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  excellent 
land.  He  has  made  various  improvements  in 
the  buildings,  considerably  enhancing  the 
value  of  his  farm.  He  raises  the  usual  crops, 
while  making  a  specialty  of  the  milk  business. 

On  November  15,  1866,  Mr.  Lamprey  was 
united  in  marriage  with  EniTiia  James,  daugh- 
ter of  Annis  C.  James,  of  Gilford,  N.  H.  She 
has  had  si.x  children,  as  follows:  Nellie  Bird, 
who  died  aged  one  year;  Eva  Emma;  Carleton 
A.  ;  Laura  B.  ;  Leonard  A. ;  and  Sarah  E. 
Eva  Emma,  who  graduated  from  the  Laconia 
High  School,  having  stood  high  in  her  class, 
taught  school  until  August,  1896,  when  she 
resigned.  Carleton  A.  was  educated  at  the 
New  Hampshire  Literary  Institute,  and  is  now 
in  the  milk  business  with  his  father.  Mrs. 
Lamprey  died  December  5,  1895.  Mr.  Lam- 
prey is  a  member  of  the  Second  Free  Baptist 
Church,  and  is  at  present  acting  as  clerk. 
Always  temperate  in  his  own  habits,  he  is  a 
strong  advocate  of  prohibition.  His  activity 
in  religious  and  other  matters  related  to  the 
general  good  of  the  community  places  him 
anions'  the  leading;  citizens  of  Belmont. 


SHAMES  PRESCOTT  OSBORNE,  M.D., 
formerly  a  prominent  ph\'sician  of  Til- 
ton,  was  born  in  Piermont,  N.  H.,  June 
3,   1833,  son  of  Cyrus  and  Sally  C.   (Thrasher) 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Osborne.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Candia, 
N.H.,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  I'ier- 
mont.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  farmer 
on  the  homestead,  which  he  inherited;  and  he 
died  in  Piermont.  His  wife,  Sally,  who  was 
a  native  of  Candia,  became  the  mother  of  four 
children,  three  of  whom  attained  maturity. 
These  were:  James  P.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Adelbert,  a  resident  of  Bradford,  Vt. ; 
and  Adelaide  Sarah,  who  married  William 
llibbard,  of  Piermont.  Both  parents  were 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  the  father  was  the  steward  of  the  society 
for  many  years. 

James   Prescott   Osborne  acquired   his   early 
education    in   the  common  schools   and   at   the 
seminary  in  Newbury,  Vt.      He  read  medicine 
with     Dr.    Watkins,    of     Newbury,    and     Dr. 
French,  of  Warren,  N.H.,  and    was   graduated 
from    Dartmouth    College    with    the    class    of 
1855.      While  pursuing  his  studies   he   taught 
school     in     Piermont,    Haverhill,     and    other 
towns.      His  medical  practice  was  commenced 
in  Felchville,  Vt.,  where  he  resided  for  nearly 
ten  years,  and  acquired  a  good  business.      Not 
content,  however,  he  came  to  Tilton  in  Novem- 
ber,   1864,    and    subsequently    was    associated 
with  Dr.  B.  Lyford  for  some  time.      Afterward 
he  worked  at  his  profession  alone,  having  calls 
from  all   the  neighboring  towns,  and  for  some 
years   keeping  an  office  in  Franklin,  which   he 
visited  daily.      It    is    said   that    he   was  never 
known  to  refuse  a  call  for  his  services  on  ac- 
count of  the  poverty  of  the   patient,  and   many 
have  good  cause  to  remember    his    kind    and 
charitable  disposition.      He   was   regarded    as 
one  of  the  leading  physicians    in   this   part   of 
the  State,  and  he  was  much  sought  for  in  cases 
where    consultation    was    deemed     necessary. 
He  invested  to  some  extent  in  business  enter- 
prises, having  been  one  of  the  incorporators  of 
the  Tilton  Hosiery  Company;  and  he  was  its 


President  until  his  decease.  His  ui)right 
character,  integrity,  and  genial  bearing 
gained  for  him  the  respect  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen;  and  his  death,  which  occurred 
October  3,  1895,  was  the  cause  of  sincere 
regret  to  all.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republi- 
can. Though  deeply  interested  in  public 
affairs,  he  never  aspired  to  office.  He  was 
affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
P'ellows. 

On  March  18,  1855,  Dr.  Osborne  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Sarah  P.  Stanyan, 
daughter  of  Newell  Stanyan  of  Wentworth, 
N.H.  Mrs.  Osborne's  grandfather,  Jonathan 
Stanyan,  born  in  1770,  died  in  1805.  His 
wife,  in  maidenhood  Martha  Hook,  was  born 
in  1768.  Newell  Stanyan,  Mrs.  Osborne's 
father,  was  born  in  Chichester,  N.H.,  March 
30,  1798.  After  marriage  he  moved  to  a  farm 
in  Wentworth,  where  he  followed  the  carpen- 
ter's trade  and  farming,  and  died  October  9, 
1 88 1.  He  married  Hannah  H.  Drake,  who 
became  the  mother  of  eight  children,  seven  of 
whom  grew  up ;  namely,  Jonathan,  David, 
Newell,  John,  Martha,  James,  and  Sarah  P. 
Of  these  Sarah  P.,  now  Mrs.  Osborne,  is  the 
only  survivor.  Mrs.  Newell  Stanyan  died 
December  15,  1875.  Mrs.  Osborne  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  She 
has  had  one  daughter,  P'lora  G.,  born  in  1862, 
who  was  a  graduate  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Conference  Seminary  and  Female  College,  and 
died  in  1888. 


UGUSTUS  DOE  was  a  successful  busi- 
ness man  and  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Laconia.  He  was  born  here,  June 
I,  1808.  Being  left  fatherless  at  a  tender 
age,  young  Doe  was  bound  out  to  James  Hoyt, 
of  Gilford.  In  early  boyhood  he  displayed 
the    same    thoughtful    and    ambitious    nature 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


31 


which    characterized  his  career  in  after  life. 
Pointing  one  day  to  a  strip  of  land  lying  be- 
tween   the    lake    and    the    Meredith    highway, 
he  told  his  young  companions   that   he   would 
own    it   some   time;    and   his   assertion  proved 
correct.      He  remained  with  Mr;  Hoyt  in  Gil- 
ford  until    released    at    the   expiration    of   the 
stipulated    time.       Then    he   went   to    Boston, 
and  resided  there  for  some  time.      When  the 
project  of  dredging  the  channel   at   the  outlet 
of  tlie  lake  was  put  into  operation,  he  returned 
to  Laconia,  and  was  employed  as  a  foreman  on 
the  work  until  it  was  completed.      Subsequent 
to  his  marriage  he  resided   with    his   father-in- 
law,    Elliott  Blaisdell,    wliom    he    assisted    in 
carrying  on   the  farm.      This  property,  which 
fell    to   his  wife   after  her  father's  death,    in 
course  of  time  was  increased  by  Mr.  Doe  to 
about    three    times    its  former   size.      Besides 
carrying  on   the  farm,  he  established  and  con- 
ducted a  brick-yard,  engaged   in  handling  real 
estate,   and    was    one    of    the    most    energetic 
business  men  this  city  has  ever  known.      He 
was    one    of    the  first  men   in  this  section  to 
champion  the  Abolition  cause.      As  an  active 
supporter  of  the   Republican   party  from   the 
time  of  its  formation,  he  served  as  a  Select- 
man   for  a  number    of    years,    and   acceptably 
represented  the  town   in  the  State  legislature 
for  a  period.      Able  in  argument  and  well  in- 
formed   in    most    topics    of    interest,    but    es- 
pecially   in     finance,    he    frequently    worsted 
some  of  the   best    debaters  in   Laconia.       He 
was    a    lover    of    truth    and    justice,    espoused 
the    cause   of    morality   whenever    opportunity 
permitted,  was  a  generous   contributor   to   all 
worthy  charities  and  a  strict  observer  of  the 
Sabbath.      His    influence    in    the    community 
was    most    beneficial ;    and     his    death,    which 
occurred   August    i,    1887,  when   he   was   over 
seventy-nine  years   old,    was   keenly   regretted 
by  his  neighbors. 


Mr.  Doe  married  Mahala,  daughter  of  Elliott 
Blaisdell,  a  well-known   resident   of  Laconia. 
She    became  the   mother   of   three    children  — 
Morrill  B.,   Lydia   E.,  and  Eliza.      Morrill  B., 
who  met   with  an  accident   which    necessitated 
the  amputation  of  a  leg,  died   from   the  effects 
of  that  operation,    December  25,    1882,    aged 
forty-eight  years,    leaving   two   children.      He 
was  a  member  of  Meredith  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  I''. 
Lydia  E.  and   Eliza  were   graduated    from    the 
New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary.      Lydia 
E.,  who  married   the  late  O.  P.  Warner,  then 
a    woollen    manufacturer   of    Ashland,    N.H., 
resides     at     the     homestead.       Eliza     married 
William   J.    Morrison,  who    is   now    managing 
the   business   formerly   carried   on   by  the  late 
Mr.    Doe.      Mr.  Morrison,  born    in    Plymouth, 
N.H.,  September   29,   1846,    was  educated    in 
the  district   schools   of   Plymouth,  and   at    the 
age  of  eighteen  began  life  as  a  farmer.      After 
nine  years  spent  in  the  employment  of  Augus- 
tus Doe,  he  became  a  brakeman  on  the  Boston, 
Concord    &    Montreal    Railroad.       Erom    this 
position  he  worked  his  way  forward   to   that  of 
passenger    conductor,    in    which     capacity    he 
served  for  four  years.      He  resigned    in    1882 
on    account    of    the    extreme    old    age    of    his 
father-in-law  and  the  untimely  death  of    the 
latter's  son,  and   took   charge   of  the  farm  and 
brick    business.      The    property   contains   four 
hundred  acres  of  land.      Mr.  Morrison  makes  a 
specialty  of   the   milk  business.      Politically, 
he    is  a  Republican.      fie   was   elected   to    the 
first   City  Council   of   Laconia,   in  which    body 
he  served  for  three  years. 


AMES  L.  TWOMBLY,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Milton,  and  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  War,  was  born  June  28,  1840,  in 
the  house  where  he  now  resides,  son  of  Lewis 
B.   and    Jane    (Ford)    Twonibly.      His    great- 


3^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


graiulfatlier,  James  Twombly,  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Farmington,  N.I  I.  His 
grandfather,  James  Twombly  (second),  came 
to  Milton  when  the  town  was  in  its  infancy. 

Lewis  B.  Twombly,  father  of  James  L. ,  was 
born  in  Farmington,  and  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Milton  when  he  was  two  years  old. 
When  a  young  man  he  learned  the  stone  cut- 
ters' trade,  which  he  followed  in  Boston  for 
ten  years.  While  there  he  helped  to  build  the 
wall  around  Deer  Island.  From  Boston  he 
returned  to  this  town,  where  he  spent  the' rest 
of  his  life  in  tilling  the  soil.  The  house  he 
occupied,  which  is  now  owned  by  his  son,  is 
one  of  the  oldest  in  Milton,  and  was  originally 
the  property  of  Lieutenant  Elijah  Horn.  In 
an  upper  room,  which  was  then  unfinished, 
were  held  the  first  town  meetings  of  Milton; 
and  for  some  years  it  was  customary  for  the 
people  of  the  North-east  Parish  to  hold  relig- 
ious services  here  on  Sundays.  Here  old  Par- 
son Hasy,  of  Lebanon,  and  l^arson  Haven,  of 
Newbury  Plains,  delivered  eloquent  discourses 
on  the  Word,  and  taught  the  way  to  salvation. 
The  children  of  the  settlers  and  the  early  con- 
verts were  baptized  in  this  room.  Lewis  B. 
Twombly  died  Alarch  ii,  1S92,  aged  eighty- 
four  years,  five  months,  and  four  days.  '  He 
married  Jane  Ford,  a  native  of  Berwick,  Me., 
and  by  her  became  the  father  of  four  children, 
of  whom  the  only  survivor  is  James  L.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

James  L.  Twombly  grew  to  manhood  as  a 
farmer,  and  his  education  was  accjuired  in  the 
common  schools.  In  i86i  he  enlisted  in 
Company  K,  Third  Regiment,  New  Hamp- 
shire Volunteer  Infantry,  which  was  attached 
to  Terry's  Division,  Tenth  Army  Corps.  He 
served  for  thirty-seven  months  in  the  Civil 
War,  successively  in  the  capacities  of  private 
and  Corporal.  He  survived  the  dangers  of 
several  notable  battles   in  the  Virginia  cam- 


paign, including  those  of  the  Wilderness, 
I^"ort  Wagner,  and  Drewry's  Bluff;  and  he 
was  discharged  in  August,  1864.  After  his 
return  from  the  army  he  settled  upon  the  home 
farm,  which  is  situated  upon  the  main  road 
leading  from  Milton  to  Milton  Mills;  and 
there  he  has  been  engaged  in  general  farming 
since.  In  politics  he  acts  with  the  Democratic 
party,  but  has  never  aspired  to  public  office. 

Mr.  Twombly  married  Lizzie  A.  Downs,  a 
daughter  of  Otis  P.  and  Rebecca  (Jenkins) 
Downs,  of  Farmington.  He  is  a  member  of 
Miltonia  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.  ;  and  a  comrade 
of  Post  Eli  Wentworth,  No.  89,  G.  A.  R.,  of 
this  town.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Twombly  attend 
the  Congregational  church. 


<^*^» 


DWIN  H.  SHANNON,  a  prominent 
lawyer  of  Laconia,  was  born  in  Gilman- 
'  ton,  N.H.,  March  8,  1858,  son  of 
James  C.  and  Judith  Webster  (Batchelder) 
Shannon.  The  Shannon  family  were  among 
the  early  settlers  of  Portsmouth.  George 
Shannon,  grandfather  of  Edwin  H.,  was  a 
native  of  Portsmouth,  and  a  supporter  of  the 
Democratic  party.  When  a  young  man  he 
settled  in  Gilmanton,  where  he  spent  the  rest 
of  his  life  upon  a  farm  ;  and  he  died  at  the  age 
of  eighty  years.  He  married  Sally  Tibbetts, 
a  native  of  Alton,  N.  H.,  and  was  the  father  of 
nine  children;  namely,  Ira,  Stephen,  George, 
Ephraim,  Nathaniel,  James  C,  John,  Charles, 
and  Ann       Charles  died  young. 

James  C.  Shannon,  who  was  born  in  Gil- 
manton, and  is  one  of  the  best-known  residents 
of  that  town,  spent  the  active  period  of  his 
life  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Although  he  is 
now  seventy-four  years  old,  he  is  still  active. 
His  wife,  Judith,  was  born  in  Loudon,  Merri- 
mack County,  and  is  a  relative  of  the  famous 
American    statesman,    Daniel    Webster.      She 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


33 


lias  had  four  children,  as  follows:  Frank  E. 
Shannon,  M.D. ,  a  successful  physician  and  a 
scholar  of  unusual  ability,  who  died  in  Gil- 
manton  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years;  Edwin 
H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary  B. , 
whose  death  occurred  on  the  same  night  as 
that  of  her  brother  Frank ;  and  Harry,  who 
resides  with  his  parents  on  the  home  farm. 
The  mother  is  now  sixty-two  years  old. 

Edwin  H.  Shannon  acquired  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Gil- 
manton  Academy.  He  studied  law  with 
Thomas  Cogstell,  of  Gilmanton,  who  is  now 
United  States  Pension  Agent  at  Concord;  and 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1880. 
He  was  for  a  time  associated  with  Mr.  Cog- 
stell as  a  partner,  after  which  he  jjractised 
alone  until  entering  into  partnership  with 
W.  S.  Peaslee.  At  a  later  date  this  firm 
became  Shannon,  Peaslee  &  Blackstone.  Mr. 
Shannon  is  now  conducting  a  large  and  profit- 
able general  law  business  in  I,aconia.  He  is 
especially  noted  for  his  connection  with  several 
important  and  ably  contested  trials,  including 
that  of  defendant's  counsel  in  many  criminal 
cases  in  Strafford,  Belknap,  and  Merrimack 
Counties.  As  an  advocate  he  holds  a  high 
rank,  while  he  is  second  to  none  in  his 
knowledge  of  the  law. 

In  October,  1882,  Mr.  Shannon  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Myra  li.,  daughter  of  Ira  L. 
Berry,  of  Barnstead,  N.H.,  and  now  has  two 
children  — Ella  C.  and  Mildred.  Although 
his  immediate  relatives,  like  his  ancestors,  are 
Democrats,  Mr.  Shannon  prefers  to  act  with 
the  Republican  party.  He  is  not,  however,  a 
politician,  choosing  to  devote  his  time  almost 
entirely  to  his  law  practice.  He  is  connected 
with  Mount  Belknap  Lodge,  No.  20,  Knights 
of  Pythias.  His  religious  convictions  are  those 
of  the  People's  Christian  Church,  which  he 
serves  as   President  of  its  Board  of  Directors. 


HARLES     W.     BICKFORD,     Post- 
master at  Rochester,  was  born   in  this 


■H 
'^         town,  January  20,   1843,  son  of  John 

and  Hannah  M.  (Demeritt)  l?ickford.  He  is 
a  descendant  of  John  ]?ickford,  who  emigrated 
from  Sussex,  England,  abdut  the  year  1700, 
and  was  a  prime  mover  in  organizing  the  town 
of  Rochester  in  1722.  John  Bickford,  Charles 
W.  Bickford's  father,  who  is  a  native  of  this 
town,  has  silent  the  active  period  of  his  life  in 
tilling  the  soil.  An  able  and  industrious 
farmer  and  a  useful  citizen,  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  in  Roches- 
ter previous  to  its  incorporation  as  a  city.  He 
is  still  residing  here,  and  is  now  eighty-two 
years  old.  His  wife,  Hannah  M.,  a  native  of 
P'armington,  N.H.,  who  was  of  English  de- 
scent and  a  representative  of  an  old  and  highly 
reputable  family  of  Strafford  County,  lived  to 
be  seventy-three  years  old. 

After  attending  the  common  and  high 
schools  of  Rochester  for  the  customary  jjcriod, 
Charles  W.  Bickford  completed  his  studies  at 
the  academy  in  VVolfboro,  N.H.  When 
twenty-one  years  old  he  went  to  New  York 
City,  where  he  became  an  employee  at  tiie 
Union  Place  Hotel,  now  the  Morton  House. 
There  he  obtained  his  first  knowledge  of  the 
hotel  business,  which  he  was  destined  to  fol- 
low as  his  principal  occupation  up  to  1894. 
After  leaving  the  metropolis  he  returned  to 
Rochester,  and  was  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  until  the  store  was  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1871.  He  then  resumed  his  connection 
with  the  hotel  business,  every  branch  of  which 
he  learned  by  a  varied  experience  of  twenty- 
five  years.  In  this  period  he  acquired  the 
reputation  of  one  of  the  finest  stewards  in  this 
country.  He  has  filled  responsible  positions 
at  the  Evans  House,  Coolidge  House,  United 
States  Hotel,  and  Boston  Tavern,  of  ]?oston, 
Mass.  ;    at   Clifford   House,    Plymouth,    Mas.s.  ; 


34 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Ocean  View  Hotel,  ]51ock  Island;  and  the 
Narragansett  Hotel  of  Providence,  R.I.  ;  the 
Fort  William  Henry  Hotel,  at  Lake  George; 
Willard's  Hotel,  Washington,  D.C.  ;  the  Mag- 
nolia Hotel,  Magnolia  Springs,  Fla.  ;  the 
Hotel  Chaniplain,  Clinton  County,  New  York; 
and  he  was  for  four  years  connected  with  the 
Hotel  Ponce-de-Leon,  St.  Augustine,  Fla., 
one  of  the  largest  houses  in  the  United  States. 
In  May,  1894,  having  returned  to  this  city  at 
the  urgent  request  of  his  numerous  friends  in 
Rochester,  through  their  combined  efforts  he 
was  appointed  Postmaster  by  President  Cleve- 
land. 

On  May  28,  1868,  Mr.  Bickford  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Louise  Henderson,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  Henderson,  of  this  city.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  In  1S70  and  1871 
he  served  as  Town  Clerk;  and  in  1895  he  was 
elected  to  the  City  Council  from  Ward  Five. 
In  Masonry  he  has  advanced  to  the  Knights 
Templar  degree,  and  is  a  member  of  Palestine 
Commandery.  He  is  also  connected  with  the 
Hotel  Mutual  Benefit  Association.  As  a 
member  of  the  St.  Bernard  Club  of  America 
and  a  great  lover  of  dogs,  he  has  given  consid- 
erable attention  to  the  breeding  of  these  ani- 
mals, and  was  awarded  both  regular  and  special 
prizes  for  exhibits  at  the  Boston  Dog  Show. 
Mr.  Bickford  is  a  member  of  the  Unity 
Church. 


i 


iOLONEL  GEORGE  A.  SANDERS 
is  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  Laconia, 
prominent  in  business,  political, 
and  social  circles.  He  was  born  at  Laconia, 
then  called  Meredith  Bridge,  December  10, 
1846.  His  parents,  .Samuel  W.  and  Serena 
(Ranlet)  Sanders,  were  natives  of  the  Granite 
State,  born  respectively  in  the  towns  of  Mason 
and  Ossipee.  His  great-grandfather,  Isaiah 
Sanders,    was    one    of     the      New    Hampshire 


patriots  who  fought  under  Colonel  Stark  at 
Bennington,  and  lived  to  see  the  young  repub- 
lic develop  into  a  powerful  nation,  dying  at 
the  age  of  eighty.  Joseph  Sanders,  the  grand- 
father, who  was  a  cabinet-maker  and  a  farmer 
of  Mason,  married  Sarah  Mansur,  and  had  a 
family  of  six  children,  three  of  whom  ai'e 
li\'ing. 

Samuel  W.  Sanders,  born  in  Mason,  learned 
the  tinsmith's  trade,  and  established  a  hard- 
ware store  in  Laconia,  which  he  managed  from 
1840  to  1887.  A  man  of  enterprise  and  strong 
character,  he  took  a  leading  [lart  in  the  finan- 
cial and  political  life  of  the  town.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Laconia  Savings 
Bank  and  a  member  of  its  Board  of  Trustees 
from  1868  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
was  Selectman  of  Meredith,  was  one  of  the 
prime  movers  in  setting  off  the  town  of  La- 
conia, and  was  Chairman  of  its  first  Board  of 
Selectmen.  In  1861  he  was  appointed  Post- 
master of  Laconia  by  President  Lincoln,  but 
did  not  receive  his  commission.  He  was  sub- 
sequently-first Associate  Justice  of  the  Laconia 
Police  Court,  serving  until  disqualified  by  age. 
He  died  January  16,  1892,  aged  seventy-three 
years.  By  his  wife,  who  has  also  passed  away, 
he  was  the  father  of  three  children,  all  of 
whom  are  living. 

George  A.  Sanders  received  his  education  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  town  and  at  Gilford 
and  New  Ipswich  Academies.  He  was  after- 
ward employed  in  his  father's  store  for  a  year, 
and  then  engaged  as  book-keeper  with  Priest 
&  Marden,  of  Boston.  On  severing  his  con- 
nection with  this  firm  he  entered  the  employ 
of  Bassett,  P'rench  &  Co.,  the  founders  of  the 
far-famed  Boston  crockery  house  now  con- 
ducted by  Abram  French  &  Co.,  and  was 
travelling  salesman  for  the  house  some  twenty- 
one  years.  On  January  i,  1887,  he  purchased 
his    father's    stove    store    in    Laconia.      Since 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


35 


then  he  has  so  enlarged  the  business  that  three 
times  the  original  number  of  employees  are  now 
kept  busy.  Since  1892  he  has  been  a  Trustee 
of  the  Laconia  Savings  Bank.  His  natural 
business  ability,  of  which  he  had  a  consider- 
able amount,  has  been  highly  developed  by  his 
long  and  varied  commercial  experience  and  his 
association  with  successful  financiers. 

Mr.  Sanders  has  been  twice  married.  In 
1872  he  was  united  to  Miss  Addie  Currier,  of 
Cambridgeport,  Mass.,  who  died  in  1SS6,  leav- 
ing three  children.  The  latter  are:  Frank  C, 
his  father's  assistant  in  the  store;  Emma  L., 
who  graduated  from  the  Laconia  High  School 
in  June,  1S96,  and  is  now  attending  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Plymouth,  N.  H.  ;  and  S. 
Gertrude,  attending  the  Laconia  High  School. 
Mr.  Sanders  was  again  married  in  1889  to 
Ida  M.,  daughter  of  John  B.  Chase,  a  well- 
to-do  farmer  of  New  Hampton,  N.  H.  A  pop- 
ular member  of  the  Republican  party,  Mr. 
Sanders  was  in  the  State  legislature  in  1889, 
serving  on  the  Committee  on  Corporations,  and 
presiding  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Mileage.  He  was  Colonel  for  two  years  on 
Governor  Tuttle's  staff,  having  been  appointed 
in  1891;  County  Commissioner  of  Belknap 
County  for  four  years ;  and  he  has  been  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Laconia  Fire  Department 
since  March,  1SS9.  A  thirty-second  degree 
Mason,  he  belongs  to  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge, 
No.  32 ;  to  Union  Chapter,  No.  7,  of  the 
Royal  Arch  ;  and  to  Pythagorean  Council,  No. 
6,  Royal  and  Select  Masters;  is  Past  Flminent 
Commander  of  Pilgrim  Commandery,  K.  T., 
Grand  Standard  Bearer  in  the  Grand  Com- 
mandery, and  belongs  to  Edward  A.  Ray- 
mond Consistory  at  Nashua,  N.  H.  He  is  a 
member  of  Mount  Belknap  Lodge,  No.  20, 
Knights  of  Pythias;  Laconia  Division,  No.  6, 
Uniform  Rank;  is  Regent  of  Cyprus  Council, 
No.  1062,  Royal  Arcanum;  and   is  a  member 


of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  Pontau- 
hum  Tribe,  No.  iS,  of  which  he  was  first 
Sachem.  He  attends  religious  service  at  the 
Im'cc  Will  l?aptist  church. 


HARLES  A.  FAIRBANKS,  M.]:»., 
a  widely  known  and  respected  citizen 
of  Dover,  which  he  ably  serves  in 
the  capacity  of  City  Physician,  was  born  in 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  December  17,  1849.  He 
is  a  son  of  Albert  A.  and  Lydia  L.  (l^rock) 
Fairbanks.  When  he  was  two  years  old  his 
parents  moved  to  Portland,  Me.,  in  which  city 
he  spent  two  years  of  his  childhood.  Subsc- 
cpiently  he  resided  for  a  time  successively  in 
Mansfield  and  Boston,  Mass.  At  the  age  of 
si-x  he  came  to  Dover  with  his  parents,  and 
here  grew  to  manhood.  Having  received  his 
elementary  education  in  the  city  schools,  he 
entered  Dartmouth  College,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  was  graduated  in  1871.  Seeking 
employment  after  this,  he  secured  a  position  as 
draughtsman  with  the  National  Bridge  and 
Iron  Works  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  remained 
with  them  about  one  year  and  six  months. 
He  then  went  to  East  Saginaw,  Mich.,  where 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  Flint  &  Mar- 
quette Railroad  Company  as  mechanical 
draughtsman.  After  spending  nine  months  in 
their  employ  he  returned  to  Dover,  and  soon 
after  was  appointed  station  agent  at  this  place 
for  the  Portsmouth  &  Dover  Railroad  Com- 
pany, being  the  first  person  to  hold  that  posi- 
tion. After  a  service  of  one  year  as  station 
agent  he  entered  the  office  of  Dr.  John  R. 
Ham,  of  this  city,  and  began  the  study  of 
medicine.  He  remained  with  Dr.  Ham  one 
year,  and  then  entered  Harvard  Medical 
School,  from  which  he  was  graduated  wMth  the 
class  of  1S77. 

Locating    at    Fall    River,    Mass.,    he    then 


36 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


began  tlie  practice  of  his  profession.  He  had 
been  but  a  short  time  in  Fall  River  when, 
on  March  i8,  1878,  he  came  to  Dover,  of 
which  he  has  since  been  a  resident.  Later  in 
that  year  he  was  appointed  County  Physician, 
and  retained  the  jiosition  for  four  years.  In 
1882  he  became  City  Physician,  which  office 
he  has  held  since.  From  1878  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Strafford 
County  Medical  Association,  was  its  President 
in  the  year  i88g-go,  and  has  been  its  Secre- 
tary in  every  year  since  1879. 

On  October  2-i,  1884,  he  married  Miss 
Emma  Belle  Caswell,  daughter  of  Cornelius 
E.  Caswell,  of  Dover.  Dr.  Fairbanks  is  not 
only  prominent  among  his  medical  brethren  for 
his  skill,  but  he  commands  the  respect  and  es- 
teem of  all  who  know  him.  His  large  busi- 
ness capacity,  sterling  honesty,  and  devotion 
to  the  public  interest  make  him  a  useful  and 
valuable  citizen.  He  was  Moderator  of  Ward 
Three  from  1878  to  1893,  and  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Water  Commission  since  i888. 
Since  i886  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Re- 
publican State  Central  Committee.  In  1881 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  School  Com- 
mittee, of  which  he  has  served  as  Secretary 
since  1884.  The  Doctor  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  order,  belonging  to  Moses  Paul 
Lodge  of  Dover;  and  is  besides  affiliated 
with  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  Improved  Order  of 
Red   Men. 


-QHN  ROBERTS  LEAVITT,  an  enter- 
prising grocer  of  Lakeport,  was  born  in 
Gilford,  Belknap  County,  July  23, 
1836,  son  of  Taylor  and  Maria  (Roberts) 
Leavitt.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Samuel, 
a  native  of  Gilmanton,  N.  IL,  was  a  relative 
of  Dudley  Leavitt,  the  almanac  editor. 
Samuel  Leavitt  followed  the  trades  of  carpen- 
ter, joiner,  and  wheelwright.      He  removed   to 


Gilford,  where  he  owned  and  ran  a  saw-mill 
near  Lakeshore  Park  for  many  years.  He  was 
Selectman  for  ten  years,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  a  prolonged  period,  and  a  Representative 
to  the  legislature  for  several  terms.  In  re- 
ligion he  was  a  highly  respected  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Gilford 
Village.  He  married  Nancy  Chase,  of  Gil- 
manton ;  and  they  had  two  sons,  Taylor  and 
Gil  man,  both  of  whom  are  now  deceased. 
Gilman,  who  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  served 
many  years  as  foreman  in  Abbot's  carriage 
shop  in  Concord,  N.H.  Samuel  Leavitt  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years. 

Taylor  Leavitt,  the  father  of  John  R.,  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  Gilford  while  yet  a 
boy.  He  worked  in  the  saw-mill  with  his 
father,  and  also  on  the  farm,  subsequently 
becoming  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  land.  His  wife,  who  was  a  daughter 
of  John  Roberts,  of  New  Durham,  N.H., 
removed  with  her  parents  to  Gilford  when  she 
was  but  eight  years  of  age.  She  had  three 
girls  and  two  boys,  of  whom  the  sons  are 
living  —  Charles  W.  and  John  R.  Her  hus- 
band died  when  he  was  seventy-four  years  old, 
and  she  has  also  passed  away. 

John  Roberts  Leavitt  acquired  a  common- 
school  education  in  his  native  town,  and  re- 
mained on  the  home  acres  until  he  was  thirty 
years  of  age.  He  drove  a  team  for  George  W. 
Sanders  in  the  lumber  business  for  one  year, 
served  S.  A.  Piper  for  three  years  in  the  car- 
penter's trade,  and  was  employed  as  carpenter 
in  the  Laconia  Car  Works.  A  copartnership 
was  then  formed  with  Albert  D.  Plummer, 
under  the  style  of  Leavitt  &  Plummer,  in  the 
grocery  business.  Three  years  later  they  dis- 
solved partnership,  and  E.  P.  Osgood  was 
associated  with  him  under  the  firm  name  of 
Osgood  &  Leavitt  for  the  same  period  of  time. 
Then  he  and  A.   E.   Stanyon,  forming  the   firm 


^<*?^ 

'■^-t. 

«*9^ 

«k 

1 

^ 

^ 

^^^Bk'*' 

Wf 

iiik 

-/ 

BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


39 


of  Leavitt  &  Stanyon,  conducted  the  business 
for  a  further  three  years.  Since  that  time  Mr. 
Leavitt  has  been  the  sole  proprietor.  In  tlie 
fall  of  1883  he  built  his  present  establishment. 
His  business  career  here  so  far  has  lasted 
thirty-three  years. 

Mr.  Leavitt  has  been  twice  nwrried.  In 
September,  i86t,  he  was  married  to  Emeline 
M.  Carr,  of  Gilford.  She  died  September  15, 
1875,  leaving  one  daughter — Annie  Maria, 
who  died  in  1877,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years. 
In  June,  1879,  he  married  his  second  wife, 
previously  Jennie  M.  Bunker,  of  Tamworth, 
N.  H.  They  have  two  adopted  daughters, 
namely :  Blanche  lilllen,  who  was  born  No- 
vember 22,  1S91  ;  and  Flossie  Emily,  who 
is  thirteen  years  of  age.  In  politics  Mr. 
Leavitt  acted  with  the  Democratic  party  from 
the  time  he  first  voted  until  1894,  when  he 
became  a  Republican.  He  served  as  Overseer 
of  the  I'oor  for  two  years.  He  has  succes- 
sively filled  all  the  chairs  in  Chocorua  Lodge, 
No.  51,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Lodge;  and  also  belongs  to  Endicott 
Rock  Lodge,  No.  23,  K.  P.,  in  which  he  has 
refused  various  offices.  His  religious  senti- 
ments have  led  him  to  become  a  constant  at- 
tendant of  the  Free  Baptist  Church  of  Lake- 
port. 

jOLONEL  DANIEL  HALL,  attorney- 
at-law  and  a  distinguished  political 
leader,  occupying  an  honored  place 
among  the  foremost  men  of  New  Hampshire, 
is  a  citizen  of  Dover,  Strafford  County.  He 
was  born  in  Barrington,  this  State,  February 
28,  1832,  a  son  of  Gilman  and  Eliza  (Tuttle) 
Hall,  and  is  of  good  old  Colonial  stock.  On 
the  paternal  side  he  is  a  lineal  descendant  of 
John  Hall,  who  came  to  Dover  with  his 
brother  Ralph  in  1649  from  Charlestown, 
Mass.,  and  was  very  active  in  the  early  settle- 


ment of  the  city,  a  Surveyor  of  Land,  Commis- 
sioner to  try  causes,  Town  Cleik,  and  the 
Deacon  of  the  Congregational  chui'ch,  having 
been  appointed  to  the  latter  office  in  1650. 

Deacon  John  Hall  was  the  father  of  Ralph 
Hall,  also  a  farmer  in  Dover,  whose  son 
Ralph,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  the 
Colonel,  was  a  pioneer  settler  of  Barrington. 
On  the  farm  which  he  partly  cleared  in  that 
town  was  born  Solomon  Hall,  the  ne.\t  in  line 
of  descent,  whose  son  Daniel,  first,  a  lifelong 
farmer  of  Barrington,  was  Colonel  Hall's 
grandfather. 

Gilman  Hall,  son  of  Daniel,  first,  was  edu- 
cated in  Barrington  and  Dover;  and  when  a 
young  man  he  spent  some  years  in  Boston, 
being  engaged  a  part  of  the  time  as  a  clerk 
and  a  part  in  mercantile  business.  Subse- 
quently returning  to  Barrington,  he  opened  a 
store  for  the  sale  of  general  merchandise,  and 
as  a  merchant  and  farmer  there  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  dying  on  March  18,  1870, 
aged  si.xty  years.  In  politics  he  was  a  strong 
supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party;  and,  in  addition  to  ably  filling  all  the 
local  offices  of  importance,  he  was  a  Rejare- 
sentative  to  the  General  Court.  His  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Eliza  Tuttle,  as  above 
indicated,  was  born  in  Dover,  and  died  in  this 
city,  November  9,  1S88.  She  was  a  direct 
descendant  of  John  Tuttle,  who  was  a  Judge  of 
the  Superior  Court  in  Dover  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Mrs.  Eliza  T. 
Hall  was  the  mother  of  nine  children,  two  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  others  may  be 
briefly  mentioned,  as  follows:  Daniel  is  the 
subject  of  this  biography;  Lydia  is  the  wife  of 
John  H.  Parker,  of  Seabrook,  N.H.;  Clara 
married  William  H.  Neal,  of  Dover;  I\liza  is 
the  wife  of  Joseph  L.  Cater,  of  Princeton, 
Minn.;  Gilman  is  a  resident  of  Haverhill, 
Mass.  ;   Mary    Esther   is   the   wife   of   William 


40 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


II.  H.  Twombly,  of  Madbury,  N.  H.;  and 
David  died  December  lo,  1885,  aged  thirty- 
nine  years. 

The  life  of  Daniel  Hall  as  a  boy  was  devoid 
of  any  remarkable  events  and  experiences.  He 
first  attended  the  district  schools,  then  pursued 
his  studies  three  terms  at  the  Strafford  Acad- 
emy and  one  term  at  the  New  Hampshire 
Conference  Seminary  in  Northfield,  now  Til- 
ton,  and  lietvveen  times  assisted  his  father  in 
the  store  or  on  the  farm.  Having  ambitions 
far  above  the  life  to  which  he  was  seemingly 
bound,  this  persevering  lad  began  the  study  of 
Latin  and  Greek  by  himself,  spending  his 
leisure  minutes  at  his  books,  and  made  such 
judicious  use  of  his  time  that  in  1S50  he 
entered  Dartmouth  College,  where  in  1S54  he 
was  graduated  with  honors,  and  standing  at 
the  head  of  his  class  as  valedictorian.  He 
being  the  eldest  of  a  large  family  of  children, 
his  parents  were  able  to  give  him  but  scant 
help  in  paying  his  way  through  college;  and 
in  order  to  defray  his  expenses  Mr.  Hall  taught 
school  winters,  and  at  the  same  time  kept  pace 
with  his  class  in  his  studies. 

For  three  years  after  his  graduation  he  was 
clerk  in  the  New  York  custom-house,  and 
while  there  he  repaid  from  his  earnings  the 
money  previously  advanced  him  by  his  father. 
By  birth  and  breeding  Colonel  Hall  was  a 
Democrat;  but  by  listening  to  the  eloquence 
of  such  men  as  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wen- 
dell Phillips,  and  Gerrit  Smith,  he  had  imbibed 
anti-slavery  principles,  and  in  consequence  of 
publicly  expressing  his  disapproval  of  the 
Lecompton  Bill,  for  submitting  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Kansas  a  constitution  favoring  slavery, 
he  was  removed  from  his  position.  Returning 
to  Dover,  he  entered  the  ofifice  of  Daniel  M. 
Christie,  the  most  brilliant  lawyer  of  his  time, 
and  in  i860  was  admitted  to  the  New  Hamp- 
shire bar.      He  at   once  began   the   practice  of 


his  profession  in  Dover,  continuing  until  the 
autumn  of  the  ne.xt  year,  when  he  went  to 
Washington  as  Secretary  of  the  United  States 
Committee  on  Naval  Affairs. 

After  serving  a  few  months  in  this  position 
he  surrendered  this  office  to  participate  in  the 
war,  and  in  March,  1862,  was  commissioned 
Aide-de-camp  and  Captain  in  the  regular  army, 
being  assigned  to  the  staff  of  General  A.  W. 
Whipple,  then  stationed  at  Arlington  Heights, 
and  in  September,  at  the  time  of  the  Antietam 
campaign,  with  him  joining  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac.  On  December  13,  1862,  he  was  in 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and  in  the  assault 
of  Marye's  Heights.  On  May  5,  1863,  he 
stood  by  the  side  of  General  Whipple  when 
that  officer  received  the  wound  that  proved 
mortal.  Then  appointed  to  the  staff  of 
General  O.  O.  Howard,  Commander  of  the 
Eleventh  Corps,  he  was  with  him  at  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg  and  in  later  campaigns.  In 
1864  Captain  Hall  was  made  Provost  Marshal 
of  the  First  New  Hampshire  District,  in  which 
capacity  he  organized  four  thousand  men  for 
the  army  and  navy,  being  stationed  at  Ports- 
mouth until  the  close  of  the  war.  Although 
in  many  engagements,  he  was  but  once 
wounded,  receiving  a  slight  injury  at  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg. 

He  resumed  his  practice  in  Dover  after  his 
return  to  civil  life,  but  in  1867  was  appointed 
Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  following 
year  was  made  Judge  of  the  Police  Court  of 
Dover,  an  office  in  which  he  remained  seven 
years.  He  likewise  held  an  official  position 
under  Governor  Smyth,  and  later  was  on  Gov- 
ernor Harriman's  staff,  holding  the  rank  of 
Colonel.  In  1874  he  was  elected  Chairman 
of  the  Republican  State  Committee,  he  having 
long  been  a  stanch  advocate  of  the  principles 
of  that  party;  and  he  wisely  conducted  their 
campaigns   for   the   next   three  years,    in    1876 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


41 


being  Chairman  of  the  delegation  sent  by  New 
Hampshire  to  the  National  Convention  in 
Cincinnati.  From  1875  i^mtil  'S77  he  was 
Reporter  of  the  Decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  published  volumes  fifty-six  and 
fifty-seven  of  the  New  Hampshire  Reports. 
In  1S77  Colonel  Hall  recci\-ed  the  appoint- 
ment of  Naval  Ofificer  at  the  port  of  ]5oston, 
and,  being  reappointed  at  the  end  of  his  first 
term,  served  until  the  ist  of  January,   iSg6. 

Since  returning  to  Dover  at  that  time, 
Colonel  Hall  has  been  connected  with  various 
institutions  in  an  official  capacity.  He  is  a 
Trustee  of  the  Strafford  Savings  ]?ank  of 
Dover,  of  the  Dover  Public  Library,  and  of 
the  Berwick  Academy.  In  1S59  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor  as  School  Commis- 
sioner for  this  county,  and  in  1S60  he  was  re- 
ajipointed.  Colonel  Hall  is  an  active  member 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  having 
been  Judge-advocate,  Senior  Vice-Commander, 
and  Department  Commander,  and  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  Trustee  and  Secretary  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Soldiers'  Home,  for  the  establish- 
ment of  which  he  drafted  the  law.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Charles  W.  Sawyer  Post,  No. 
17.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the  Loyal 
Legion,  Massachusetts  Commandcry.  He  is 
an  attendant  of  the  Congregational  church. 
Colonel  Hall  was  married  January  25,  1877,  to 
Miss  Sophia  Dodge,  daughter  of  Jonathan  T. 
and  Sarah  Hanson  Dodge,  of  Rochester,  N.H. 
Their  only  child,  Artliur  Wellesley,  born 
August  30,  1878,  is  a  student  at  the  Berwick 
Academy. 


{WTo 


EORGE  HENRY  SMITH,  a  success- 
\  fS  I  ful  dry-goods  merchant  of  Lakeport, 
where  he  has  been  in  business  for  a 
number  of  years,  is  a  native  of  Moultonboro, 
Carroll  County,  N.  H.,  born  June  18,  1847, 
son    of    Rufus    and    Nancy    (Lovejoy)    Smith. 


Rufus  Smith,  who  followed  the  trade  of  a 
machinist  for  thirty  ycar.s,  in  early  life  worked 
at  farming.  After  1S65  he  was  also  engaged 
in  lumbering  and  boating  for  a  time.  Tiien 
he  settled  in  Laconia  (now  Gilford),  where 
since  about  1889  he  has  lived  in  retirement, 
being  now  seventy-eight  years  of  age.  {Politi- 
cally, he  is  a  Republican.  Fraternally,  he  is 
a  prominent  member  of  Chocorua  Lodge,  No. 
51,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of  Lakeport.  He  has  served 
as  a  delegate  to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  different 
times;  and  when  a  member  of  Laconia  En- 
campment, No.  g,  he  held  all  the  different 
offices.  His  wife,  Nancy,  was  a  daughter  of 
Caleb  Lovejoy,  of  Meredith,  N.H.  Her  ear- 
liest ancestors  in  this  country  came  from  Eng- 
land, and  settled  in  Pembroke,  N.H.,  which 
has  been  the  home  of  the  Lovejoys  for  four  or 
five  generations.  She  died  in  1888.  Rufus 
and  Nancy  Smith  were  the  parents  of  a  son 
and  daughter:  George  H. ;  and  Lucy  J.,  who 
lives  at  home. 

George  H.  Smith  received  his  education  in 
the  common  school  of  Moultonboro,  a  select 
school,  and  at  Wolfboro  Academy.  He  then 
went  to  work  in  the  machine  shop  of  the  Cole 
Manufacturing  Company,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained some  ten  years.  During  three  of 
these  years  he  was  travelling  for  the  fiim, 
doing  general  repairs,  and  putting  up  new 
work.  On  leaving  their  employment,  in  April, 
1874,  he  and  Horace  Bugbee  opened  his 
present  dry-goods  store  in  Lakeport,  the  style 
of  the  firm  being  Bugbee  &  Smith.  They  had 
conducted  the  store  together  for  two  and  a  half 
years  when  Mr.  Smith  bought  out  his  partner, 
and  has  since  carried  on  the  business  alone. 
He  is  also  interested  in  the  Lakeport  Savings 
Bank,  of  which  he  is  a  stockholder. 

Mr.  Smith  lias  been  twice  marrietj.  His 
first  union  was  with  Miss  Eliza  E.  Gardner, 
of    ]?oston.      Harry    Lincoln,    his   son    by   this 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


marriage,  and  who  assists  in  the  store,  was 
graduated  from  tlie  I.aconia  High  School  in 
1896,  and  after  a  year  of  rest  from  study  will 
enter  college.  Mr.  Smith's  present  wife  was 
before  marriage  Miss  Carrie  Alice  Bryant,  of 
Tamworth,  N.H.  In  political  affiliation  Mr. 
Smith,  like  his  father,  is  a  Republican. 
While  not  an  office-seeker,  he  has  served  as 
Town  Clerk,  and  has  been  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  several  years.  Since  he  was  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  has  been  a  member  of 
Chocorua  Lodge,  No.  5t,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  the  dif- 
ferent chairs  of  which  he  has  filled. 


fsTlOHN  N.  HAINES,  a  well-known  man- 
ufacturer of  Strafford  County,  who  owns 
and  operates  a  cotton  and  waste  mill  in 
Somersworth,  was  born  here,  June  15,  1848, 
son  of  John  S.  and  Theodate  (Nowell)  Haines. 
The  father,  who  was  born  in  Greenland,  N.H., 
came  to  Somersworth  with  his  parents  when 
about  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  first  worked 
for  the  Great  Falls  Manufacturing  Company, 
continuing  with  them  until  1861.  Then  he 
established  the  business  that  his  son  now 
owns,  and  carried  it  on  until  his  death,  at  the 
age  of  si.xty-five.  He  was  appointed  Postmas- 
ter of  Great  Falls  (now  Somersworth)  by  Pres- 
ident Lincoln,  and  afterward  held  the  office 
for  about  eleven  years.  He  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  General  Court,  was  County  Treas- 
urer, and  at  various  times  filled  several  of  the 
minor  town  offices.  Though  a  poor  boy  when 
he  started  upon  his  business  career,  he 
achieved  fair  pecuniary  success,  and  was 
highly  esteemed  as  a  citizen.  His  widow, 
Theodate  (Nowell)  Haines,  who  was  born  in 
Sanford,  Me.,  about  seventy-four  years  ago, 
resides  on  the  old  homestead  in  Somersworth, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  with  which  her  husband  was  identified. 


.Si.x  children  were  born  to  them,  namely: 
John  N.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Leonora, 
now  the  wife  of  J.  W.  Bates,  a  merchant  in 
Somersworth ;  Theodate,  who  married  Charles 
H.  Gridley,  and  lives  in  Elmira,  N.Y. ; 
Charles  S.,  who  died  when  two  years  old; 
Fred  Sumner,  who  is  engaged  in  business  in 
Rochester,  Minn.  ;  and  Mary  C,  now  the  wife 
of  the  Rev.  Sherod  Soule,  of  Naugatuck, 
Conn. 

John  N.  Haines,  the  eldest  child,  attended 
the  common  schools  and  Great  Falls  High 
School,  graduating  from  the  latter  in  1S66, 
and  then  studied  at  Dummer  Academy,  By- 
field,  Mass.,  for  two  years.  Upon  leaving 
school  he  went  to  sea,  having  received  an  ap- 
pointment as  officer  in  the  United  States 
Navy  on  the  "Plymouth,"  and  was  gone  four 
years.  During  this  time  he  visited  many 
places  of  interest,  including  the  North  and 
Baltic  Seas,  the  South  American  and  African 
coasts  and  the  West  Indies.  On  returning 
home  he  resigned  his  position,  and  became  a 
clerk  in  a  fancy-goods  store  in  Boston.  Three 
or  four  years  later  he  returned  to  Somersworth, 
and  was  here  engaged  in  the  coal  and  wood 
business  until  his  father's  death  in  1S85. 
He  then  took  charge  of  the  mill  business, 
which  he  still  carries  on  successfully. 

On  January  15,  1881,  Mr.  Haines  married 
Miss  Matilda  S.  Page,  of  this  place.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  politics,  and  for  some  years  has 
been  an  active  worker  for  his  party.  He  is 
now  serving  his  second  term  as  County  Com- 
missioner. He  was  Selectman  in  1885  and 
1886.  His  relations  with  fraternal  organiza- 
tions include  membership  in  Libanus  Lodge, 
No.  49,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Prospect  Lodge,  No. 
13,  K.  of  P.,  both  of  Somersworth;  and  in 
Dover  Lodge  of  Elks.  He  was  State  Grand 
Chancellor  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in 
1885. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


43 


RTHUR  S.  LADD,  who  ranks  among 
the  foremost  agriculturists  of  Bel- 
mont, was  born  in  this  town,  Janu- 
ary 17,  1838,  son  of  Langdon  and  Sylvania 
(Colby)  Ladd. 

The  remote  ancestors  of  the  Ladd  family  are 
said  to  have  gone  to  England  with  William 
the  Conqueror  from  Normandy.  Daniel  Ladd, 
a  native  of  England,  the  first  of  the  name  in 
America,  settled  at  an  early  date  in  Ipswich, 
Mass.,  receiving  a  grant  of  land  in  1637,  and 
later  moved  to  Haverhill,  where  his  son 
Nathaniel  was  born.  Nathaniel  Ladd  settled 
in  Exeter,  N.  H.,  when  a  young  man;  and 
his  son,  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  was  long  a  resident 
of  that  town.  A  brick  house  that  he  erected 
is  still  standing,  and  is  owned  by  Dr.  John 
Perry. 

Edward  Ladd,  son  of  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  settled 
in  Belmont,  and  cleared  a  farm  from  the  wil- 
derness. He  married  Catherine  Thing,  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Thing;  and  their  son,  Colonel 
Samuel  Ladd,  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Colonel  Samuel  Ladd 
built  and  owned  the  first  saw-mill  in  what  is 
now  Laconia.  In  1768  he  married  Abigail 
Flanders,  who  died  in  1803.  Edward  Ladd, 
second,  son  of  Colonel  Samuel,  and  grand- 
father of  Arthur  S. ,  settled  upon  what  has 
since  been  known  as  Ladd  Hill  in  the  town  of 
Belmont.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  was 
built  by  his  father,  and  is  now  occupied  by  his 
grandson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Grand- 
father Ladd  died  in  early  manhood,  from  the 
effects  of  a  fall  from  his  horse.  He  married 
Hannah  Hoyt,  of  Sanbornton,  N.  H. 

Their  son,  Langdon  Ladd,  Arthur  S.  Iladd's 
father,  was  born  in  Belmont  in  181  i.  He  was 
nine  years  old  when  his  father  died,  and  when 
old  enough  he  took  charge  of  the  home  farm. 
He  was  an  active  and  industrious  farmer,  and 
resided  at  the  old   homestead   until   his  death, 


which  occurred  in  1887.  I'oliticall)-,  he  was 
a  Democrat;  and  in  1874  he  was  a  member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  House  of  Representa- 
tives. His  wife,  Sylvania  Colby,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Barnard  Colby,  of  Sanbornton,  be- 
came the  mother  of  nine  children,  four  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  others  were: 
Arthur  S.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Martha 
A.  ;  Grace  C.  ;  Allen  Y.;  and  Emma  J.  All 
acquired  a  good  education.  Martha  A.,  who 
taught  school  for  some  time,  married  for  her 
first  husband  Charles  Gale,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  for  her  second  husband,  Martin  W.  Strat- 
ton.  She  removed  to  Reading,  Kan.,  where 
she  died  in  1895.  Grace  C.  Ladd  married 
Joseph  Pitman,  of  Laconia,  N.H.;  Allen  Y. 
married  Kate  Bennett,  of  Gilford;  and  Emma 
J.  died  April  3,   1870. 

Arthur  S.  Ladd  acciuired  his  elementary  ed- 
ucation in  the  district  school,  and  later  began 
an  academic  course,  but  was  obliged  to  relin- 
quish his  studies  on  account  of  his  father's 
failing  health.  He  manages  the  farm  with 
good  judgment,  and  aside  from  general  hus- 
bandry has  been  quite  extensively  engaged  in 
stock-raising.  He  succeeded  to  the  ownership 
of  the  property  at  his  father's  death,  and  he 
also  possesses  other  real  estate  in  this 
vicinity. 

In  February,  1S67,  Mr.  Ladd  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Ellen  M.  Porter.  She  is  a 
daughter  of  Irad  and  Letta  (Knapp)  Porter, 
both  of  whom  were  born  in  Lyman,  N.  H. 
Mr.  Porter  died  at  the  Ladd  homestead,  aged 
eighty-four  years.  His  family  was  of  Scotch 
descent.  Mrs.  Porter  was  a  daughter  of  Elijah 
Knapp,  who  settled  with  his  family  on  a  tract 
of  wild  land  in  Lyman,  N.IL,  and  lived  in  a 
log  house  until  a  frame  dwelling  could  be 
erected.  Mrs.  Ladd  attended  the  academy  in 
Haverhill,  N.H.,  in  her  girlhood,  and  subse- 
quently taught  seven    terms  of   school    in    that 


41 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


vicinity.  At  the  time  of  her  marriage  she 
was  residing  in  Laconia,  N.H. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ladd  have  three  daughters: 
namely,  Edith  S.,  Florence  E. ,  and  Candace 
r.,  all  of  whom  have  attended  the  Laconia 
High  School.  Edith  S.  Ladd  was  graduated 
in  1885,  and  was  salutatorian  of  her  class. 
She  taught  school  for  two  years  in  Belmont, 
and  is  now  the  wife  of  J.  Edward  Phelps,  of 
Laconia.  Candace  P.  Ladd  was  graduated  in 
1893,  and  was  the  valedictorian  of  her  class. 
She  is  now  teaching  in  Sanbornton. 

Mr.  Ladd  never  took  any  active  interest  in 
politics  until  1896,  when  he  was  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  Representative  to  the  leg- 
islature, and,  although  the  town  is  strongly 
Republican,  made  a  good  showing  for  his 
party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  in  Laconia,  and  has  been  a  Deacon  for 
the  past  ten  years. 


(^^AMES  WALKER,  a  well-known  mer- 
chant of  East  Rochester,  where  he  is  a 
prosperous  dealer  in  groceries  and 
crockery,  was  born  in  Fryeburg,  Me.,  August 
14,  1827,  son  of  Samuel  Walker.  His  grand- 
father, Samuel  Walker  (first),  who  went  from 
Concord,  N.H.,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Fryeburg.  The  father,  who  was  born  in  1788, 
under  the  same  roof  as  James,  spent  his  life  in 
his  native  town  chiefly  engaged  in  farming, 
the  occupation  to  which  he  was  reared,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  successful  farmers  of  his 
day.  His  homestead  of  seventy-five  acres  of 
land  was  beautifully  located  on  the  banks  of 
the  Saco  River,  which  furnishes  the  water- 
power  for  so  many  of  the  busy  factories  and 
mills  of  that  portion  of  the  State.  He  was  a 
conscientious,  upright  man,  respected  by  all, 
and  at  his  death,  in  i860,  left  the  record  of  a 
long  life  well   spent.     In   early   manhood    he 


was  identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  but 
later  he  became  a  Republican.  He  served  for 
a  number  of  years  as  Selectman  of  F'ryeburg, 
besides  which  he  held  at  different  times  all 
the  minor  offices  of  the  town.  His  wife,  in 
maidenhood  Nancy  Stevens,  who  was  likewise 
a  native  of  P^ryeburg,  reared  six  children,  of 
whom  James,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the 
only  survivor. 

James  Walker  grew  to  manhood  on  the  old 
homestead,  obtaining  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict school.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  on  the  Grand  Trunk  Rail- 
way, and  for  the  following  twelve  years  was 
employed  in  the  construction  department. 
Then  he  worked  for  three  years  on  the  home 
farm,  after  which  he  resumed  his  connection 
with  the  Grand  Trunk.  In  1863  Mr.  Walker 
went  to  Middle  Tennessee,  where  he  was  in 
the  employment  of  the  government  repairing 
railroad  bridges.  Two  years  later  he  returned 
to  Fryeburg;  and  in  1866  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  J.  A.  Farrington,  with  whom  he 
established  himself  in  the  grocery  and  dry- 
goods  business  at  Somersworth,  N.H.  In 
1869  the  business  was  removed  to  East 
Rochester,  and  in  the  following  year  the 
partnership  was  dissolved.  Since  then, 
Mr.  Walker,  with  the  exception  of  eighteen 
months'  association  with  T.  J.  Manning,  has 
carried  the  business  on  in  his  own  name. 

Mr.  Walker  was  married  in  September, 
1866,  to  Miss  Marion  E.  P'arrington,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  Farrington,  of  Conway,  N.H. 
His  children  are:  Fred  A.,  who  is  employed 
on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  lioslon  Jo //ma/, 
and  resides  in  Boston;  and  Jessie  M.,  a 
teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Rochester. 
Mr.  Walker  is  a  liberal  giver  toward  the  sup- 
port of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which 
he  and  his  family  attend.  In  politics  he  gives 
earnest  support  to  the  Republican  party,  both 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


AS 


in  local  and  national  affairs.  lie  is  a  member 
of  Humane  Lodge,  No.  21,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Rochester;  and  of  Cocheco  Lodge,  No.  39, 
I.  O.  of  O.  F. ,  of  East  Rochester,  in  which 
he  has  for  several  years  been  Treasurer. 


rrs  |RS.  MARY  A.  LOUGEE,  of  Gil- 
manton,  N.H.,  was  born  in  this 
town,  December  21,  1829.  Her 
parents  were  Samuel  S.  and  Mary  (Dimond) 
Young.  Her  grandfather,  Joseph  Young,  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  country ;  and  a 
somewhat  detailed  account  of  his  life  will  be 
found  in  the  sketch  of  Jonathan  Young. 

Samuel  S.  Young  was  a  native  of  Gilman- 
ton.  After  his  marriage  he  settled  on  a 
farm  one  and  one-half  miles  from  his  birth- 
place. His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Isaac 
Dimond,  of  Loudon,  N.H.  They  began  life 
with  a  farm,  two  dollars  in  cash,  a  yoke  of 
o.xen,  and  a  colt,  their  modest  possessions, 
however,  not  being  free  from  encumbrance. 
Mr.  Young  was  by  trade  a  carpenter;  and  he 
worked  for  some  time  in  Lowell,  thus  earning 
money  to  pay  off  their  debt.  Returning  to 
Gilmanton,  he  engaged  in  general  farming 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  and  succeeded 
in  accumulating  some  property.  He  was  a 
man  of  regular  habits,  careful  judgment,  and 
exemplary  Christian  character.  Both  he  and 
his  wife  were  devoted  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist church.  They  were  of  even  disposition, 
kind-hearted,  and  believed  in  educating  their 
children.  They  had  a  family  of  five,  one  son 
and  four  daughters;  namely,  Isaac,  Judith, 
Sarah,  Mary,  and  Abby.  Isaac  Young  mar- 
ried Martha  Dorr  for  his  first  wife,  and  for  his 
second  he  married  Judith  Eastman.  He  has 
since  died  in  Gilmanton.  Judith  Young  died 
at  the  age  of  eight  years.  Sarah  married 
H.  A.  Davis,  of  Laconia,  and  died  March   20, 


1896.      Abby  marrietl  George  Davis,  of  Farm- 
ington,  N.H.,  and  died  in  1S62. 

Mary,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  in  her  girl- 
hood attended  the  Laconia  Academy,  and  fitted 
herself  for  the  work  of  teaching,  in  which  she 
was  engaged  for  twenty-one  years.  On  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1 86 1,  she  married  Charles  II. 
Lougee,  son  of  Dudley  Lougee,  of  Gilmanton. 
The  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  Lougees  of 
Gilmanton  was  John  Lougee,  a  native  of  the 
Isle  of  Jersey,  who  is  said  to  have  come  to 
America  in  the  time  of  Queen  Anne's  War. 
He  was  taken  captive  by  the  Indians,  but 
escaped.  Nehemiah  Lougee,  son  of  John, 
Jr.,  and  Molly  (Leavitt)  Lougee,  and  grandson 
of  the  first  John,  married  Mary  Marsh,  and  was 
the  father  of  Dudley  Lougee,  above  named. 
Charles  Lougee  enlisted  in  the  Twelfth  New 
Hampshire  Regiment,  Comjjany  B,  and  died 
in  1S63  in  Washington,  D.C.,  from  a  disease 
contracted  when  in  the  army.  He  is  survived 
by  his  wife  and  one  child,  Abby  L. ,  who  is  at 
present  living  on  the  homestead  with  her 
mother.  Mrs.  Lougee  and  her  daughter  are 
both  members  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
church. 


sf|-OHN  BICKFORD,  a  veteran  agricultu- 
rist of  Strafford  County,  whose  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  is 
located  on  the  "ten-rod  road,"  in  the  part  of 
Rochester  bordering  on  the  Farmington  line, 
was  born  on  his  present  homestead,  December 
22,  1 8 14.  His  father,  John  Bickford,  Sr. , 
was  born  in  Rochester,  a  son  of  Jethro  Bick- 
ford, who  was  one  of  the  petitioners  for  Roch- 
ester's charter  in  1722.  The  father  was  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  during  his  active 
years,  and  died  on  the  family  homestead  at  a 
comparatively  early  age  in  1S27.  He  was  an 
honest,  hard-working  man,  tlevoted  to  the  care 
of  his  family,  and  giving  but  little  attention  to 


46 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


politics,  though  he  invariably  cast  his  vote  for 
the  Democratic  candidates.  Me  married  Lucy 
Ikovvn,  of  Great  Falls;  and  of  their  nine  chil- 
dren, John,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the 
only  survivor. 

John  IJickford,  like  the  majority  of  the 
farmers'  sons  of  that  time,  attended  the  dis- 
trict schools  when  not  needed  at  home.  Left 
fatherless  while  yet  in  his  teens,  he  was 
then  compelled  to  assume  responsibilities  be- 
yond his  years.  Before  attaining  his  majority 
he  took  charge  of  the  home  farm,  and  was  for 
many  years  e.Ntensively  engaged  in  farming, 
linnbering,  and  dairying.  Possessing  much 
enterprise  and  untiring  energy,  he  also  em- 
barked in  other  industries.  He  owned  and 
successfully  operated  a  saw-mill  for  some 
years,  also  a  sash  and  blind  factory  at  Gonic. 
He  has  not  swerved  from  the  political  faith  in 
which  he  was  reared,  the  Democratic  party 
finding  in  him  one  of  its  firmest  supporters. 
He  was  Selectman  of  Rochester  for  one  year, 
and  likewise  served  it  as  Road  Surveyor.  He 
belongs  to  Rochester  Grange ;  but  of  late  years, 
owing  to  his  impaired  hearing,  he  has  taken 
no  active  part  in  its  meetings. 

Mr.  Bickford  was  married  to  Miss  liannah 
Demerritt,  of  Farmington,  a  daughter  of  Mark 
Demerritt.  They  have  five  sons,  namely: 
Charles  \V.,  the  Postmaster  of  Rochester; 
Daniel  C,  of  p-armington  ;  John  PL,  of  Roch- 
ester;  Ileibert  P.,  at  home;  and  Edward  R., 
who  carries  on  the  farm  with   his  atred   father. 


^TIS  BEAM  AN,  who  spent  nearly  half 
a  century  in  mercantile  business  in 
Laconia,  where  he  died  October  lo, 
'^79,  aged  seventy-si.x  years  and  seven  months, 
was  born  in  Grafton,  Vt.,  March  6,  1803,  a 
son  of  Peter  and  Mary  (Stone)  Beaman.  Plis 
parents  had  nine  children,  four  sons  and   five 


daughters,     he     being     the     last    in     order    of 
birth. 

He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Grafton, 
Vt.,  for  a  short  time  during  his  boyhood,  but 
was  for  the  most  part  self-educated.  On  leav- 
ing home  he  went  to  Boston,  where  he  worked 
in  the  E.xchange  Coffee  House  five  years  as  a 
porter.  Returning  to  New  Hampshire,  he 
located  in  Hillsborough,  and,  in  company 
with  his  brother  Alexander,  embarked  in  the 
mercantile  business  under  the  firm  name  of 
Beaman  Brothers.  About  two  years  later,  in 
1832,  he  came  to  Laconia,  and  was  here  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  the  same  line  of  business 
until  his  death.  A  portion  of.  this  time,  in 
company  with  his  brother  and  a  Mr.  Eastman, 
he  was  interested  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
goods,  being  located  for  a  time  in  the  brick 
mill  opposite  Busiel's  Mill. 

On  May  21,  1833,  the  year  after  he  came  to 
Laconia,  Mr.  Beaman  married  Emma  J.  Rob- 
bins,  daughter  of  Zachariah  Robbins.  Her 
father  was  a  Revolutionary  patriot,  who  took 
part  in  many  of  the  principal  battles  during 
the  struggle  for  independence.  He  was  first 
a  member  of  Colonel  Prescott's  regiment,  and 
later  served  on  the  "Wentworth,"  a  privateer. 
When  he  left  the  army,  after  the  engagement 
at  Newburg,  N.Y. ,  he  had  risen  to  the  rank  of 
Ensign.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
resided  in  Hillsborough,  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood as  the  father  of  e.\-Governor  Pierce. 
He  lived  to  be  seventy-six  years  old.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Beaman  had  three  children,  all  of 
whom  were  born  in  Meredith  Bridge,  now 
Laconia,  namely:  George  Otis,  who  died 
June  16,  1895,  aged  si.xty  years;  Emma  J., 
wife  of  Frank  J.  Osgood,  residing  in  Laconia; 
and  Edward  ¥.,  who  was  associated  in  busi- 
ness with  his  father  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Beaman  was  in 
his  early  years  a  Whig  and  later  a  Republican. 


**^' 


EDWARD    EVANS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


49 


For  some  years  he  was  a  Director  in  the  Mere- 
dith Savings  Bank.  He  was  a  member  of 
Winnipiseogee  Lodge,  No.  7,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of 
Laconia,  joining  six  months  after  its  organiza- 
tion, and  also  of  the  Congregational  church,  in 
which  he  held  the  office  of  Deacon. 


fp\RS.  SARAff  DAVISON,  a  lady 
of  refinement,  benevolent  and  [uib- 
lic-spirited,  and  worthy  of  the 
good  fortune  that  has  come  to  her  in  life,  is 
one  of  the  most  respected  residents  of  San- 
bornton.  Born  here  April  9,  1836,  daughter 
of  Edward  and  Phcebe  (Morrison)  Evans,  she 
was  married  November  16,  1S70,  to  Beniah 
Bryant  Davison.  After  her  marriage  she  con- 
tinued to  live  with  her  parents;  and  her  home 
is  still  the  family  residence,  one  of  the  finest 
in  Sanbornton.  Mr.  Davison,  a  son  of  Josiah 
Davison,  of  Rye,  N.H.,  was  born  in  Holder- 
ness,  N.H.,  July  13,  1835,  and  was  educated 
in  the  schools  of  that  town.  When  quite 
young  he  went  to  Boston,  where  he  was  after- 
ward employed  for  many  years.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Lodge,  No.  I  ;  and  Massasoit  En- 
campment, No.   I,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Boston. 

By  both  parents  Mrs.  Davison  comes  of  hon- 
orable ancestry.  On  her  mother's  side  she 
traces  her  genealogy  to  David  Morrison,  who 
is  said  to  have  been  a  settler  in  one  of  the 
early  British  colonies  south  of  Massachusetts. 
He  was  previously  one  of  the  Scotch  settlers 
of  the  north  of  Ireland,  who  were  driven  under 
the  walls  of  Londonderry  prior  to  the  siege  of 
that  town  in  1688  and  1689.  The  Morrisons 
of  Sanbornton,  as  well  as  those  of  London- 
derry and  Peterboro,  N.  H.,  are  probably  de- 
scendants of  David  Morrison.  David's  son 
John,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Mrs.  Da- 
vison,   lived    in    Haverhill,    Mass.,    and    died 


there  in  1765  or  1766.  The  ne.vt  in  line  was 
another  David,  also  born  in  Haverhill,  who 
came  to  Belknap  County  about  the  year  1784. 
and  located  on  Salmon  ]5rook.  His  first  wife, 
in  maidenhood  Keziah  Whittle,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Whittle,  who  came  from  tiie  Isle  of 
Wight,  was  a  noted  singer.  David  Morrison, 
Jr.,  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Davison,  born  in 
1765,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  David  Dus- 
tin,  a  descendant  of  the  heroine,  Mrs.  Hannah 
Dustin. 

Mrs.  Davison's  father,  Edward  Evans,  who 
was  born  in  Salisbury  in  1795,  received  a  good 
education.  P'rom  his  fifteenth  year  until  he 
was  thirty-two  he  was  engaged  in  teaching 
school  at  Andover,  Sanbornton,  and  Danbury. 
In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  his  principal  oc- 
cupation was  farming.  After  first  settling  in 
Danbury  he  came  to  Sanbornton,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1872. 
He  purchased  the  farm  of  si.xty-five  acres 
now  owned  by  Mrs.  Davison.  As  a  farmer 
he  was  eminently  successful.  He  possessed 
much  executive  ability,  and  would  have  made 
his  mark  in  any  line  of  business.  While  in 
the  town  of  Danbury  he  served  in  a  number 
of  public  capacities,  and  in  Sanbornton  he 
acceptably  discharged  the  duties  of  Selectman, 
He  attended  and  supported  the  I'irst  Baptist 
Church  of  Sanbornton.  Prominent  in  busi- 
ness and  social  life,  he  was  also  held  in  high 
esteem  by  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

Mrs.  Davison's  paternal  grandfather  was 
Edward  Evans,  Adjutant  of  the  Second  Regi- 
ment of  the  New  Hampshire  contingent  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.  It  is  sup[50sed  that  Ad- 
jutant Evans,  who  was  of  English  or  Welsh 
descent,  was  born  in  Sligo,  Ireland,  in  1736. 
The  following  account  of  him  is  taken  from  a 
local  paper:  "He  was  of  fine  personal  appear- 
ance, of  medium  height,  rather  spare  built, 
had  an  excellent  education,  and  was  an  accom- 


5° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


plished  linguist.  He  came  to  America  about 
the  year  1760,  settled  in  Chester,  tliis  State, 
where  he  was  a  school  teacher,  and  known  as 
Master  Evans.  In  1769  he  married  Sarah 
Flagg,  daughter  of  the  distinguished  parson  of 
Chester,  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Flagg.  Twelve 
children  were  the  result  of  this  marriage. 
Mrs.  Evans  is  remembei-ed  as  being  a  woman 
of  marked  sweetness  of  character,  of  an  ami- 
able disposition,  and  well  favored  with  natural 
endowments.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rev- 
olution Mr.  Evans  lived  in  Salisbury,  and  was 
the  schoolmaster  of  that  town.  Espousing  the 
cause  of  freedom  for  his  adopted  country,  Mr. 
Evans  enlisted  May  23,  1775,  as  a  private  in 
the  First  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  in  Cap- 
tain Joshua  Abbot's  company,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  John  Stark.  Stark's  regi- 
ment soon  went  into  camp  at  Medford,  Mass.  ; 
and,  on  the  17th  of  June  following,  orders 
came  to  re-enforce  Colonel  Prcscott  at  Bunker 
Hill,  and  '  to  oppose  the  enemy,  who  were 
landing  on  Charlestown  Point.'  In  the  battle 
that  followed,  the  position  of  Colonel  Stark's 
men  was  left  of  the  redoubt,  behind  a  rail 
fence.  This  line,  protecting  the  flank  of 
Colonel  Prescott's  troops,  was  the  key  to  the 
position;  and  two  desperate  attacks  at  this 
point,  by  the  very  flower  of  the  regular  British 
army,  led  by  General  Howe  in  person,  were 
repulsed.  The  New  Hampshire  men  fought 
with  the  utmost  bravery.  Covering  the  retreat 
of  Colonel  Prescott,  after  their  small  stock  of 
ammunition  was  exhausted,  they  retired  from 
the  field  still  unconc[uered.  Subsequently 
Mr.  P^vans  was  a  private  in  the  regiments  of 
Colonel  Timothy  Bedel,  Colonel  Thomas 
Stickney,  Colonel  Joseph  Cilley,  and  Colonel 
David  Hobart.  He  took  part  in  the  expedi- 
tion to  Canada,  was  at  Ticonderoga,  and  in 
the  battles  of  Bennington,  Princeton,  Trenton, 
and  Saratoga. 


"On  the  1 8th  of  July,  1777,  Mr.  Evans  was 
commissioned  Atljutant  in  the  Second  New 
Hampshire  Regiment  of  militia.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  staff-roll,  July,  1777:  Thomas 
Stickney,  Colonel;  Nathaniel  Emerson,  Eieu- 
tenant  Colonel ;  Bradbury  Richardson,  Major; 
James  Head,  Second  Major;  Edward  Evans, 
Adjutant;  William  Clements,  Quartermaster; 
Josiah  Chase,  Surgeon;  Daniel  Peterson,  Sur- 
geon's Mate.  At  the  battle  of  ]?ennington, 
fought  August  16,  1777,  Mr.  Evans  was  on 
the  staff  of  Colonel  Thomas  Stickney  in  Gen- 
eral Stark's  brigade.  Stark  so  divided  his 
force  as  to  attack  the  enemy  in  front,  on  both 
flanks,  and  in  the  rear  at  the  same  time.  Ad- 
jutant P3vans  led  one  of  the  detachments,  en- 
gaging the  Hessians  on  their  right  wing. 
The  entrenchments  of  the  enemy  were  taken. 
Colonel  Baum  was  killed,  and  most  of  his 
force  were  made  prisoners.  General  Stark 
said  of  this  battle,  'It  lasted  two  hours,  and 
was  the  hottest  I  ever  saw. ' 

"Mr.  Evans  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  and  was  then  honorably  discharged. 
While  in  service  he  received  a  wound  in  the 
ankle,  which  did  not  heal  for  several  years. 
After  the  war  ended  he  returned  to  Salisbury, 
bought  with  his  Continental  scrip  the  Buzzell 
farm,  and  built  a  house  there.  Mr.  Evans 
spared  no  pains  to  educate  his  own  children. 
They  took  their  books  into  the  fields,  where 
after  working  for  a  time  they  withdrew  to  the 
shade  of  a  tree,  where  he  taught  them  to  write, 
using  birch  bark  instead  of  paper,  and  doing 
their  'sums '  on  the  same  material.  When 
'Master'  Evans  became  unsuited  for  teaching 
by  reason  of  age,  he  moved  to  Franklin  on  the 
river  road,  near  his  eldest  son  Josiah.  Here 
he  died  May  26,  18 18,  aged  eighty-two  years. 
A  descendant  of  Lieutenant  Edward  Evans 
has  recently  placed  a  bronze  marker  over  his 
grave   in    the    Simonds     Cemetery,     Franklin. 


RANSOM     F-    EVANS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S3 


Tins  marker  is  the  emblem  used  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts Society,  Sons  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, to  designate  the  last  resting-place  of 
our  Revolutionary  patriots.  At  the  top  of  a 
rod  is  the  cross  of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis, 
about  one  foot  in  diameter,  back  of  which  is  a 
laurel  wreath,  all  of  bronze  metal.  Each  arm 
of  the  cross  contains  a  letter  of  the  inscrip- 
tion, 'S.  A.  R. '  (Soldier  of  the  American 
Revolution),  the  lower  arm  having  the  date 
'1775.'  The  centre  is  a  medallion  in  which, 
in  relief,  is  the  figure  of  a  minute-man  stand- 
ing by  the  side  of  a  plough,  surrounded  by 
thirteen  stars." 

The  other  children  of  Mrs.  Davison's 
parents  were:  Ransom  F.,  Edward  D.,  Lucy 
Ann,  Susan,  George  S. ,  and  Ellen  ¥.  Ran- 
som F.,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in  1S24. 
When  about  twenty  years  of  age,  he  went  to 
Boston,  and  was  in  the  employ  of  his  uncle  on 
a  farm  for  about  a  year.  He  then  went  to 
work  in  Faneuil  Hall  Market  for  the  firm  of 
Sands  &  Craft.  After  some  years  the  firm 
changed  to  Sands,  Furber  &  Co.,  and  young 
Mr.  Evans  became  one  of  the  partners,  retain- 
ing that  relation  until  his  death  in  1896.  He 
was  widely  known  and  esteemed  among  prod- 
uce dealers,  being  intimately  identified  with 
the  market  for  more  than  fifty  years.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  he  was  a  member  of  the  Bos- 
ton Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the  Boston 
Fruit  and  Produce  Exchange.  In  the  Handel 
and  Haydn  Society  he  was  one  of  the  oldest 
members.  He  was  a  self-made  man,  having: 
begun  life  a  poor  boy,  and  having  accjuired  a 
large  property  entirely  through  his  own  efforts. 
Always  entertaining  a  strong  affection  for  his 
New  Hampshire  home,  he  did  much  to  improve 
the  old  homestead.  Edward  D.  Evans  is  now 
deceased.  Lucy  Ann  married  Jacob  Fottler, 
of  Boston.  At  one  time  the  book-keeper  for 
Sands,    Furber   &  Co.,    when    the   two    senior 


partners  died,  Mr.  l'\)ttler  was  taken  into  the 
firm  by  his  brother-in-law;  and  since  Mr. 
Evans's  death  he,  with  two  other  partners,  has 
continued  the  business.  Susan  and  George  S. 
Evans  are  also  deceased.  Ellen  F.,  the  young- 
est child,  who  was  born  in  1845,  attended  the 
New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  at  Til- 
ton.  Afterward,  at  the  age  of  si.xteen,  having 
previously  shown  a  remarkable  talent  for 
music,  she  went  to  Boston  to  study  with  a 
celebrated  teacher;  but  after  a  time  ill  health 
obliged  her  to  relinquish  her  hopes  in  this 
direction.  Later  in  life  she  became  inter- 
ested in  painting,  and  in  that  art  also  showed 
a  natural  genius.  Her  pictures  in  oil  and 
water  colors  are  characterized  by  a  refined 
artistic  taste.  A  portrait  of  Mrs.  Davison's 
father,  Edward  Evans,  and  one  of  her  brother, 
Ransom  F.  Evans,  accompany  this  sketch. 


/§> 


FORGE  F.  SANBORN,  of  Meredith, 
yPj]  President  of  the  Paris  Night  Robe 
Company,  and  an  ex-niember  of  the 
New  Hampshire  legislature,  was  born  in  this 
town,  August  17,  1857,  son  of  Dr.  George 
and  Sophronia  (Stockbridge)  Sanborn.  His 
grandfather.  Squire  Samuel  G.  Sanborn,  a 
prosperous  farmer  and  a  lifelong  resident  of 
Gilford,  N.  H.,  was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of 
that  town.  Of  his  sons,  George  entered  the 
medical  profession;  and  W.  A.  Sanborn  be- 
came widely  and  favorably  known  as  cajitain 
of  "  Steamer  Lady  of  the  Lake. " 

George  Sanborn,  M.  D.,  the  father  of  George 
F. ,  was  born  in  Gilford,  October  27,  1820. 
Having  completed  his  early  education  at 
Franklin  Academy,  he  pursued  courses  at 
FLarvard  and  Dartmouth  Colleges,  graduating 
from  the  latter  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine.  After  he  had  practised  his  profes- 
sion in  Gilford  and  Sandwich   for  a  time,  he 


54 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


moved  to  Mcixxlith,  where  he  was  a  leading 
physician  fur  thirty  years.  His  practice, 
which  extended  over  a  circuit  of  fifteen  miles, 
kept  him  constantly  busy.  Respected  for  his 
hisih  character  and  ability,  he  was  elected 
legislative  Representative  of  Meredith  for 
two  terms.  He  also  served  with  efificiency  as 
Town  Treasurer  and  superintendent  of  schools 
for  a  number  of  years.  His  wife,  Sophronia 
B.,  was  born  in  Alton,  N.  H.,  daughter  of 
George  Stockbridge  His  only  child  is  George 
F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

George  F.  Sanborn  received  his  elementary 
education  in  the  public  schools.  He  subse- 
quently attended  the  New  Hampton  Institute 
and  Tilton  Seminary.  After  his  studies  were 
completed  he  engaged  in  the  printing  business, 
and  established  the  Meredith  Xncs,  a  weekly 
paper,  which  he  carried  on  for  twelve  years, 
and  which  was  the  first  one  printed  in  Mere- 
dith. In  1883,  while  still  publishing  the 
A'e7C's,  he  entered  the  drug  business,  which  he 
still  follows,  having  a  thriving  trade  in  that 
line.  In  1896  the  Paris  Night  Robe  Company 
was  organized  and  incorporated,  and  he  was 
elected  its  President.  Under  the  able  direc- 
tion of  its  ofificial  head  the  business  of  this 
concern  is  developing  rapidly.  At  present 
its  output  facilities  are  tested  to  their  fullest 
capacity.  Mr.  Sanborn  is  also  the  Manager  of 
the  Meredith  Electric  Light  Company,  and  is 
quite  extensively  interested  in  the  coal  trade. 
Common  opinion  represents  him  as  one  of  the 
most  progressive  young  business  men  of  the 
town. 

On  December  10,  1885,  Mr.  Sanborn  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Charlotte  J.  French, 
daughter  of  John  B.  French,  of  Meredith.  He 
has  one  child,  Royden  W.  In  politics  he  has 
voted  with  the  Democratic  party  since  he  came 
of  age.  He  served  as  Moderator  at  town  meet- 
ings for  some  years.      In   1885   he  was  elected 


a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire  House  of 
Representatives,  in  which  he  served  with 
ability  for  one  term,  and  was  appointed  upon 
the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  When 
the  Hoard  of  Water  Commissioners  was  estab- 
lished, he  was  elected  President  of  that  body; 
and  he  still  serves  in  that  capacity. 


lARLl^S  ESTES,  a  manufacturer  of 
agricultural  implements  at  Rochester, 
was  born  November  20,  1830,  at 
North  Berwick,  Me.,  a  son  of  John  listes. 
He  comes  of  English  ancestry,  the  emigrant 
ancestor  having  been  Richard  Iistes,  who 
settled  in  North  Berwick  at  a  very  early 
period.  Jedediah,  son  of  Henry  Pastes,  born 
in  that  town,  was  the  grandfather  of  Charles. 
John  Estes,  who  was  a  plough-maker  by  trade, 
had  an  iron  foundry  in  Berwick  for  many  years. 
In  1840  he  transferred  his  residence  and  busi- 
ness interests  to  Rochester,  N.H.,  remaining 
there  until  his  death  in  1S89,  at  the  venerable 
age  of  eighty-seven  years.  He  was  a  man  of 
enterprise  and  business  ability  and  a  valued 
member  of  the  Republican  party.  A  pillar  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  he  was  always  inter- 
ested in  its  welfare,  and  contributed  liberally 
to  its  support.  In  his  estimation  there  was  no 
religious  creed  comparable  to  that  of  the 
P'riends.  He  married  Abiah  Green,  o.f  Straf- 
ford, and  they  reared  four  children  ;  namely, 
Charles,  Edwin  T. ,  Simon  G.,  and  Albert. 

Charles  Estes  completed  his  education  at  the 
Friends'  School  in  Providence,  R.I.,  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  years.  Returning  then  to 
Rochester,  he  worked  with  his  father  for  two 
years,  and  was  afterward  for  some  years 
engaged  in  the  foundry  business  in  various 
places,  including  the  cities  of  Dover,  N.  H., 
Lowell,  Mass.,  Lawrence,  Mass.,  the  Charles- 
town   and  Portsmouth  Navy  Yards,  New  York, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


55 


Fitchburg,  Mass.,  and  Woonsockct  and  Provi- 
dence, R.I.  Going  in  i S64  to  the  Pacific 
Coast,  he  spent  six  months  in  Sacramento, 
Cal.,  and  then  for  eight  months  was  engaged 
in  mining  at  Virginia  City,  Nev.  He  subse- 
quently made  a  short  stay  in  Oakland,  Cal., 
and  the  following  year  worked  in  the  Montana 
mines,  afterward  travelling  through  the  differ- 
ent States  of  the  West  for  a  time.  In  1867  he 
returned  to  Rochester,  took  charge  of  his 
father's  plant,  and  has  since  carried  on  a  sub- 
stantial business  as  a  manufacturer  of  agricult- 
ural implements  of  all  kinds.  Mr.  Estes  is 
a  man  of  intelligence  and  capability,  upright 
in  his  dealings  and  prompt  in  his  support  of 
whatever,  in  his  opinion,  is  calculated  to 
advance  the  welfare  of  the  town  and  com- 
munity. He  cast  his  first  Presidential  vote 
for  John  P.  Hale,  and  since  that  time  has  been 
identified  with  the  Republican  party.  P'or 
two  years  he  served  as  Selectman  in  Roches- 
ter. He  was  also  Surveyor  for  a  time,  and 
held  other  offices. 

Mr.  Estes  was  married  in  1S52  to  Miss 
Mercy  Varney,  daughter  of  Israel  H.  and 
Sarah  (Knowles)  Varney,  of  Rochester.  They 
have  seven  children,  namely:  Helen  E.,  the 
wife  of  Joseph  H.  Clark;  Charles  K.,  of 
Providence,  R.  I.  ;  Florello,  a  physician,  who 
is  now  in  Switzerland;  Almeda,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  si.xteen  ;  Albert  V.,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five;  John  F.,  of  Hyde  Park, 
Mass.  ;  and  Adaline  S.,  the  wife  of  William 
Wright,  an  attorney-at-law,  of  Rochester. 
Mr.  Ivstes  and  his  family  attend  the  religious 
meetine:s  of  the  I"'ricnds,  of  Rochester. 


iOLONEL    GEORGE    W.    STEVEN.S, 
at  one  time  a  prominent  lawyer  of  I.a- 
conia,  was  born  at  Hill,  N.  H.,  No- 
vember   16,    1 8 14,    son    of    Eben    Stevens,    a 


farmer  of  Hill.  His  mother,  who  came  from 
Hampton,  lived  to  the  venerable  age  of  ninety- 
five.  The  father  continued  his  active  life  on 
the  farm  until  a  short  lime  jirevious  tn  his 
death.  At  one  time  he  was  a  member  of  the 
State  legislature.  They  had  five  children,  of 
whom  Hiram,  the  eldest,  became  a  I^aptist 
minister,  and  died  at  Meredith  Village;  Lo- 
renzo D.  was  a  farmer  of  Franklin;  Cutting, 
the  third  son,  was  Captain  of  a  company  in  the 
Seminole  War  in  Florida,  and  afterward 
settled  in  the  West ;  George  W.  is  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  ;  aiid  Chase,  who  was  connected 
with  a  Manchester  woollen-mill,  served  as  a 
non-commissioned  officer  of  the  Fourth  New 
Hampshire  Regiment  during  the  late  war. 

The  educational  advantages  of  his  day  hav- 
ing been  limited,  the  schooling  of  George  W. 
Stevens  was  confined  to  the  short  winter  term 
in  the  district  schools  of  Hill.  His  father, 
absorbed  in  agriculture,  wished  his  son  to 
take  up  farming  life;  but  the  boy  was  of  a 
studious  temperament,  and  was  resolved  to  ob- 
tain a  higher  education  in  spite  of  obstacles. 
He  studied  early  and  late,  and  by  persistent 
apjjlication  to  his  books  he  qualified  himself  to 
teach  school.  From  this  he  became  able  to 
commence  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Judge  Ncsmith  at  I'ranklin.  ITpmi  his  ad- 
mittance to  the  bar  he  bought  the  practice  of 
Judge  Warren  Lovell,  of  Meredith,  where  he 
remained  until  he  came  to  Laconia  in  1S55. 
Here  he  was  associated  with  Jeremiah  Elkins, 
under  the  firm  name  of  l{lkins  &  Stevens,  and 
later  with  O.  A.  J.  Vaughan.  After  one  or 
two  more  changes  he  formed  a  copartnership 
with  C.  F.  Stone,  a  relation  which  continued 
until  his  retirement  from  practice,  June  17, 
1S73.  He  marrieil  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Davenport,  of  Mereilith,  whose  family 
was  among  the  first  settlers  of  the  place.  Of 
the  four  children   born  to  them,  three  are  liv- 


S6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ing,  namely:  Georgianna,  who  mairied  M.  C. 
Boynton,  a  dry-goods  merchant  of  Boston ; 
Klhi,  now  Mrs.  M.  K.  Harkncss,  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  Utah ;  and  George  Edward,  who  was 
educated  at  Tilton  Seminary,  New  London 
Academy,  and  New  Hampton  Academy,  is 
now  married,  resides  in  Laconia,  and  is  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Winthrop  Hosiery  Mills. 

Colonel  Stevens  died  October  2,  1877,  two 
years  after  his  wife,  whose  death  occurred  No- 
vember 10,  1875.  They  were  both  active 
workers  during  the  Civil  War.  The  forming 
of  the  Twelfth  New  Hampshire  Regiment  was 
largely  due  to  his  untiring  efforts;  and  Mrs. 
Stevens  was  prominent  as  President  of  the 
Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  which  did  so  much  for 
the  comfort  of  our  brave  soldiers.  Colonel 
Stevens  was  President  of  the  Belknap  County 
Bar  Association  for  some  time  previous  to  his 
death.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Unitarian  Society  in  Laconia,  and  of  those 
who  took  an  active  part  in  the  erection  of  the 
church.  A  Democrat  in  politics,  he  repre- 
sented Laconia  for  a  time  in  the  legislature. 
Colonel  Stevens  was  a  man  of  the  strongest 
individuality.  A  brother  lawyer,  long  asso- 
ciated with  him,  gives  the  following  word  por- 
trait of  the  Colonel  :  — 

"As  a  lawyer  and  a  neighbor  I  have  known 
him  since  1859.  He  was  a  magnificent-look- 
ing man  at  his  best,  tall,  heavy,  with  a  Web- 
sterian  head  and  a  high,  massive  forehead. 
He  possessed  a  flexible,  agreeable  voice,  and 
was  a  profound  thinker,  being  recognized  as 
one  of  the  ablest  thinkers  of  his  day  through- 
out the  State.  No  man  was  more  impressive 
as  an  advocate  or  before  an  audience.  Seen 
in  the  court-room  at  his  leisure,  he  was  disap 
pointing,  and  in  his  ordinary  work  he  did  not 
e.xcel ;  but  with  the  eccentricity  of  genius, 
once  aroused  and  interested  in  the  cause  he 
championed,    he  would    descend    like   an    ava- 


lanche upon  his  unlucky  opponents,  and  in  a 
whirlwind  of  eloquence  carry  everything  before 
him.  Erratic,  he  would  maintain  a  ]:)n.sition 
with  zeal  in  trying  a  case,  which  he  would 
suddenly  abandon;  and  he  was  quite  likely 
to  do  his  most  brilliant  work  on  cases  involv- 
ing the  smallest  sums,  while  the  most  impor- 
tant causes  would  be  treated  with  inattention. 
Like  most  men  of  genius,  he  possessed  whims. 
He  always  read  the  dissenting  opinions  of  the 
court,  feeling  that  they  had  something  of 
worth.  He  was  a  bold  free-thinker,  and  read 
such  authors  as  Buckle,  Lecky,  Herbert  Spen- 
cer, and  Jdhn  Stuart  Mill,  grasping  their 
thoughts  with  a  mental  power  that  carried  him 
oftentimes  far  beyond  the  conceptions  of  these 
weight)'  minds.  Colonel  Stevens  was  at  his 
best  in  his  thirties,  maturing  early  in  life. 
He  was  public-spirited,  and  labored  always  for 
the  interests  of  the  town.  He  wanted  good 
churches,  good  hotels,  good  roads,  develop- 
ment of  water-power,  and  worked  hard  to  attain 
these  ends.  He  had  no  quarrel  with  any 
creed.  He  was  familiar  with  the  Bible  and 
the  commentaries  thereon,  and  revelled  in  log- 
ical fields.  He  was  a  man  of  the  most  upright 
moral  character  and  a  kind  husband,  though 
home  interests  meant  less  to  him  than  to 
many.  His  heart  was  in  his  efforts  for  the 
good  of  town.  State,  and  country;  and,  in  the 
death  of  this  original  and  brilliant  man  New 
Hampshire  lost  one  of  whom  she  may  be  justly 
proud." 

RANK  HOLT,  a  retired  hosiery  manu- 
facturer of  Lakeport,  Belknap  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  in  Leicester,  Leices- 
tershire, England,  in  1827,  son  of  William 
and  Sarah  (Hospool)  Holt.  William  Holt 
was  a  native  of  the  same  English  town,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  dyeing  and  cleansing 
hosiery.      He  died  in   his   native   land  through 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


57 


overwork,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years,  leav- 
ing four  children. 

Frank  Holt,  who  was  the  third  child  of  his 
parents,  acquired  a  good  education  in  England, 
and  also  learned  the  manufacture  of  hosiery. 
He  came  to  America  in  1853,  at  first  locating 
in  Philadelphia,  where  he  worked  about  a  year 
and  eight  months  in  the  factories  of  Wiah  Co.x 
and  Edward  Wade.  He  then  went  to  Frank- 
lin, N.H.,  where  he  was  employed  as  over- 
seer in  Thomas  Appleton's  mill  until  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1856.  The  following 
year  he  came  to  Fake  \'illage,  now  Lakeport, 
finding  work  in  another  mill  owned  by  Mr. 
Appletoii.  In  1877  he  began  manufacturing 
for  himself,  and  three  years  later  became  asso- 
ciated with  Mr.  John  Lee  in  the  proprietorship 
of  the  Bayside  Mill,  the  firm  conducting 
business  under  the  style  of  Frank  Holt  &  Co. 
This  partnership  lasted  until  1892,  when  Mr. 
Holt  disposed  of  his  interest  and  retired  from 
business. 

In  1848  Mr.  Holt  married  Anna,  daughter  of 
John  and  Mary  (Waters)  Iliffe,  of  Inkley, 
Leicestershire,  England.  Three  children  are 
the  result  of  their  union  —  Mary,  Sarah,  and 
William.  The  two  daughters  still  reside  at 
home  with  their  father;  while  William  is  a 
resident  of  Meriden,  Conn.  Mrs.  Holt  died 
in  July,  1888.  In  politics  Mr.  Holt  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  is  a  member  of  Chocorua  Lodge, 
No.  5r,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of  Lakeport;  and  he  at- 
tends the  F^ree  Baptist  church.  He  has  been 
successful  in  acquiring  a  competence,  and  is 
enjoying  his  well-earned  retirement. 


HARLES    E.   MANSON,a  well- 


known  and  respected  citizen  of  East 
Rochester,  was  born  December  20, 
1828,  in  Great  Falls,  this  State,  a  son  of  John 
and    Caroline    (Lord)    Manson.      His    paternal 


grandfather,  John  Manson  (first),  who  spent 
his  early  life  in  Limington,  York  County, 
Me.,  subsequently  removed  to  ICaton,  Wash- 
ington County,  Me.,  where  he  made  his  per- 
manent home  until  his  death.  Nathaniel 
Manson,  a  seafaring  man,  and  one  of  the  first 
John's  brothers,  in  the  War  of  1812  was  taken 
on  board  a  jirivateer,  conveyed  to  England, 
and  confined  in  Dartmoor  Prison  for  some 
time. 

John  Manson,  the  father  of  Charles  E.,  came 
to  Rochester  in  1834,  and  was  engaged  in  the 
business  of  carpenter,  contractor,  and  builder 
in  this  vicinity  until  his  demise  in  1869.  A 
man  of  much  force  of  character  and  quite  in- 
fluential in  local  politics,  he  was  one  of  the 
six  men  who  bolted  from  the  Whig  party  and 
formed  the  Free  Soil  party.  He  married  Miss 
Caroline  Lord,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Lord,  of 
Berwick,  Me.  They  became  the  parents  of 
four  children,  as  follows:  Charles  K.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Sabrina,  who  died  at  Great 
Falls  in  infancy;  John,  whose  death  occurred 
at  Port  Chester,  N.Y.,  at  the  age  of  forty-four 
years;  and  Frank  C,  of  Saxonville,  Mass. 

Charles  E.  Manson  received  his  preliminary 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Rochester, 
afterward  continuing  his  studies  at  the  Roch- 
ester Academy  until  sixteen  years  old.  He 
then  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  from  his 
father,  with  whom  he  worked  for  five  years. 
In  1851  Mr.  Manson  entered  the  factory  of 
Messrs.  Hall  and  .Springfield  at  East  Roches- 
ter, where  he  had  charge  of  the  repairs  and  the 
weaving  department  until  the  burning  of  the 
mill  in  1857.  Going  then  with  Mr.  Spring- 
field to  Wolfboro,  N.  H.,  he  was  employed  by 
him  in  the  same  capacity  until  1879.  In  that 
year  Mr.  Manson  accepted  the  position  of 
superintendent  of  the  Cocheco  Woollen  Mill 
at  East  Rochester.  Next  year  he  became  agent 
for  the  Cocheco  Woollen  Manufacturing  Com- 


ss 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


pany,  an  important  office,  which  he  faithfully 
filled  for  fifteen  years.  He  practically  retired 
from  active  business  then,  although  he  has 
since  been  connected  with  the  firm  of  Tibbetts 
&  Hayes,  lumber  dealers  of  East  Rochester. 
Mr.  Manson  cast  liis  first  Presidential  vote  in 
1852  for  General  Scott,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  been  a  steadfast  supporter  of  the  Republi- 
can party.  In  1885  and  1886  he  served  as 
a  Representative  to  the  General  Court  of 
New  Hampshire.  He  belongs  to  Cocheco 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  East  Rochester;  to  Hu- 
mane Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Rochester;  to 
Temple  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  Rochester,  of 
which  he  is  a  charter  member;  to  the  Orphan 
Council  of  Dover;  and  to  Palestine  Command- 
ery,  K.  T.,  Rochester,  of  which  he  is  also  a 
charter  member.  Mr.  Manson  contributes  lib- 
erally toward  the  support  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  East  Rochester,  which  he 
usually  attends. 

In  1849  Mr.  Manson  married  Eliza  A.  Jel- 
lerson,  of  Rochester.  The  fruit  of  this  union 
was  one  child,  George  E.,  born  August  31, 
1854.  He  contracted  a  second  marriage  Jan- 
uary 29,  1856,  with  Mary  A.  Foss,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  and  Patience  (Home)  Foss,  of 
Rochester.  By  this  union  he  became  the 
father  of  two  children,  namely:  Mary  Carrie, 
born  June  5,  1859;  and  Annabell,  born  Sep- 
tember 17,  1S62,  who  died  September  iS, 
1864. 

<  *  ■  »  > 

"ON.  JOHN  VV.  BUSIEL,  for  many 
/ears  a  well-known  woollen  manu- 
facturer of  Laconia,  N.H.,  was  born 
at  Moultonboro,  N.H.,  March  28,  1815.  His 
parents  were  Moses  F.  and  Relief  Busiel,  and 
he  was  the  eldest  of  a  family  of  seven  sons  and 
one  daughter.  Five  of  his  brothers  are  now 
living,  namely:  Albert  H.,  Lewis  F.,  and 
William  M.  Busiel,  of  Laconia;    Harrison    M. 


Busiel,  of  East  Andover,  N.  H.  ;  and  George 
H.  Busiel,  of  Providence,  R.L 

Mr.  Busiel's  education  was  obtained  in  the 
common  schools  at  a  period  when  country 
boys  seldom  attended  school  more  than  one 
term  of  eight  weeks  during  the  year.  P^ager 
for  knowledge  from  the  first,  he  made  the  most 
of  his  limited  opportunities.  He  was  quick 
to  learn ;  and  what  he  learned  he  learned  thor- 
oughly, thus  building  a  solitl  foundation  for 
the  acquirements  of  after  years.  In  his  early 
youth  he  decided  to  be  a  woollen  manufact- 
urer; and  he  started  out  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years,  with  his  scanty  wardrobe  tied  up  in  a 
handkerchief,  to  walk  to  Loudon,  N.H.,  where 
he  entered  the  mill  of  his  great-uncle,  Lewis 
Flanders,  who  carded  rolls  and  made  flannels 
and  cloths  used  in  that  period.  A  boy  of  ex- 
ceptional energy  and  determination,  he  re- 
mained with  his  uncle  until  he  was  nineteen 
years  old,  seizing  ever)'  opportunity  to  learn 
the  business,  and  at  the  same  time  proceeding 
methodically  with  his  studies,  wliile  the  other 
boys  were  "at  play.  At  nineteen  years  of  age, 
with  a  new  suit  of  clothes  and  one  hundred 
dollars  in  his  pocket,  young  Busiel  left  his 
uncle's  roof  and  went  to  Amesbury,  Mass., 
where  he  was  employed  in  a  woollen-mill,  and 
completed  his  trade.  Many  times  during  his 
stay  in  Amesbury  he  walked  home,  and  out  of 
his  scanty  earnings  assisted  in  maintaining 
the  family. 

After  completing  his  period  of  service  in 
Amesbury,  he  returned  to  New  Hampshire, 
and  in  a  small  mill  in  Meredith,  N.H.,  began 
business  for  himself.  This  he  carried  on  for 
the  next  ten  years,  carding  woollen -rolls  for 
hand  spinning,  and  finishing  the  cloths  which 
it  was  then  the  custom  for  the  farmers"  wives 
to  weave.  He  also  began  there  the  manu- 
facture of  satinet  cloth  and  knitting  yarn.  In 
1846  he  took   the   old    Bean    Mill   at    Laconia, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


SO 


and  here  continued  to  produce  these  articles. 
This  mill  was  later  called  the  Morrison  Mill, 
and  upon  its  site  now  stands  the  dyehouse  of 
the  firm  of  J.  \V.  Busiel  &  Co.  During  the 
great  fire  of  the  Strafford  Mill  this  old  one- 
story  wooden  structure  was  partially  burned, 
and  in  1853  Mr.  Busiel  purchased  the  land  and 
water-power  formerly  used  by  the  Strafford 
Company.  On  this  site  he  erected  the  first  of 
the  buildings  now  used  by  J.  W.  Busiel  &  Co. 
He  here  added  to  his  list  the  manufacture  of 
Saxony  and  Germantown  yarns.  Mr.  Busiel 
received  a  gold  medal  at  the  Crystal  Palace 
Exhibition  in  London,  for  the  best  mixture  of 
cotton  and  wool  yarn.  The  invention  of  the 
circular  ribbed  knitting  machine  by  Jonas  and 
Walter  Aiken  in  1856  led  Mr.  Busiel  to  in- 
troduce the  manufacture  of  Shaker  socks  and 
underwear.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
War  the  production  of  army  socks  became  an 
industry  in  which  Mr.  Busiel  engaged;  and 
after  the  war  the  manufacture  of  different  vari- 
eties of  hosiery  became  the  sole  product  of  the 
mill  carried  on  by  Mr.  Busiel  until  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  July  26,   1872. 

On  December  23,  1S41,  he  married  Julia 
M.,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Julia  Tilton,  of 
Meredith.  Of  this  union  were  born  three  sons 
and  one  daughter.  The  daughter  died  in 
infancy.  The  sons  have  lived  to  be  an  honor 
to  their  father's  name.  The  eldest  is  Charles 
A.  Busiel,  ex-Governor  of  New  Hampshire. 
The  other  sons,  John  T.  and  I-" rank  E.,  now 
carry  on  the  business  founded  by  their  father; 
and  all  three  live  in  Laconia.  The  house  in 
which  Mrs.  Busiel  now  resides  was  built  by 
Mr.  Busiel  five  years  previous  to   his  decease. 

He  was  a  strong  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
represented  Laconia  in  the  State  legislature  in 
the  years  1870-71.  Mr.  Busiel  manufactured 
the  first  gas  burned  in  Laconia,  and  laid  the 
first  slate  used  here  for  roofing  purposes.      He 


also  put  in  the  first  iioiler  and  steam  heat  in 
Laconia.  He  took  a  great  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  town,  and  always  gave  generously 
to  public  buildings  and  for  the  jiromotion  of 
all  plans  for  town  improvement,  lie  was  a 
Trustee  of  the  Belknap  Savings  ]}ank.  He 
attended  the  Congregational  church,  of  wliich 
Mrs.  Ikisiel  is  a  member,  and  contributed  lib- 
erally to  its  support. 

This  public-spirited  man  was  of  a  kind- 
hearted,  generous  nature,  benevolent  and  un- 
selfishly devoted  to  the  interests  of  his  town. 
His  rugged  honesty,  his  strong  anti[iathy  to 
sham  and  false  pretence,  his  fair  and  generous 
dealings  with  his  employees,  and  his  e\'er- 
ready  help  to  the  poor  and  unfortunate  arc 
well  known  to  the  townspeople  of  his  genera- 
tion. He  was  emphatically  a  self-made  man. 
From  nothing  he  rose  to  a  comfortable  inde- 
pendence in  this  world's  goods;  and  in  his 
early,  sudden  death  the  community  lost  a  man 
whom  it  had  learned  to  love  and  to  respect. 
His  mortal  remains  were  buried  in  tiie  beau- 
tiful Union  Cemetery  in  Laconia. 


RANK  E.  BUSIEL,  a  well-known 
woollen  manufacturer  of  Laconia,  Ikd- 
knap  County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  this 
town,  October  31,  1852,  son  of  John  \V.  and 
Julia  (Tilton)  Busiel.  His  fatlier  was  a 
native  of  Moultonboro,  and  his  mother  of 
Meredith.  They  had  four  children:  Charles 
A.;  John  T. ;  Frank  E.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  and  one  daughter,  Julia  M.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  eight  months.  John  W.  Busiel 
was  a  prominent  woollen  manufacturer,  and 
was  the  first  in  Laconia  to  make  use  of  a 
steam   boiler. 

Frank  E.  Busiel  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  town  anil  at  Gilford  Academy. 
He   then   entered   his   fatiier's  factory  to  thor- 


Co 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


oughly  taniiliari/.c  himself  with  tlie  business. 
He  worked  three  years  as  second  hand,  and 
proved  so  efficient  that  he  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  knitting  department,  which  position  he 
filled  until  his  father's  death  in  1872.  He 
was  then  admitted  to  partnership,  the  business 
being  carried  on  under  the  style  of  J.  W. 
Busiel  &  Co.  In  politics  Mr.  Busiel  is  a  Re- 
publican. While  too  much  absorbed  in  busi- 
ness to  give  much  attention  to  politics,  he  has 
served  as  Chairman  of  the  Police  Commission, 
to  which  position  he  was  appointed  in  April, 
1895. 

On  November  ig,  1874,  Mr.  Busiel  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Hattie  A.  Sanborn,  of 
Haverhill,  Mass.  He  has  two  children,  the 
elder  of  whom,  Grace,  is  now  attending  Brad- 
ford Seminary  in  Massachusetts. 


'ON.  WILLIAM  F.  NASON,  Mayor 
of  the  city  of  Dover,  N.H.,  was  born 
in  Sanford,  York  County,  Me.,  on 
the  twenty-second  day  of  November,  1S57. 
He  is  the  son  of  Joseph  T.  and  Susan  Frost 
Nason.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Daniel 
Nason,  who  was  born  in  the  town  of  Kenne- 
bunkport,  Me.,  and  lived  there  for  a  goodly 
portion  of  his  earthly  years,  was  a  substantial 
citizen,  possessing  ability  and  property,  and 
was  engaged  in  ship-building  and  in  the 
foreign  trade.  His  father,  Joseph  T.  Nason, 
as  a  young  man  was  interested  in  educational 
matters.  He  spent  three  years  as  a  student  in 
Bowdoin  College,  and  then  served  as  principal 
of  several  of  the  leading  schools  in  the  State. 
Later  in  life  he  was  engaged  in  navigation, 
and  was  master  of  vessels  in  the  foreign  trade. 
Mr.  Joseph  T.  Nason  died  at  Kennebunk, 
Me.,  in  the  month  of  January,  1S84,  his  wife 
surviving  till  December,  1893.  They  were 
respected  members  of  the  community,  commu- 


nicants of  the  Congregational  church,  anil  ex- 
amples of  probity. 

William  F.  Nason  attended  school  in  the 
towns  of  South  Berwick  and  Kennebunk ;  and 
after  completing  a  high-school  course  in  the 
latter  place  he  entered  a  law  office,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years  in  the  study  of  law. 
He  then  went  to  Wolfboro,  N.H.,  and  read 
law  with  the  Hon.  Buel  C.  Carter.  Being 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1879,  he  came  to 
Dover,  his  present  home,  and  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  Mr.  Carter,  where  he  has 
since  given  his  time  to  the  practice  of  his 
profession. 

Although  ever  a  stanch  advocate  of  the 
principles  of  true  Republicanism,  and  fre- 
quently selected  to  represent  his  party  in  ]iosi- 
tions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  it  cannot  be 
urged  that  Mr.  Nason  has  courted  political 
honors.  Strong  and  loyal  in  his  friendships, 
quick  to  comprehend,  and  fearless  in  his  con- 
victions, tenacious  of  purpose,  yet  eminently 
fair  and  considerate  in  his  judgments,  he  has 
won  the  universal  respect  of  his  fellow-citi- 
zens, and  is  held  in  the  highest  esteem,  even 
by  those  who  have  found  in  him  a  professional 
or  political  adversary. 

He  was  chosen  Solicitor  of  his  adopted  city 
in  1883,  and  again  in  1884,  serving  in  all 
seven  years  in  that  capacity.  As  a  member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  legislature  in  1887  and 
1888,  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  all  the  im- 
portant measures  of  that  session,  winning  rec- 
ognition as  one  of  the  most  forceful  speakers 
and  ready  debaters  on  the  floor  of  the  House. 
During  his  legislative  term  he  served  on  the 
Judiciary  Committee,  and  was  also  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Elections.  In  1892  he 
was  prevailed  upon  to  allow  his  name  to  be 
presented  before  the  County  Convention  as  a 
candidate  for  County  Solicitor;  and  in  the 
"battle  of  the  ballots"  his  popularity  through- 


WILLIAM     F.    NASON. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


63 


out  the  county  gave  added  strength  to  the 
party  ticket,  and  secured  for  him  a  flattering 
majority.  His  services  proved  so  satisfactory 
that  he  was  returned  by  a  phenomenal  majority 
in  1894,  and  was  re-elected  for  the  third  time 
in  1S96. 

At  the  mayoralty  caucus  in  November, 
1895,  he  was  selecteil  as  the  standard  bearer 
for  his  party ;  and  at  the  succeeding  election 
he  received  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  people, 
no  opposing  party  candidate  being  presented. 
Again  in  1896,  under  almost  jirecisely  similar 
conditions,  was  he  chosen  as  the  city's  chief 
magistrate;  and  at  the  present  writing,  1897, 
he  occupies  the  Executive  chair.  His  admin- 
istration as  Mayor  has  been  conspicuous  for  its 
practical  economy  and  broad  and  comprehen- 
sive business  methods,  no  suspicion  of  parti- 
sanship attaching  to  his  management  of  mu- 
nicipal affairs.  Although  manifestly  averse  to 
notoriety,  desirous  of  avoiding  all  pomp  and 
pageantry,  he  has,  nevertheless,  judiciously 
antl  becomingly  fulfilled  the  social  functions  of 
his  high  office;  and,  in  fact,  no  emergency  has 
ever  found  him  unprepared  when  the  interests 
or  dignity  of  the  city  required  an  able  and 
worthy  champion. 


(sjYACOB  SANBORN,  a  prosperous  and 
well-to-do  farmer  of  Laconia,  was  born 
in  Mouitonboro,  N.  H.,  January  13, 
1843,  son  of  William  and  Sally  (Dame)  San- 
born. His  grandfather,  Jacob  Sanborn,  was  a 
farmer  and  a  lifelong  resident  of  Gilford.  He 
died  at  the  age  of  forty -three  years.  He  was 
the  father  of  two  sons — •  William  antl  Enoch, 
of  whom  the  last  named  is  living  in  Gilford, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

William  Sanborn  was  born  in  Gilford,  and 
remained  at  home  until  he  was  thirty  years 
old.      He  then   bouLfht  a  farm   at    Mouitonboro 


Neck,  where  he  resided  until  1850,  when  he 
returned  to  Gilford,  and  passed  the  rest  of  his 
life  in  that  town.  He  was  prominent  in 
church  matters.  His  wife,  Sally  Dame  San- 
born, was  a  daughter  of  Richard  Dame,  who 
came  from  Portsmouth,  N.  II.,  to  Gilford. 
She  was  a  woman  of  superior  education,  and 
had  taught  school  prex'ious  lo  her  marriage. 
She  became  the  mother  oi  two  children:  l-^l- 
vena,  who  died  in  1886;  and  Jacob,  tlie  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Jacob  Sanborn,  after  attending  the  district 
school  in  his  boyhood,  began  active  life  as  a 
farm  assistant.  He  continued  thus  employed 
until  1866,  when  he  was  engaged  to  manage 
his  present  farm  by  Polly  Smith,  who  owned 
the  property.  This  lady  was  the  representa- 
tive of  a  well-to-do  family ;  and  at  her  death 
she  willed  the  farm  to  Mr.  .Sanborn,  as  a  re- 
ward for  the  faithful  manner  in  which  he  had 
labored  in  her  behalf.  He  has  since  enlarged 
the  property  by  the  purchasing  of  more  land, 
and  has  otherwise  improved  it  by  remodel- 
ling the  buildings;  and  he  has  met  with  the 
natural  reward  of  his  industry  and  good  judg- 
ment in  a  continually  increasing  prosperity. 
He  owns  land  in  Sanbornton,  Mereditii,  and 
Gilford;  and  he  has  derived  considerable 
profit  from  stock-raising. 

Mr.  Sanborn  married  Augusta  Perley,  a 
sister  of  Louis  Perley,  a  sketch  of  whom 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  antl 
Mrs.  Sanborn  have  one  child.  Pearl,  who  is 
now  attending  the  high  school  and  is  preparing 
for  college. 


■Y^KVI  W.  ALLEN,  a  retired  business 
|Jj  man  of  Rochester,  was  born  March  26, 
"^^  ^  1823,  near  the  house  whicli  he  now 
occupies,  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Nute) 
Allen.       The    Aliens     originally    came    from 


64 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIFAV 


ICngland,  where  they  were  people  of  considera- 
tion.     The  American  family  is  traced  back  to 
two  brothers,  Charles  and  Samuel  Allen,  both 
members  of  Parliament  for  some  years,    who 
were  sent  here  by  the  English  government  to 
take  charge  of  Whitehall   Swamp,  a  tract  of 
land  one  mile  wide  and  eight   miles   long,  sit- 
uated    in     Rochester    on    the    Salmon     Falls 
River.     Here,   for  a  number  of  years  before 
the    Revolution,  they   engaged   in   getting   out 
limber  for  the  manufacture  of  masts  and   spars 
for  the  use  of   the   home    government.     John 
Allen,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Levi  W., 
came  to  Rochester  from  Durham,  and    was  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  this  town.      He  left  his  land 
to  his  son  William,  whose  son.  Major  Samuel 
Allen,    served     in     the     Revolutionary     War. 
Major  Allen's  son  William,  the  father  of  Levi 
W.,  was  the  next  proprietor  of  the   homestead 
property.      Brought  up  to  farming  and  lumber- 
ing, William  continued    in   these  occupations. 
In  following  the  latter,  he  made  a  specialty  of 
supplying  the   material    for   masts   and    spars. 
The   lumber    for  the   first   woollen    factory  at 
Great    Falls  was   furnished    by  him.      By  his 
wife,    Sarah,    who   was   a  daughter  of   Jotham 
Nute,  of  Milton,  N.H.,  he   became  the  father 
of  eight  children,  of  whom  Amasa  is  the  only 
other  survivor. 

After  attending  the  district  schools  of 
Rochester  in  his  earlier  years,  Levi  W.  Allen 
completed  his  education  at  Great  Falls.  In 
1839  he  left  the  parental  home,  going  to 
Natick,  Mass.,  where  he  was  engaged  for  three 
years  in  the  shoe  business.  He  returned  to 
Rochester  in  1842,  and  for  a  long  time  after- 
ward carried  on  an  extensive  business  in  the 
manufacture  of  shoes  and  lasts,  and  had  a  large 
wholesale  and  retail  store.  Subsequently  he 
transferred  his  business  to  Dover,  and  there 
successfully  conducted  it  for  twelve  years.  In 
1882   he  returned   again   to  the  scenes   of    his 


childhood;  and  on  account  of  asthma,  with 
which  he  is  afflicted,  he  has  since  lived  retired 
from  business  pursuits.  He  was  married  Sep- 
tember 3,  1846,  to  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Furbush, 
of  Lebanon,  Me.  He  has  always  taken  a  great 
interest  in  local  affairs,  giving  his  hearty  sup- 
port to  the  Reiniblican  party,  but  has  not 
been  an  office-seeker.  Since  boyhood  he  has 
been  in  communion  with  the  Walnut  Grove 
Free  Will  Baptist  Church,  which  lie  has 
served  for  some  years  as  Sunday-school  super- 
intendent. 


^OHN  RANDOLPH  HAM,  M.D.,  a 
well-known  and  highly  esteemed  physi- 
cian of  Dover,  Strafford  County,  N.  H., 
was  born  within  the  limits  of  this  township, 
October  23,  1842.  His  father,  Charles  Ham, 
a  son  of  Ephraim  Ham,  and  a  native  of  Dover, 
born  May  10,  1800,  for  many  years  carried  on 
general  farming  in  this  locality,  and  here  mar- 
ried Abigail  D.   Bartlett. 

John  R.  Ham  was  reared  on  the  parental 
homestead,  and  received  his  elementary  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. He  subsequently  continued  his  studies 
at  Franklin  Academy,  in  Dover,  after  which 
he  worked  on  the  farm  during  seed-time  and 
harvest.  His  winters  for  a  time  were  em- 
ployed in  teaching  school,  thereby  earning 
some  money  toward  defraying  his  expenses 
while  preparing  himself  for  a  professional 
career.  In  1S62  he  read  medicine  with  Dr. 
A.  J.  H.  Buzzell,  of  Dover,  in  the  meanwhile 
attending  lectures  at  Bowdoin  Medical  Col- 
lege. During  the  following  spring  he  studied 
with  Dr.  Levi  G.  Hill,  of  this  city,  and  in  the 
next  winter  attended  lectures  at  Harvard  Medi- 
cal School,  afterward  reading  medicine  with 
Dr.  J.   H.  Wheeler. 

In  August,  1864,  Dr.  Ham  was  appointed 
Assistant   Surgeon  of    the    One    Hundred  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


6S 


Fifteenth  Regiment,  United  States  Colored 
Infantry,  being  mustered  in  at  Louisville, 
Ky.  He  was  also  medieal  purveyor  for  a  time 
of  the  Twenty-fifth  Army  Corj^s.  The  Doctor 
was  subsequently  promoted  to  the  jjosition  of 
Surgeon  of  the  regiment,  and  with  the  Army 
of  the  James  was  present  at  the  fall  of 
Richmond.  After  that  event  he  was  on  duty 
in  Texas  until  March  lo,  1866,  when  he  was 
honorably  discharged  from  the  service.  On 
his  return  to  Dover,  Dr.  Ham  resumed  his 
studies  at  Bowdoin  RTedical  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  the  following  June. 
Since  then  he  has  been  successfully  engaged 
in  the  ]M"actice  of  his  pi'ofession  in  his  native 
city.  For  ten  years  of  this  time  he  served  as 
Coroner  of  Strafford  County,  and  for  four 
years  of  it  he  was  a  member  of  the  School 
Committee.  In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican, and  during  the  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Harrison  he  served  as  United  States 
Pension  Surgeon  for  Strafford  County.  The 
Doctor  is  an  active  member  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Historical  and  Medical  Societies;  of 
Charles  W.  Sawyer  Post,  No.  17,  G.  A.  R., 
of  which  he  is  Past  Commander;  and  he  is  a 
prominent  Mason  of  this  city,  belonging  to 
Strafford  Lodge,  No.  29,  and  to  Belknap 
Chapter,  No.  8.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  First  Ciiurch  (Congregational)  since  1S64, 
in  which  since  1S78  he  has  performed  the 
duties  of  Deacon.  The  Doctor  has  published 
"The  Ham  P'amily  in  Dover,"  "The  Physi- 
cians of  Dover,"  "Localities  in  Ancient 
Dover,"  and  "The  Bibliography  of  Dover." 
His  library  contains  the  best  private  collection 
of  local  history  in  that  part  of  the  State. 

On  November  9,  1871,  Dr.  John  R.  Ham 
was  united  in  marriage  with  limily  Caroline 
Hcrsey,  daughter  of  General  George  W. 
Hersey,  of  Wolfboro,  N.  H.  Of  this  union 
five  children  have  been  born,  of  whom  but  two 


are  now  living  —  P'mily  II.  and  Julia  M. 
The  forniei',  who  was  graduated  from  Welles- 
ley  College  in  the  class  of  1893,  is  now  a 
teacher  in  the  Dover  High  School;  wiiile 
the  yoLMiger  daughter  is  a  jiupil  of  that  insli- 
tutiori. 


RANK  LESLIE  TOVVLI'.,  a  memlKr 
the  firm  of  Simjjson  &  Towle,  dealers 
in  general  merchandise.  Centre  Har- 
bor, N.  H.,  was  born  in  Parsonsficld,  Me., 
August  27,  1868,  son  of  James  F.  and  pjiima 
J.  (Moulton)  Towle.  His  grandfather,  Josejih 
G.  Towle,  was  a  native  of  Porter,  Me.  ;  and 
the  active  period  of  his  life  was  spent  as  a 
farmer.  James  I"".  Towle,  father  of  l'"rank 
L.,  was  born  in  Porter,  Me.,  and  in  his 
younger  days  was  variously  eni|)l(iyc(l  as  an 
operative  in  saw-mills  and  as  a  clerk  in 
country  stores.  He  finally  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  his  native  town.  His 
wife,  Emma,  is  a  daughter  of  John  S.  Moul- 
ton, of  Sandwich,  N.H.  She  has  had  two 
children:  Irving,  who  died  in  1SS8,  aged 
twenty-six  years;  and  Frank  L.,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch. 

Frank  Leslie  Towle  received  a  public- 
school  education,  and  entered  mercantile  busi- 
ness as  a  clerk  immediately  after  completing 
his  studies.  He  was  emplojed  in  a  store  in 
Centre  Harbor  for  a  year,  and  then  went  to 
work  for  Simpson  &  French,  with  whom  he 
remained  for  two  years.  He  then  went  to 
Dover,  N.H.,  where  he  clerked  one  year  for 
W.  S.  Wiggin,  finally  buying  out  his  em- 
ployer. A  year  later  he  sold  the  business, 
and,  returning  to  Centre  Haibur,  jiurchased 
Henry  V..  French's  interest  in  the  firm  for 
which  he  had  formerly  worked;  and  the  firm  of 
Simpson  &  Towle  is  now  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  among  the  general  merchants  in 
this  section  of  the  State. 


66 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


On  August  27,  1S93,  Mr.  Towle  was  joined 
in  marriage  with  Eliza  S.  Graves,  daughter  of 
Joseph  S.  Graves,  of  Centre  Harbor.  Mrs. 
Towle  is  the  mother  of  two  children  —  Ruth 
G.  and  Mina  E.  Mr.  Towle  is  a  member  of 
Winnepesaukee  Tribe,  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men. 

<^»^  » 

-OSEPH  N.  HAYES,  a  practical  agri- 
culturist of  the  town  of  Rochester,  was 
born  August  i,  1836,  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides,  a  son  of  James  Y. 
Hayes.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Joseph 
Hayes,  was  the  founder  of  the  family  in  this 
section  of  New  Hampshire.  Prior  to  the 
Revolution  he  settled  on  the  old  Hayes  home- 
stead, and  during  that  hard  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence he  contributed  toward  the  support  of 
the  patriot  soldiers  from  the  scanty  productions 
of  his  farm.  James  Y.  Hayes  succeeded  to 
the  parental  acres,  spending  his  life  on  the 
farm  where  his  birth  occurred,  being  here 
engaged  in  general  agriculture  until  his  death. 
To  him  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Alice  A.  Hayes,  several  children  were  born; 
namely,  Joseph  N. ,  Lydia  S. ,  Mary  A.,  Julia 
A.,  Clara  A.,  Lucretia  A.,  James  C. ,  and 
Benjamin  F. 

Joseph  N.  Hayes  received  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  Rochester  and  at  the 
academy  of  Wolfboro.  Then,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  he  returned  to  the  homestead,  and 
thereafter  assisted  on  the  farm  until  the  death 
of  his  father  in  1S65.  The  farm,  of  which  he 
has  now  full  charge,  contains  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  acres  of  land,  and  is  plea.santly 
situated  on  the  Rochester  Neck  Road,  about 
five  and  a  half  miles  north-west  of  Dover. 
Here  he  carries  on  mi.xed  husbandry  and 
dairying  with  most  satisfactory  results.  Pay- 
ing close  attention  to  the  details  of  his  busi- 
ness, he  is  considered  one  of  the  most   skilful 


and  prosjjerous  farmers  of  this  locality.  Mr. 
Hayes  was  a  member  of  the  State  legislature 
in  1S69,  representing  the  town  of  Rochester 
before  it  became  a  city.  In  1870  he  was  again 
a  candidate  for  the  same  office,  but  failed  of 
a  re-election  by  a  few  votes,  his  defeat  having 
been  caused  by  the  Eabor  Reform  party,  then 
dominant  in  some  parts  of  New  England. 
While  in  the  legislature  he  worked  for  the 
best  interests  of  his  constituents,  and  was 
influential  in  having  a  bill  passed  for  abolish- 
ing the  district-school  system,  and  placing  all 
the  schools  under  the  control  of  a  board  of 
education.  He  is  a  member  of  Wechohamet 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  ¥.,  of  Dover;  of  Cocheco 
Grange,  of  Dover;  and  of  the  Good  Templars 
Society  of  Gonic,  having  held  the  most  of  the 
offices  of  the  lodge.  He  attends  the  Baptist 
church  in  the  village  of  Gonic,  which  is  about 
three  miles  from  his  home. 

On  January  23,  1859,  Mr.  Hayes  married 
Miss  Susan  P.  Meserve,  a  native  of  Bartlett, 
N.  H.,  and  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Meserve,  a 
prominent  resident  of  that  town.  Mr.  Meserve 
was  Selectman  of  ]5artlett  for  many  years. 
Mrs.  Hayes  died  in  1879,  having  borne  her 
husband  three  children.  These  were :  Arthur 
H.,  who  lives  on  the  home  farm;  P'red  E., 
who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen;  and  Alice  L., 
who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Hayes  contracted 
a  second  marriage  on  April  34,  1883,  with 
Miss  A.  Augusta  Trickey,  of  Dover. 


/STTo 


EORGE  W.  MORRILL,  one  of  the 
\J5 1  leading  farmers  of  Gilford,  N.H., 
was  born  in  this  town,  July  16, 
1839,  son  of  John  Dudley  and  Lavina  (Robin- 
son) Morrill.  He  comes  of  a  very  old  family, 
being  a  lineal  descendant  of  Abraham  Morrill, 
who  immigrated  to  this  country  with  his 
brother   Isaac    in    the   ship  "Lion,"  which  ar- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


rived  September  i6,  1632.  Both  joined  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company  of 
Boston  in  1638,  the  year  of  its  charter. 

Abraham  Morrill  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade, 
and  so  many  of  his  posterity  in  successiv'e  gen- 
erations chose  the  same  occupation  that  the 
family  has  been  humorously  spoken  of  as  be- 
longing to  the  Tubal  Cain  fraternity.  He  was 
granted  a  house  and  lot  in  Salisbury  in  1641, 
and  was  married  June  10,  1645,  to  Sarah, 
daughter  of  R(5bcrt  Clement,  of  Haverhill. 
Their  children  were:  Isaac,  born  July  10, 
1646;  Jacob,  born  August  24,  1648;  Sarah, 
born  October  14,  1650;  Abraham,  Jr.,  born 
November  14,  1652;  Moses,  born  December 
28,  1655;  Aaron,  born  August  9,  1658; 
Richard,  born  February  6,  1660;  Lydia,  born 
March  8,  1661  ;  Hepsibah,  born  January  11, 
1663.  Abraham  Morrill  died  in  1662;  and 
his  will,  which  was  probated  October  14  of 
that  year,  shows  him  to  have  been  a  well- 
to-do  man  for  those  times,  the  estate  being 
valued  at  five  hundred  and  seven  pounds.  His 
wife  exchanged  her  house  lot  for  forty  acres  of 
upland  on  the  "Great  Playne  "  ;  and  on  this 
land  stand  a  parsonage,  a  school,  the  town 
office,  and  other  buildings.  Mrs.  Sarah  C. 
Morrill,  after  the  death  of  her  first  husband, 
married  Thomas  Mudgett,  and  had  one  daugh- 
ter, Mary  Mudgett. 

Isaac,  son  of  Abraham,  and  the  second  in 
the  line  now  being  traced,  was  also  a  black- 
smith, and  lived  in  Salisbury.  He  married 
Phcebe  Gill,  daughter  of  John  Gill.  He  had 
eleven  children,  as  follows  —  by  wife  Phoebe: 
Abraham,  born  August  22,  1671  ;  and  Isaac, 
born  probably  July  24,  1673;  and  (by  second 
wife,  Susanna,  says  Savage)  Mary,  born  Feb- 
ruary I,  1674;  Sarah,  born  May  29,  1675; 
Jacob,  born  May  25,  1677;  John,  born  Novem- 
ber 2,  1679;  Rachel,  born  F"ebruary  iS, 
1682;   Daniel,   born    February    18,     16S3 ;  Je- 


mima, born  October  9,  1685;  Mary,  born  Sep- 
tember 10,  1689;  and  Rachel,  born  August 
24,  1692.  Isaac  Morrill  died  October  17, 
1713,    and   his  widow   May  6,    1714. 

Jacob  Morrill,  son  of  Isaac,  married  l-lliza- 
beth  Stevens,  and  the  following  is  the  record  of 
their  children:  Jonathan  and  Joanna,  twins, 
born  P'ebruary  15,  1703;  Abraham,  born  De- 
cember 22,  1703;  Samuel,  born  -September  27, 
1705;  Joanna,  born  February  17,  1707;  Ruth, 
born  December  16,  1709;  Jacob,  born  Septem- 
ber 3,  1711;  Jeremiah,  born  August  7,  1713; 
Elizabeth,  born  November  14,  1715;  Judith, 
born  July  4,  1719;  and  Sarah,  born  June  22, 
1722. 

Abraham,  son  of  Jacob,  was  the  fourth  in 
this  line.  His  first  wife,  Eleanor,  died  March 
26,  1745;  and  his  second  wife,  Mary  Currier, 
whom  he  married  June  30,  1747,  died  July  2, 
1788.  He  was  called  by  many  Father  or 
Faithful  Abraham.  He  was  a  Representative 
to  the  General  Court  for  many  years.  On 
February  11,  1757,  he  bought  part  of  the  iron 
works  at  Crawley's,  Brentwood,  N.  H.  His 
children  were:  William,  born  April  21,  1735; 
Abraham,  born  December  10,  1737;  Zebedee, 
born  August  4,  1740;  Eleanor,  born  October 
30,  1742;  and  Jabez,  born  February  15,   1745. 

William,  son  of  Abraham  and  I'Heanor,  was 
Selectman  in  Brentwood  in  1766,  also  in  sub- 
sequent years ;  and  was  a  De|uity  to  the  New 
Hampshire  Fourth  Provincial  Congress  at 
E.xeter,  May  17,  1775.  He  was  made  Justice 
of  the  Peace  for  Rockingham  Count)-  in  1777, 
and  was  reappointed  to  that  office  in  1789  by 
the  Council  of  New  Hampshire.  lie  m;irricd 
Lydia  Trask  in  1760,  and  their  childien  were: 
Abraham,  Lydia,  Anna,  William,  Jr.,  Jona- 
than, and  Nathaniel  —  the  first  three  horn  in 
Brentwood.  He  died  there  January  28,  1812; 
and  his  wife  died  August  15,  1817.  His  will 
shows  the  following  disposition   of  a  proijerty 


6S 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


which  was  valued  at  thirteen  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  seventy-nine  dollars  and  one 
cent:  to  his  son  Ahraham  he  gave  ninety-six 
acres  on  which  ho  was  living,  to  William,  Jr., 
two-thirds  of  the  I'hilhrick  farm  and  a  watch, 
to  Jonathan  eighty-three  acres,  and  to  Nathan- 
iel the  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres. 

William  Morrill,  Jr.,  the  sixth  in  line,  was 
horn  November  8,  176S,  and  died  August  22, 
1838.  His  first  wife,  Mary  Gordon,  died 
May  26,  1799;  and  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth 
Dudley,  daughter  of  Samuel  Dudley,  died  Oc- 
tober 12,  1865.  His  children  were:  Nathan- 
iel, born  July  23,  1791  ;  Dolly,  born  April  6, 
1794;  Zebedee,  born  July  10,  1796;  Mary, 
born  April  25,  179S;  Sarah,  born  January  3, 
i8oi  ;  Samuel,  born  March  23,  1803;  John 
Dudley,  born  July  25,  1S05;  Ann,  born  July 
20,  1807;  William,  born  April  2,  1810; 
Washington,  born  January  3,  1813;  Frederick, 
born  August  24,   18 15. 

John  Dudley  Morrill,  the  fourth  son,  mar- 
ried first  Lavina  Robinson,  and  by  this  union 
had  three  children  :  James  R.  ;  John  F.  ;  and 
George  W. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His 
second  wife  was  Ruth  Stevens,  who  had  no 
children. 

George  W.  Morrill,  having  completed  his 
course  of  study  at  Laconia  Academy,  engaged 
in  teaching  school  in  the  winter  and  farming 
in  the  summer.  For  a  year  after  his  marriage 
he  remained  with  his  father;  and  he  then 
bought  the  Franklin  Weeks  estate,  where  he 
has  since  made  his  home.  This  place  con- 
sisted originally  of  three  hundred  acres,  and 
Mr.  Morrill  has  added  to  it  until  it  now  em- 
braces five  hundred  acres.  He  has  turned  his 
attention  to  stock-raising,  especially  that  of 
sheep,  and  is  now  making  a  specialty  of  the 
milk  business.  Becoming  interested  in  the 
massage   treatment    about   four  years    ago,   he 


took  up  its  practice,  and  as  a  masseur  has 
established  quite  a  reputation.  He  uses  the 
Monroe  or  deep  treatment,  and  has  been  very 
successful  in  his  cases,  which  have  been 
among  the  best  people  of  the  community. 
Nevertheless,  his  farming  has,  by  no  means, 
been  neglected.  Mr.  Morrill  has  been  Select- 
man of  Gilford  for  three  years;  and  for  two 
years  he  represented  his  town  in  the  State 
legislature,  while  there  serving  on  the  Com- 
mittee on  Agriculture.  He  is  at  present 
Town  Treasurer.  He  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  church,  in  which  he 
has  held  the  office  of  steward  for  the  past 
eighteen  years.  He  is  a  Past  Master  and  is 
now  Lecturer  of  Mount  Belknap  Grange,  No. 
52.  In  politics  he  has  always  been  an  out- 
spoken and  active  Republican. 

Mr.  Morrill  was  married  November  26, 
1863,  to  M.  Frances,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Nancy  (Hill)  Weeks.  Her  father,  who  was 
a  man  of  some  prominence,  serving  as  Select- 
man and  as'  Representative,  and  also  holding 
other  offices,  was  born  in  1816,  and  died  in 
1884.  He  had  three  children  —  M.  Frances, 
S.  Amanda,  and  Austin  B.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Morrill  have  one  child —  Leon,  now  married  to 
Carrie  E.  Kimball. 


'ffTt'OlIN  D.  OTIS,  a  leading  representative 
of  the  industrial  community  of  Farm- 
ington,  N.H.,  where  he  is  carrying  on 
a  thriving  business  as  a  blacksmith  and  gen- 
eral jobber  in  iron  work,  was  born  in  this 
town,  January  15,  1850.  His  father,  William 
Otis,  a  son  of  Micager  Otis,  was  born  in 
Farmington,  and  here  spent  his  life  engaged 
chiefly  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  died  in 
i860,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years.  In  poli- 
tics be  was  a  sound  Democrat,  but  took  no 
part  in  local  affairs.     His  wife,  whose  maiden 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


69 


name  was  Sarah  Dealand,  bore  him  eleven 
children,  four  of  whom  survive,  namely: 
A.  I.  D.  Otis;  George  W.  ;  Roxie;  and 
John    D. 

John  D.  Otis  attended  the  district  schools 
of  Karmington  in  his  boyhood,  and  [nit  his 
hand  to  the  plough  in  early  life,  working  until 
twenty-eight  years  old  as  a  farmer.  He  then 
established  himself  as  a  blacksmith  and  car- 
riage repairer,  and  has  since  built  up  an  ex- 
tensive and  lucrative  business  in  general  job- 
bing, his  work  being  noted  for  its  durability 
and  superior  finish.  Honest  and  upright  in 
his  dealings,  and  taking  an  active  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  the  town,  he  enjoys  a  wide  pop- 
ularity, and  in  1896  was  elected  as  a  Repre- 
sentative to  the  General  Court  at  Concord, 
receiving  the  largest  majority  ever  cast  in 
Farmington.  In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the 
Republican  party. 

On  February  12,  1885,  Mr.  Otis  married 
Miss  Susie  B.  Pitman,  of  Barnstead,  N.H.,  a 
daughter  of  Edward  and  Ann  S.  Pitman. 
They  have  two  children  —  Harry  I^.  and  John 
C.  Mr.  Otis  contributes  liberally  toward  the 
support  of  the  Baptist  church,  which  he  and 
his  family  regularly  attend. 


-|^TI<:NRY   H.    THOMPSON,  a  prominent 
r^H       contractor   and    builder    of    Belmont, 

Ji®  ^^ .  N.  H.,  and  a  member  of  the  Board 

of  Selectmen,  was  born  in  Gilford,  Belknap 
County,  November  2,  i860,  son  of  Joseph  H. 
and  Sarah  A.  (Bennett)  Thompson.  The 
Thompson  family,  it  is  said,  are  descendants 
of  six  brothers —  Moses,  Amos,  Richard, 
Samuel,  Jacob,  and  John  —  who  were  pioneer 
settlers  in  Centre  Harbor,  N.  H. 

Joseph  H.  Thompson,  father  of  Henry  H., 
was  born  in  Centre  Harbor,  N.H.  He  liveil 
there  and  at  Laconia  till   about  1S48,  when  he 


moved  to  Gilford,  ami  there  resided  until  his 
death  in  1861.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade. 
His  wife,  Sarah  A.  ]5ennett,  was  born  in  Gil- 
ford, of  which  town  her  ancestors  were  pio- 
neers and  among  the  first  tax-payers.  She 
became  the  mother  of  two  children,  namely:! 
luiimaj.;  and  Henry  H.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  luiima  J.  married  P>nest  B.  Veasey, 
a  prosperous  contractor  of  Manchester. 

Henry  H.  Thompson  was  educated  in  the 
common  and  high  schools  of  Laconia.  After 
leaving  school  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits for  a  time,  and  in  1S88  he  entered  into 
business  as  a  contractor  and  builder.  He  has 
already  gained  a  high  reputation  for  reliable 
and  painstaking  work,  and  has  just  completed 
a  house  and  stable  in  Laconia,  costing  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  In  1885  he  removed  to  Bel- 
mont, and  erected  a  large  frame  house  on 
Ladd  Hill,  where  he  accommodates  summer 
boarders. 

On  June  18,  1885,  Mr.  Thompson  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Annie  E.  Ladd, 
daughter  of  Harlan  P.  Ladd.  She  was  edu- 
cated at  the  Laconia  High  School.  Three 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Thompson,  namely:  Ralph  H.,  who  died 
young;   Blanche  E. ;   and  Sarah  Marion. 

Politically,  Mr.  Thompson  supports  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  has  been  a  Selectman  for 
the  past  three  years,  and  as  a  member  of  that 
body  has  rendered  valuable  services  to  the 
town.  He  is  connected  with  the  local  grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry,  and  with  the  United 
Order  of  Pilgrim  Fathers,  of  Laconia,  N.H. 


-|p)TENRY  E.  CHAMBERLAIN,  of  New 
r^n  Durham,  who  enjoys  the  distinction 
Ji®  ^^ .  of  being  the  first  Republican  Rep- 
resentative to  the  legislature  from  this  town, 
was  born  in  Alton,  N.H.,  November  20,  1846, 


70 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


son  of  Durrcll  S.  ami  Lucy  (Huckins)  Cham- 
berlain. His  father  was  a  native  of  Alton,  as 
was  also  his  grandfather,  John  Chamberlain. 

Uurrell  S.  Chamberlain  has  always  resided 
at  the  homestead  in  Alton,  situated  near  the 
New  Durham  line,  and  is  an  active  and  pros- 
perous citizen.  In  politics  he  supports  the 
Republican  party.  He  married  Lucy  Huck- 
ins, a  native  of  Alton,  and  has  three  children: 
Henry  E. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Ida  C.  ; 
and  Ella,  wife  of  Frank  B.  F"oss,  of  Farming- 
ton,  N.H. 

Henry  E.  Chamberlain  attended  school  in 
New  Durham  and  Alton,  and  on  the  comple- 
tion of  his  studies  he  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade.  In  i86S  he  bought  the  J.  B.  Young 
farm,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and,  having 
made  various  improvements  upon  the  land  and 
buildings,  now  has  one  ot  the  most  valuable 
pieces  of  agricultural  property  in  this  locality. 
He  has  availed  himself  of  all  modern  machin- 
ery and  appliances  for  general  farming  and 
dairying,  and  his  success  is  the  result  of  his 
progressive  tendencies  and  excellent  judgment. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  married  Sarah  Tucker,  of 
Penacook  (apart  of  Concord,  N.  H.),  and  has 
three  children:  Stella,  wife  of  Harry  C. 
Knowlton,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.;  Arthur  D., 
who  is  attending  the  New  Hampton  Literary 
Institute;  and  Lucy,  who  is  now  a  pupil  at 
the  seminary  for  girls  in  Exeter,  N.H.  For 
several  years  Mr.  Chamberlain  acted  as  Road 
Commissioner.  His  election  to  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  1896  was  considered  a 
notable  event  in  this  vicinity,  as  the  Demo- 
cratic party  had  succeeded  in  electing  its  leg- 
islative candidate  for  the  past  fifty  years;  and 
it  is  predicted  that  the  new  Representative 
from  New  Durham  will  do  honor  to  his  town, 
as  well  as  to  his  party.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Chamberlain  are  Adventists  in  their  religious 
views. 


JOHN  G.  JEWETT,  of  Laconia, 
las  served  the  public  in  various 
ofifices  of  trust,  and  is  one  of  the 
best  known  public  men  of  Belknap  County. 
He  is  also  prominent  as  an  officer  in  some  of 
the  leading  fraternal  organizations  of  the  ilay. 
A  son  of  Smith  and  Statira  (Glines)  Jewett, 
he  was  born  September  4,  1829,  in  Laconia, 
at  that  time  known  as  Meredith  Bridge. 

His  grandfather,  Samuel  Jewett,  was  the 
first  permanent  settler  in  what  is  now  Laconia, 
coming  here  in  1782,  when  the  country  here- 
about was  covered  with  heavy  timber,  and 
game  of  all  kinds  was  plentiful.  He  owned 
more  than  half  the  land  in  what  is  now  Ward 
Five,  his  property  extending  along  the  east 
side  of  the  Winnepesaukee  River  from  far 
above  Main  Street  to  some  distance  below; 
in  fact,  he  had  so  much  land  that  he  could 
almost  afford  to  give  it  away,  and  he  sold  the 
water  privilege  on  this  side  of  the  river  and 
seven  acres  of  land  for  seven  dollars.  A  part 
of  his  estate  is  still  owned  by  the  family. 
His  first  dwelling  was  built  near  the  site  of 
Judge  Jewett's  present  residence.  Samuel 
Jewett  was  a  small  man,  but,  like  Captain 
Myles  Standish,  his  courage  was  greater  than 
his  stature.  He  offered  his  services  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Revolution;  and,  being 
obliged  to  pass  under  a  pole  to  see  if  he  was 
of  the  requisite  height  for  military  duty,  he 
raised  himself  to  his  tiptoes,  and  passed  the 
examination.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  served  all  through  the  war.  Though 
not  a  church  member,  he  was  commonly  knmvn 
as  "Deacon  Jewett."  He  married  Alpheus 
Smith,  and  had  a  family  of  three  sons  and  five 
or  six  daughters. 

Smith  Jewett  was  born  on  the  homestead  in 
Laconia,  and  spent  his  life  in  this  place, 
working  at  carpentry,  and  also  following  agri- 
cultural    pursuits.      He    died    at    the    age    of 


'  f 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


73 


seventy-five.  His  wife  was  a  native  of  North- 
fielcl,  N.II.  Tiieir  family  consisted  of  five 
boys  and  five  girls. 

John  G.  was  the  sixth  child  born  to  his 
parents.  In  his  boyhood  he  attended  the 
public  schools  of  L.aconia  and  Gilford  Acad- 
emy. After  finishing  his  studies  he  taught 
school  more  or  less  for  ten  years,  also  working 
at  the  carpenter's  trade.  In  1855  he  went  to 
South  America,  where  he  remained  about  six- 
teen months,  returning  in  March,  1S57.  He 
was  subsequently  employed  for  eight  years  in 
the  Laconia  Car  Works.  In  1876  he  was  ap- 
pointed Justice  of  the  Police  Court  of  La- 
conia; and  for  nearly  sixteen  years  he  attended 
to  the  duties  of  his  office,  presiding  with  dig- 
nity and  impartiality.  In  1891  he  resigned; 
and  in  April  of  that  year  he  assumed  charge 
of  the  post-office  in  Laconia,  having  been  ap- 
pointed Postmaster  by  President  Harrison. 
He  resigned  this  office  in  May,  1895,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  retired  from  public 
life.  Judge  Jewett  was  Registrar  of  Probate 
for  two  years.  He  began  to  serve  the  public 
nearly  forty  years  ago,  being  appointed  super- 
intendent of  the  School  Committee  of  Gilford 
in  1858.  In  1859  he  was  Collector  of  Taxes, 
the  three  years  following  he  was  Selectman  of 
Gilford,  and  in  1863  he  was  recruiting  ofificer 
in  that  town.  Me  was  in  the  State  legislature 
in  1867  and  1868,  elected  from  Gilford,  and 
while  in  the  House  served  on  the  Committee 
of  Belknap  County  to  apportion  the  State  tax. 
Judge  Jewett  was  a  member  of  the  Laconia 
Board  of  Etlucation  some  twelve  years. 

In  December,  1855,  he  was  married  to 
Caroline  L.  Shannon,  a  native  of  Barnstead, 
N.H.,  and  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  a  resi- 
dent of  Gilmanton.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jewett 
have  three  children:  Stephen  S.,  a  jirominent 
lawyer  of  Laconia;  John  B.  ;  and  Katie  B. — 
all    married.       The    Judge    has    been    a    free 


Mason  for  over  thirty  years,  having  joined 
Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  of  Laconia,  in 
1864;  and  he  is  a  Past  Master  of  this  lodge. 
He  is  High  Priest  of  Union  Ciiapler,  No.  7, 
R.  A.  M.  ;  and  belongs  to  Pilgrim  Command- 
ery,  Knights  Templar.  Though  not  a  profess- 
ing church  member,  he  contributes  liberally 
to  the  support  of  the  Congregational  church  in 
Laconia. 


ON.  BENJAMIN  JAMES  COLE,  a 
venerable  and  esteemed  citizen  of 
Laconia,  N.H.,  for  sixty  years  a 
leading  business  man  and  manufacturer  of 
Lakeport,  was  born  in  P'ranconia,  Grafton 
County,  this  State,  September  28,  18 14,  the 
son  of  Isaac  and  Hannah  (Atwood)  Cole. 

His  parents  had  twelve  children,  and  he  is 
now  the  only  survivor  of  the  family.  Several 
emigrants  from  England  having  the  name  of 
Cole  settled  in  Massachusetts  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  among  them  Thomas,  the  pro- 
genitor of  this  branch  of  the  family,  who  was 
living  in  Salem  in  1649.  It  is  thought  that 
he  came  in  the  "Mary  and  John"  in  1634. 
His  son  John  removed  from  Salem  to  Maiden, 
Mass.,  and  later  to  Lynn,  where  he  died  in 
1703.  John  Cole's  son  Samuel  settled  in  Box- 
ford,  Essex  County,  Mass.,  in  1717,  becoming 
a  farmer  in  the  West  Parish. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
Samuel  Cole's  son,  Samuel  Cole,  Jr.,  tiie 
great-grandfather  of  Benjamin  James  Cole, 
was  well  known  in  Rowley  and  Boxford  as  a 
man  of  solid  worth  and  property.  Among  his 
numerous  children  was  Solomon,  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  born  in  1742. 
The  family  was  intensely  patriotic;  and  Solo- 
mon and  his  brothers  —  Daniel,  Benjamin, 
PHiphalet,  Phineas,  Samuel,  and  Simeon  —  it 
is  said,  jjcrformed  all  together  twenty-seven 
years  of  service   in  the  Continental  army  dur- 


74 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ing  the  Revolutionary  War.  Solomon  was  en- 
ga-^cil  in  military  service  throughout  the  great 
struggle.  He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  and  numerous  other  engagements,  and 
was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Chippewa  Creek. 
The  house  in  which  he  lived  is  still  standing 
in  Rowley,  and  is  occupied  by  one  of  the 
name,  Caleb  Cole.  Solomon  Cole  married  a 
Miss  Barker,  and  had  eight  sons  —  Timothy, 
John,  Kimball,  Isaac,  Benjamin,  Solomon, 
Samuel,  and  Asa.  He  was  one  of  the  stalwart 
men  to  whose  patriotism,  devotion  to  duty,  and 
strong  religious  faith  so  much  of  our  modern 
prosperity  is  due.  He  lived  to  the  age  of 
ninety-three,  spending  the  last  years  of  his 
life  with  his  son,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Cole,  in 
Lisbon,  N.H.  Samuel  Cole  was  a  preacher 
of  the  gospel  for  forty  years;  and  his  son,  the 
Rev.  Moores  Cole,  has  been  in  the  Free  Bap- 
tist ministry  for  forty-eight  years. 

Isaac  Cole,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  in  Rowley,  Essex  County, 
Mass.  In  his  young  manhood  he  learned  the 
trade  of  a  cooper  and  later  that  of  a  carpenter. 
He  married  Hannah  Atwood  when  he  was 
about  twenty-three,  and  settled  in  Chester, 
N.H.  Mrs.  Cole  was  a  woman  of  deep  relig- 
ious principles,  and  carried  her  creed  into 
daily  practice.  She  was  a  native  of  Atkinson, 
N.H.,  and  a  cousin  of  Harriet  Atwood,  who 
married  the  Rev.  William  Newell,  and  was 
the  first  woman  missionary  to  go  from  the 
United  States  to  India,  about  1820.  Mr. 
Cole  lived  in  Chester  for  a  few  years,  when  he 
purchased  some  land  in  Landaff,  Grafton 
County,  and  removed  thither,  giving  his  name 
to  Cole's  Hill.  As  he  did  not  incline  to 
agriculture,  he  went  to  Franconia  to  assume 
the  superintendency  of  the  wood-working  de- 
partment of  the  New  Hampshire  Iron  Manu- 
facturing Company  located  in  that  place.  He 
remained   in   this  position  for  eight  years,  and 


at  the  expiration  of  that  time  removed  to 
.Salisbury,  now  Franklin  village,  where  he 
constructed  one  of  the  first  foundries  built  in 
New  Hampshire,  and  carried  it  on  for  six 
years.  In  1S27  the  great  advantages  afforded 
at  Batchelder's  Mills,  now  Lakeport,  induced 
him  to  remove  to  this  place.  Here  he  estab- 
lished and  conducted  for  nine  years  the  small 
foundry  which  was  the  germ  of  the  present  ex- 
tensive iron  works  of  the  Cole  Manufacturing 
Company.  Mr.  Isaac  Cole  was  a  very  alert 
and  intelligent  business  man,  and  had  great 
mechanical  aptitude.  He  was  a  valued  mem- 
ber of  the  Free  Baptist  church  for  many 
years. 

Benjamin  J.  was  seven  years  old  when  his 
father  removed  to  Salisbury  ;  and  he  obtained 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  that  town  and 
in  the  Noyes  School  and  Sanbornton  Acad- 
emy. In  1836,  after  an  enforced  idleness  of  a 
year  and  a  half  on  account  of  poor  health,  he, 
with  two  brothers,  assumed  control  of  his 
father's  iron  foundry  at  Lakeport,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Cole  &  Co.  Ten  years  later  the 
name  was  changed  to  that  of  Cole,  Davis  & 
Co. ;  and  at  the  close  of  another  decade  Mr. 
Cole  became  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  plant. 
In  1873  the  manufactured  products  of  the  busi- 
ness were  in  such  great  demand  as  to  necessi- 
tate the  erection  of  additional  buildings,  the 
introduction  of  new  machinery,  and  a  large 
increase  of  capital.  The  Cole  Manufacturing 
Company  was  incorporated,  having  a  capital  of 
sixty  thousand  dollars.  All  the  stock,  except- 
ing about  eight  per  cent.,  was  owned  by  Mr. 
Cole  and  members  of  his  family. 

This  com]5any  has  carried  on  a  very  exten- 
sive business.  Its  annual  product  has  ranged 
as  high  as  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  a  force  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  men  has  been  employed.  Under  the 
present  business  depression  the  product  reaches 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


75 


sixty  thousand  dollars,  and  sixty  operatives 
are  employed.  Machinery  is  constructed  for 
various  kinds  of  business,  such  as  hosiery, 
woollen  goods,  lumber,  paper  pulp,  and  paper. 
During  and  since  the  Civil  War  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  looms  have  been 
made  in  one  year.  The  company  also  makes 
a  specialty  of  manufacturing  water-wheels. 
In  their  forge  and  foundry  they  make  car  axles, 
agricultural  implements,  and  stoves.  Eight 
sets  of  machinery,  which  were  the  first  set 
up  in  the  State  of  California  for  the  manu- 
facture of  excelsior,  were  made  here.  Mr. 
Cole  was  Treasurer  and  Superintendent  of  the 
corporation  until  [ScS3,  when,  upon  his  resig- 
nation, his  son-in-law,  Colonel  Henry  B. 
Ouinby,  was  elected  to  succeed  him.  This 
estabUshment  has  done  all  the  castings  for  the 
B.  C.  &  M.  R.R.  since  the  road,  of  which 
Mr.  Cole  was  one  of  the  projectors,  was  built. 
The  total  product  from  this  one  line  aggre- 
gates from  ten  thousand  dollars  to  thirty 
thousand  dollars  per  year.  The  power  for  this 
vast  machinery  is  furnished  mostly  by  water, 
of  which  there  is  two  hundred  horse-power. 
For  only  a  few  months'  time  in  forty  years 
has  it  been  found  necessary  to  use  steam. 

Mr.  Cole  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of 
the  Winnipiseogee  Steamboat  Corporation,  for 
which  he,  together  with  the  late  Captain  Will- 
iam Walker,  built  the  "Lady  of  the  Lake." 
He  is  an  incorporator  of  the  Lake  Village 
Savings  Bank,  of  which  he  was  ten  years  Pres- 
ident; incorporator  and  for  ten  years  Director 
of  the  Laconia  National  Bank;  and  incorpo- 
rator, and  until  recently  President,  of  the 
Wardwell  Needle  Company.  For  more  than 
half  a  century  Mr.  Cole  has  been  immediately 
connected  with  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
Lakeport  and  one  of  the  vital  factors  in  its 
flourishing  condition. 

On  June  17,   1S38,  Mr.   Cole  was   united    in 


marriage    with    Miss    Mehitable,    daughter    of 
Nathan    and    Peace    (Clifford)    Batchclder,    of 
Lakeport.      Five   children    were   horn   of    this 
union,  three  dying  in  infancy;  and  two  daugh- 
ters —  Ellen  A.  and  Octavia  —  are  now  living. 
Mrs.   Cole  died   on   July    15,    1893.     On    her 
father's  side  she  was  descended  from  the  cele- 
brated   Rev.  Stephen   Bachiler,  the  founder  of 
Hampton,  N.H.;  and  on  her  mother's  side  she 
was  allied   with    the    old    English    family  of 
Cliffords,  who  belonged  to  the  nobility.      Gen- 
eral   R.     N.    Batcheldcr,    Mrs.     B.    J.     Cole's 
brother,    having    served    through    the   Rebell- 
ion,   was    appointed    a    Quartermaster    in    the 
regular  army,  and  advancing  through  the  sev- 
eral    grades    became    Quartermaster -general. 
He  was  retired  July  27,  1896,  during  the  ad- 
ministration   of    President   Cleveland,    having 
reached  the  limitation  age  of   sixty-four  years. 
Until    the   breaking    out   of  the   Civil    War 
Mr.  Cole  had  always  been  a  Democrat.     Since 
that  time  he  has  voted  the   Republican  ticket, 
and  has  held  many  positions  of  trust  and  honor 
in  the  public  service.      In    1849-50   he   repre- 
sented Gilford  in  the  State  legislature,  and   in 
1866-67   he  served  on  the  Governor's   Council 
for  the  Second  Councillor  District.      He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  in 
i86Sand  to  the  National   Republican  Conven- 
tion which   renominated  Abraham    Lincoln    in 
1S64.      He  is  a  member  of  the   F"ree   ]5aptist 
church   and   a   Trustee   of  the   New    Hampton 
Institution,  and  is  always  ready  to  devote  time 
and    money    to    the    furtherance    of    works    of 
benevolence  or  projects  caculated  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  general   public.      For  many 
years  he  was  clerk  of  the  church;  and  together 
with   Mr.  Davis,  his  former  pastor,    he    built 
the    chapel,    and    helped     to    build     the     first 
church    in    Lakeport,    as   well    as    the   present 
church,  which  is  more  costly,  and  has  a  larger 
society  than  any  other  in  this  county. 


76 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


/^rK(3RGE  A.  SIMPSON,  senior  mem- 
V  ST  ber  of  the  firm  of  Simpson  &  Towle, 
general  merchants  of  Centre  Harbor, 
was  born  in  Rumney,  N.H.,  October  25,  1863, 
son  of  Thomas  and  Adell  Grace  (Merrill) 
Simpson.  The  grandfather,  George  \V.  Simp- 
son, was  a  native  of  West  Rnmney.  He 
learned  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  which  he  fol- 
lowed in  addition  to  farming,  and  resided  in 
Oxford,  N.  H.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable 
local  prominence,  and  served  as  a  Selectman 
for  two  or  three  years.  His  wife,  in  maiden- 
hood Mary  Savage,  was  a  native  of  Oxford. 

Thomas  Simpson  was  born  in  Oxford, 
March  7,  1835.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  left 
the  homestead,  and  for  several  years  was  em- 
ployed upon  a  milk  farm  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston.  He  then  returned  to  Oxford,  and, 
purchasing  a  dairy  farm,  carried  it  on  for  some 
time.  Selling  his  property,  he  removed  to 
Rumney,  where  he  bought  a  farm  and  a  saw- 
mill. After  carrying  on  quite  an  extensive 
business  here  for  a  few  years,  he  sold  the  mill, 
and  worked  as  foreman  for  three  or  four  years 
in  the  employment  of  the  purchaser.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  sold  his  farm,  and  removed 
to  Rumney  village.  Some  four  years  later  he 
engaged  in  the  tinware  business,  which  he  fol- 
lowed successfully  for  sixteen  or  seventeen 
years,  driving  a  well-stocked  cart,  and  for 
eight  years  making  his  headquarters  in  Plym- 
outh, N.H.  He  finally  settled  in  Centre 
Harbor,  and  is  now  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  His  wife,  Adell,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  George  L.  Merrill,  of  Rumney,  has  had 
three  children,  two  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  George  A.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
and  Austin  G.,  a  resident  of  Campton,  N.H. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Simpson  are  members 
of  the  Baptist  church. 

George  A.  Simpson  obtained   his   education 
in  the  public  schools   of   Rumney   and   at    the 


New  Hampton  Institute.  He  commenced  his 
business  career  in  Plymouth  as  a  clerk  for 
Plummer  Fox,  with  whom  he  remained  five 
years.  He  then  came  to  Centre  Harbor,  where, 
in  company  with  Henry  E.  French,  he  started 
a  general  mercantile  business,  uniler  the  firm 
name  of  Simpson  &  P>ench.  On  May  i,  1894, 
his  partner  sold  his  interest  to  Frank  L. 
Towle;  and  the  present  firm  of  Simpson  & 
Towle  are  conducting  a  thriving  trade.  On 
December  7,  1S86,  Mr.  Simpson  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Mabel  L.  Wyatt,  daughter  of 
George  Wyatt.  Mrs.  Simpson  is  the  mother 
of  four  children;  namely,  Percy  G. ,  Leon  W., 
Earl  T.,  and  Marian  G.  In  politics  Mr. 
Simpson  is  a  Republican.  He  served  the 
town  as  Postmaster  for  four  years,  and  he  was 
elected  Moderator  at  town  meetings  in  1896. 
He  is  connected  with  Winncpesaukee  Tribe, 
Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  in  which  he  is 
Collector  of  Wampum. 


bfREEMAN    A.    HUSSEY,  proprietor  of 

PIj      the  principal   bakery   in   Somersworth, 

N.H.,  is   a   native   of   this   place,    born 

January    23,     1852,    son    of    John     and     Mary 

(Locke)  Hussey. 

He  spent  his  boyhood  and  youth  in  the 
parental  home,  and  obtained  his  elementary 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  vil- 
lage. When  about  nineteen  }'ears  old  he 
began  to  learn  the  baker's  trade,  working  in 
the  same  shop  about  eight  years,  or  until  May, 
1879,  when  he  bought  out  his  employer,  and 
has  since  conducted  the  business  in  his  own 
name.  He  has  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
equipped  bakeries  in  Strafford  County,  and 
employs  four  or  five  men  the  greater  part  of 
the  time.  Having  a  thorough  practical 
knowledge  of  the  business,  he  is  able  to  super- 
intend it  in  all  its  various  deixartments. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


77 


On  October  23,  1878,  Mr.  Hussey  married 
Miss  Celia  A.  E.  Fall,  of  Sonicrsworth,  a 
daughter  of  Noah  I,,  and  Amanda  (James) 
Fall.  They  have  two  children:  Leona  Iv, 
born  May  5,  18S0:  and  Edith  A.,  born  July 
17,   1882. 

Mr.  Hussey  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  has 
been  quite  active  in  political  matters.  In 
1887  and  1888  he  was  a  member  of  th<?  Board 
of  Selectmen,  and  is  now  serving  his  third 
term  as  Alderman  from  Wanl  Three.  He 
belongs  to  Libanus  Lodge,  No.  49,  F.  & 
A.  M.  ;  St.  Paul  Commandery,  K.  T. ;  and 
Washington  Lodge,  No.  4,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of 
Somersworth.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Free  Baptist  church,  in  which  he  holds  the 
position  of  church  warden. 


tI^NELSON  J.  CHASE,  a  rising  young 
I  =/  farmer  of  Meredith,  Belknap  County, 
J-^  x^  N.H.,  was  born  in  this  town,  De- 
cember 22,  1869,  son  of  William  and  Melvina 
Chase.  His  grandfather,  John  Chase,  who 
was  born  in  Meredith,  September  22,  1786, 
married  Sally  Leavitt,  born  March  26,  1790, 
and  his  children  were:  Luther  M.,  Aaron  B. , 
William,  John  W. ,  Stephen  L.,  Wealthy, 
Maria,  and  Hosea. 

Luther  M.  Chase  was  born  in  Meredith, 
April  26,  i8ri.  With  the  exception  of  two 
or  three  years  spent  in  Newton,  Mass.,  he  has 
always  resided  upon  the  homestead,  which  was 
improved  by  his  father.  He  is  an  industrious 
and  successful  farmer.  For  his  first  wife  he 
married  Ro.xanna  Gordon,  and  by  that  union 
had  two  sons  —  Albert  A.  Chase,  M.  D.,  and 
Noah  H.  Albert  A.  was  graduated  from 
Dartmouth  College.  He  entered  the  volunteer 
service  as  Assistant  Surgeon  of  the  Twenty- 
eighth  Regiment,  Massachusetts  Infantry,  and 
died  in  the  army  during   the   Civil    War.      He 


was  unmarried.  Noah  IL  Chase  is  residing 
in  Meredith. 

William  Chase,  father  of  Nelson  J.,  was 
born  and  educated  in  Meredith.  He  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  in  this  town  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1871.  He  wedded 
Mrs.  Melvina  Smith  Taylor,  daughter  of 
William  Smith,  of  Holderness,  N. H.  (An 
account  of  her  parents  and  ancestry  will  be 
found  in  a  sketch  of  Curtis  V.  Smith,  which 
appears  upon  another  ]5age  of  the  Ri:vii:w.) 
Mrs.  Chase,  by  her  union  with  David  Taylor, 
her  first  husband,  had  two  children:  Frank, 
who  is  no  longer  living;  and  Frank  S.  By 
her  union  with  Mr.  William  Chase  she  had 
four  children,  namely:  Flora  K.,  who  married 
George  H.  Mooney,  of  Lakeport,  N.  H.;  Clara 
M.,  who  died  in  infancy;  Abbie  M.,  wife  of 
Harry  Perks,  of  Everett,  Mass.  ;  and  Nelson 
J.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mrs.  Melvina 
Chase,  after  the  death  of  her  second  husband, 
married  his  brother,  Luther  M.  Chase. 

Nelson  J.  Chase  is  a  yoimg  man  of  untiring 
energy  and  much  natural  ability.  He  acquired 
a  good  practical  education  in  his  boyhood,  and 
is  now  carrying  on  general  farming  with 
gratifying  success.  Politically,  he  acts  with 
the  Republican  part}'. 


fSRAEL  HAYES,  a  veteran  shoe  manu- 
facturer of  Farmington,  and  one  of  its 
most  venerable  and  honored  citizens, 
was  born  May  9,  iSi6,  in  Milton,  N.H.,  son 
of  Ichabod  Hayes.  The  Hayes  family  was 
one  of  the  earliest  to  settle  in  Strafford 
County.  Ichabod  Hayes,  born  and  reared  in 
Madbury,  this  county,  and  familiar  from  boy- 
hood with  the  pioneer  labor  of  clearing  and 
improving  the  land,  removed  to  Milton,  where 
he  was  engaged  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil  for  the 
most  of  his  life.      In  1830,  at  the  age  of  three- 


7S 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


score  years,  he  was  accidentally  killed  on  the 
drawbridge  at  Sawyer's  Mills  in  Dover,  as  the 
result  of  being  thrown  out  of  a  wagon  by  the 
collision  of  another.  His  first  wife,  in  maid- 
enhood MissWentworth,  of  New  Castle,  N.H., 
died  a  few  years  after  their  union,  leaving 
three  children — Ephraim,  Sarah,  and  Lydia. 
He  afterward  married  Miss  Sally  Card,  and  of 
their  eight  children  but  two  survive:  Israel, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  ;  and  William,  who 
resides  in  Stoneham,  Mass. 

Until  he  was  about  twenty  years  old,  Israel 
Hayes  worked  on  the  farm  in  the  summer  sea- 
son, and  attended  the  district  schools  of  Mil- 
ton or  Alton  in  the  winter.  He  was  afterward 
employed  for  a  short  time  at  the  shoemaker's 
trade  in  Alton,  and  then  went  to  Natick, 
Mass.,  for  a  short  stay.  In  1840  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  business  in  Farmington  as  a 
manufacturer  of  custom  shoes,  continuing  for 
some  years  on  a  rather  modest  scale.  In 
1853,  encouraged  by  the  success  he  had  met 
with,  he  erected  a  factory,  and  for  a  year 
manufactured  shoes  in  company  with  H.  B. 
Edgerly.  Since  that  time  he  has  continued 
the  business  in  company  with  his  son,  making 
a  specialty  of  manufacturing  brogan  shoes  of  a 
medium  grade,  and  has  built  up  an  extensive 
and  flourishing  trade.  At  the  present  time, 
however,  only  a  part  of  the  building  is  occu- 
pied. In  politics  he  is  a  firm  supporter  of  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party.  He  has 
never  cared  for  public  office,  although  he  did 
serve  for  one  year  as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen. 

Mr.  Hayes  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  marriage  was  contracted  with  Sarah  Rich- 
ards, of  Dover,  who  died  soon  after,  leaving  a 
daughter,  named  Sarah.  In  ,1848  Mr.  Hayes 
was  married  to  Miss  Ann  F.  Edgerly,  who 
died  November  12,  1889.  Five  children  were 
born  of  this  union,  four  of  whom  are  now   liv- 


ing; namely,  Edward  VV. ,  Martha  A.,  l'"rank 
C,  and  Mary  E.  Martha  is  the  wife  of  J.  V. 
Safford,  of  this  town;  "and  Mary  is  the  wife  of 
E.  F.  Cummings,  of  Beachmont,  Mass.  Mr. 
Hayes  and  his  family  attend  and  support  the 
Congregational  church,  of  which  he  has  been 
a  Deacon  for  twenty  years. 


OIIN  ALEXANDER  MacDONALD, 
the  superintendent  of  the  John  D.  Bates 
estate  at  Centre  Harbor,  and  an  ex- 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  legislature,  is 
a  native  of  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  was 
born  July  19,  1S56.  He  is  a  son  of  Alexander 
and  Catherine  (Gillis)  MacDonald,  who  are 
respectively  natives  of  Scotland  and  Prince 
Edward  Island.  The  grandfather,  John  Mac- 
Donald,  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  learned 
the  ship-carpenter's  trade  in  that  city.  After 
marriage  he  emigrated  to  Prince  Edward 
Island,  where  he  was  for  many  years  engaged 
in  building  fishing-vessels  and  in  farming. 

Alexander  MacDonald,  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  emigrated  with  his  parents 
when  he  was  a  boy.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  received  from  his  father  a  farm  located 
upon  the  seashore,  which  he  has  since  suc- 
cessfully conducted.  He  has  been  quite  ac- 
tive in  local  politics,  and  is  identified  with 
the  Liberal  party.  His  wife,  Catherine,' who 
is  a  daughter  of  Laughlin  Gillis,  of  Prince 
Edward  Island,  has  had  three  children, 
namely:  John  Alexander,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Joseph,  who  is  now  deceased;  and 
Mary  Ann.  Botii  parents  are  Roman  Cath- 
olics. 

John  Alexander  MacDonald  resided  at  home 
until  he  became  of  age,  receiving  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools.  He  then  went  to 
Boston,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  there  ob- 
tained   employment    on    the    Adams   estate    in 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


79 


VVatertown,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  a  year. 
He  next  worked  upon  the  Phillips  estate  in 
Beverly,  Mass.,  for  a  year,  and  then  became 
superintendent  of  the  John  D.  Bates  estate  at 
Centre  Harbor.  This  property,  which  is  one 
of  the  finest  rural  establishments  in  New  Eng- 
land, contains  two  hundred  acres,  has  a  deer 
park,  trout  pond,  and  large  greenhouses. 
Blooded  cattle  and  sheep  of  standard  breeds  are 
kept,  and  its  stable  contains  ten  fancy  horses. 
On  March  4,  1S86,  Mr.  MacDonald  married 
Julia  Butler,  daughter  of  Andrew  Dennison 
Butler,  of  Boston.  They  have  three  children 
—  John  Alexander,  Jr.,  Andrew  Joseph,  and 
Marguerite  Loretta.  In  politics  Mr.  Mac- 
Donald  is  a  Democrat,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  legislature  in  1895  and  1896,  serving  upon 
the  Committee  on  County  Affairs.  He  is  a 
Past  Chancellor  of  Meredith  Lodge,  No.  50, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  was  for  three  years 
Master  of  Garnet  Hill  Grange,  Patrons  of 
Husbandry. 


MASA  VV.  SHACKFORD,  a  photog- 
rapher, well  versed  in  his  art,  and  one 
of  the  foremost  residents  of  Farm- 
ington,  was  born  in  Barnstead,  this  State, 
November  18,  1834.  His  grandfather,  Josiah 
Shackford,  who  was  born  and  bred  in  Ports- 
mouth, removed  to  Barnstead  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  past  century.  The  father,  Seth  Shack- 
ford, spent  the  seventy-seven  years  of  his  life 
in  Barnstead.  Besides  general  farming  he 
followed  the  occupations  of  cattle  drover  and 
general  merchant.  His  reputation  was  that  of 
a  capable  business  man.  A  straightforward 
Democrat  in  politics,  he  was  influential  in 
local  affairs,  served  in  all  the  town  offices,  and 
for  a  time  in  the  respective  capacities  of 
County  Commissioner  and  Representative  to 
the    General    Court.       His    first    wife,    whose 


maiden  name  was  Harriet  Hill,  died  a  feu- 
years  atter  their  marriage,  leaving  three  ciiil- 
dien.  These  were:  Horatio  H.,  of  Barnstead  ; 
Amasa  \V.,  the  subject  of  this  brief  sketch; 
and  Lydia  A.,  the  wife  of  Charles  H.  Dow. 
His  second  wife,  Roxa  A.  (Nute)  Shackford, 
left  no  children  at  her  death.  He  subse- 
quently contracted  a  third  marriage  with  Mrs. 
Pamelia  Brown,  of  Barnstead. 

Amasa  W.  Shackford  received  his  education 
at  I^ittsfiekl  and  at  tiie  New  London  Literary 
Institute.  He  went  soon  after  to  Concord  to 
learn  jjhotography,  for  a  while  i)eing  employed 
in  the  studio  of  Benjamin  Carr.  Having 
acquired  a  good  knowledge  of  the  business,  he 
purchased  and  fitted  up  a  photographer's  cart, 
with  which  he  travelled  for  about  six  years. 
In  1 866,  or  thereabouts,  Mr.  Shackford  opened 
a  gallery  in  Farmington,  and  has  since  con- 
tinued in  his  chosen  occui)ation  in  this  town. 
For  a  score  of  years  he  taught  school  in  I'arni- 
ington,  Barnstead,  Northwood,  and  Gilmanton, 
including  classes  in  penmanship  in  the  jiublic 
schools.  In  1884  he  built  the  large  block  on 
Central  Street  in  which  his  studio  has  since 
been  located,  his  large  and  constantly  increas- 
ing patronage  having  demaiided  more  commo- 
dious quarters.  An  artist  of  wide  experience, 
and  doing  work  that  compares  favorably  with 
that  of  the  leading  photographers  of  the 
county,  he  has  a  large  and  constantly  increas- 
ing patronage.  He  is  now  assisted  by  his 
son,  to  whom  he  has  relegated  the  larger  jxirt 
of  the  responsible  work  of  the  establishment. 
In  politics  he  acts  with  the  Democratic  party. 
He  served  his  fellow-townsmen  in  the  capacity 
of  Town  Clerk  for  five  years  and  tliat  of  mem- 
ber of  the  School  Board  for  three  years.  He 
was  made  a  Mason  in  Fraternal  Lodge;  is  a 
member  of  Woodbine  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  l'\  :  and 
belongs  to  the  Henry  Wilson  Colony  of  Pil- 
grim   Fathers  of  I-'arminjjton. 


8o 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Mr.  Shackford  married  Miss  Clara  A. 
Loiigee,  of  Barnstead,  a  daughter  of  Simeon 
and  Mary  (Tibbetts)  Loiigee.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Shackford  have  but  one  child,  John  S.,  who 
has  largely  succeeded  to  the  business  of  his 
father.  John  S.  Shackford  completed  the 
course  of  study  at  the  Farmington  High 
School,  and  was  subsequently  graduated  from 
the  Scientific  and  Literary  Institute  at  New 
Hampton,  N.  H.  He  is  a  man  of  good  mental 
attainments,  is  gifted  by  nature  with  artistic 
ability,  and  he  has  inherited  his  father's  skill 
in  penmanship.  Mr.  Amasa  W.  Shackford 
and  his  family  are  regular  attendants  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church,  and  contribute  their 
full  share  toward  its  maintenance. 


/^^nToRGE  L.  HALL,  a  farmer  of  Barn- 
\J5  I  stead,  N.I  I.,  was  born  March  7,  1845. 
1 1  is  parents  were  George  and  Sally 
(Drew)  Hall.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Sol- 
omon Hall,  and  his  grandfather's  brother, 
Joseph  Hall,  were  early  settlers  in  Barnstead, 
coming  here  from  Strafford.  They  bought  a 
tract  of  land,  and  are  said  to  have  cleared  most 
of  it  before  building,  the  greater  part  of  it 
being  wood  land.  Solomon  Hall  married 
Lydia  Scruton,  of  Strafford,  who  was  born  Oc- 
tober 12,  1 77 1,  and  died  August  17,  1845. 
He  died  October  24,  1852,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  years.  They  had  twelve  children, 
as  follows:  liphraim;  Joseph;  Mary;  Deb- 
orah; Lydia;  Daniel;  Solomon,  Jr.;  Will- 
iam; George,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Hannah;  Stacy;  and  Alfred.  Of 
these  children,  Daniel  and  Solomon,  Jr.,  died 
respectively  April  i  and  3,  18 19. 

George,  the  si.xth  son,  as  above  named,  lived 
at  home  with  his  parents,  and  was  given  the 
farm.  He  married  Sally  Drew,  daughter  of 
John  Drew,  whose  father  was  one   of   the  first 


settlers  near  Crescent  Lake  in  Alton,  N.  H. 
George  Hall  was  a  Deacon  of  the  Free  Will 
Baptist  church  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-four,  and  his  wife 
was  seventy -seven  years  old  at  the  time  of  her 
death.  They  had  three  children,  namely: 
George  L.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Lydia 
Charlotte;  and  John  Frank.  Lydia  Charlotte 
married  Samuel  Chapman,  of  Fast  Dennis, 
Mass.  John  Frank  has  been  a  successful 
grocer  in  Farmington,  N.  PL,  for  the  past 
twenty  years.  He  has  held  many  local  offices 
of  trust,  has  represented  his  town  in  the 
Lower  House  of  the  State  legislature,  and  also 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  Senate.  A 
sketch  of  him  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
volume. 

George  L.  Hall,  the  elder  of  the  two 
brothers,  having  acquired  his  education  in 
district  and  private  schools  of  the  town,  'en- 
gaged in  general  farming,  and  at  the  death  of 
his  father  inherited  the  homestead.  Since 
that  time  he  has  been  very  prosperous,  and  has 
added  considerable  to  the  improvements  of  the 
farm,  replacing  the  old  buildings  by  new 
and  commodious  ones.  He  is  very  popular, 
and  has  been  Selectman  of  the  town  for  four 
years,  in  politics  always  voting  with  the 
Democrats. 

On  May  13,  1883,  he  married  Mary  E. 
Holmes,  daughter  of  John  F.  Holmes,  a  prom- 
inent citizen  of  Barnstead.  For  four  years 
before  her  marriage  Mrs.  Hall  taught  school 
in  different  places,  having  fitted  herself  for 
the  work  by  attending  Pittsfield  Academy  sev- 
eral terms.  She  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church  for  twenty  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall  have  two  children  — 
George  F.  and  Mildred  E.  Mr.  Hall  is  a 
conscientious,  faithful  citizen,  active  in  all 
the  interests  of  the  town,  and  is  one  who  has 
the  confidence  of  the  community. 


JAMES    F.    SEAVEY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


83 


f^AMES  FRANK  SEAVEY,  one  of  the 
representative  men  of  Strafford  County, 
New  Hamjishire,  occuiiies  a  position  of 
prominence  in  the  financial,  political,  and 
social  circles  of  Dover,  of  which  he  is  a  resi- 
dent, and  is  likewise  connected  with  many  of 
the  leading  enterprises  of  neighboring  towns 
and  cities.  He  was  born  August  14,  183S,  in 
Rochester,  this  county,  a  son  of  Samuel  F. 
Seavey,  and  a  grandson  of  Samuel  Seavey,  one 
of  the  Rochester  farmers  who  served  in  the 
War  of  1812.  His  grandfather  Ham  was  also 
a  soldier  in  that  war. 

Samuel  F.  Seavey  was  born  in  Rochester, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
during  his  years  of  activity.  He  was  quite 
successful  in  his  labors;  and  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  when  he  was  seventy-two  years 
of  age,  he  had  accumulated  a  considerable 
property.  In  politics  he  was  a  stanch  Demo- 
crat, and  took  an  active  part  in  local  affairs. 
In  his  daily  walk  in  life  he  was  guided  by  the 
Christian  jjrinciples,  and  both  he  and  his  wife 
were  valued  members  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church.  He  married  Eliza  K.  Ham,  who  was 
like  himself  a  lifelong  resident  of  Rochester, 
N.  II.  She  survived  him  some  time,  passing 
away  at  the  good  old  age  of  seventy-nine 
years.  They  reared  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  James  Frank,  the  special 
subject  of  this  biography;  Mary  J.  ;  Elizabeth 
A.;  Albert  F.,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  will  be 
found  on  another  page  of  this  volume;  Joseph 
W.  ;  Charles,  who  died  in  infancy;  and 
Charles  H.,  residing  in  Rochester,  who  is 
connected  with  his  brothers,  James  F.  and 
Albert  F.,  in  the  lumbering  business,  their 
plant  being  located  in  Dover. 

James  Frank  Seavey  spent  his  early  years 
on  the  home  farm,  attending  first  the  public 
schools  and  afterward  the  private  school  of 
Miss  Caroline  Knight,  of  Rochester,  complet- 


ing his  education  at  the  I-'ranklin  Academy  of 
Dover.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  left 
the  parental  roof  to  enter  upon  a  business 
career,  spending  the  next  eight  years  as  a  clerk 
in  a  dry-goods  and  grocery  store  in  this  city. 
Having  become  familiar  with  the  details  of 
the  business  in  which  he  had  been  so  long 
employed,  Mr.  Seavey,  forming  a  partnership 
with  his  brother,  Albert  F.,  under  the  firm 
name  of  J.  Frank  Seavey  &  Co.,  established 
a  clothing  house,  which  is  now  managed  by 
the  junior  partner.  Capable  of  mnltituclinous 
cares,  he  has  found  time,  either  as  personal 
director  or  projector,  to  enter  into  various 
other  enterprises  of  a  financial  nature,  being 
one  of  the  Directors  of  the  E.  II.  Rollins  & 
Sons'  corporation;  a  member  of  the  well- 
known  firm  of  Charles  II.  Seavey  &  Co.,  man- 
ufacturing lumber  dealers ;  a  Director  of  the 
B.  F.  Haley  Company,  wholesale  clothing- 
house,  of  New  Market,  N.H.  ;  a  member  of 
the  Dover  Navigation  Company;  a  Director  of 
the  Dover  Improvement  Association;  Presi- 
dent and  Director  of  the  Dovei"  Co-operative 
Savings  Fund  and  Loan  Association;  and  pro- 
prietor of  a  large  livery  and  hack  stable. 

In  public  affairs  Mr.  Seavey  has  been  very 
active,  having  served  with  credit  to  himself 
and  honor  to  his  constituents  in  various  im- 
portant offices.  In  1867  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Common  Council  of  Dover,  in 
which  he  served  two  years;  for  two  years  he 
was  Selectman  of  Iiis  ward:  for  the  same 
length  of  time  Ward  Clerk;  from  iS6g  until 
1872  County  Treasurer  of  Strafford  Count\'; 
in  1878  and  for  three  years  thereafter  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature;  and  in  18S1  was  chosen 
as  a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire  Senate, 
in  1883  being  honored  with  a  re-election,  a 
distinction  as  rare  as  it  was  merited.  In 
secret  society  circles  Mr.  Seavey  is  likewise 
prominent.      He    has    taken    a    high     rank    in 


84 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIFAV 


Masonry,  being  a  Knight  Templar;  in  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  he  was  Grand  Chancellor 
in  1876,  and  in  1878  and  1S79  was  Supreme 
Representative;  he  has  passed  all  of  the  chairs 
of  Wechohamet  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Dover; 
ami  he  also  iielongs  to  the  encampment. 

Mr.  James  Frank  Scavey  married  April  20, 
1863,  Miss  Sarah  F.,  daughter  of  Daniel  K. 
and  Hannah  (Ham)  Webster,  of  Dover.  They 
iiave  two  children,  namely:  Grace  W.,  the 
wife  of  Montgomery  Rollins,  of  Boston  ;  and 
Walter  H.,  who  married  Mabel  Foster,  and  is 
associated  with  E.  H.  Rollins  &  Sons  in  the 
banking  business  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  Mrs. 
Seavey  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  of  which  Mr.  Seavey  is  a  regular 
attendant,  and  toward  the  support  of  which  he 
is  a  generous  contriliutor. 


I D WARD  E.  EVANS,  a  leading  farmer 
of  Rochester,  was  born  August  13, 
1839,  in  the  house  he  now  occupies, 
and  in  which  his  father,  William  Evans,  was 
born  in  1799.  He  belongs  to  the  fourth  gen- 
eration of  the  Evans  family.  His  great- 
grandfather, Benjamin  Evans,  who  came  here 
from  Madbury  in  Colonial  days,  purchased  the 
land  while  it  was  yet  in  a  wild  state,  and 
there  cleared  and  improved  a  farm.  This 
property  he  afterward  left  to  his  son,  Hanson 
Evans,  the  next  in  line  of  descent. 

William  livans  spent  his  life  on  the  home- 
stead, and  was  one  of  the  foremost  farmers  of 
his  time.  Having  been  a  well-read  man,  of 
broad  views  and  good  judgment,  he  took  a 
leading  part  in  affairs.  He  supported  the  Re 
publican  party,  and  for  two  terms  was  a  Rep- 
resentative to  the  General  Court.  His  death 
occurred  on  the  home  farm  in  1877,  when  he 
was  seventy -eight  years  old.  His  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Hannah   Shannon,  bore  him 


ten  children,  si-x  of  whom  are  living.  These 
are:  Thomas,  of  Rochester;  l{dward  E.,  the 
subject  of  this  article;  Charles  W.,  of  New 
Durham;  John  J.,  who  resides  in  Rochester; 
Mary  F. ,  the  wife  of  Daniel  Hussey,  of  this 
town;  and  Susan  M.,  the  widow  of  John 
Brock,  late  of  Rochester. 

I'2dward  E.  Evans  completed  his  education 
at  the  high  school  of  Sandwich  Centre.  He 
afterward  assisted  his  father  on  the  farm,  ac- 
quiring thereby  a  practical  knowledge  of  agri- 
culture. He  subsequently  secured  a  position 
in  Wallace's  shoe  factory  at  Rochester,  where 
he  remainetl  three  years.  In  1871  he  returned 
to  the  old  homestead,  which  has  since  been 
under  his  management.  It  is  located  on  the 
Strafford  road,  about  three  and  a  half  miles 
from  Rochester,  and  contains  sixty  acres  of 
land,  affording  excellent  pasture  for  his  cattle, 
and  well  adapted  for  raising"  crops.  He  has 
been  very  successful  in  raising  small  grain. 
In  1893  he  sent  an  exhibit  of  oats,  wheat,  and 
rye  to  the  Columbian  Exposition  in  Chicago, 
where  he  took  first  prize  for  oats  and  rye.  In 
politics  he  is  a  stanch  Republican.  He  has 
persistently  refused  nomination  for  the  legis- 
lature, public  life  having  no  attractions  for 
him.  He  did,  however,  serve  as  Selectman  in 
1S85,  18S9,  and  1 89 1,  and  is  at  present  filling 
a  term  of  three  years  as  Selectman  of  Ward 
Three.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Crown  Point 
Grange  of  Strafford,  and  he  and  his  family 
attend  the  Crown  Point  Baptist  Church  of  that 
place. 

Mr.  Evans's  first  wife,  in  maidenhood  Abby 
Vickery,  of  Rochester,  died  in  1872.  She 
left  one  child,  George  E.,  who,  after  graduat- 
ing from  the  Rochester  High  School,  received 
a  medical  education  at  the  New  York  Homoeo- 
pathic College,  and  is  now  a  physician  in 
Branford,  Conn. 

On    December  28,    1876,    he   married    Miss 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


85 


Jennie  Clark,  also  of  Rochester,  ami  they  have 
two  sons,  namely:  Joseph  H.,  born  April  11, 
1878,  who  graduated  from  the  Rochester  High 
School  in  June,  1897;  and  K.  Roscoe,  born 
December  30,  1880,  now  attending  the  high 
school. 


I  • » >  > 


/^TkORGE  H.  and  JOSEPH  S.  CLARK, 
\  ^  I  who,  under  the  firm  name  of  George 
H.  Clark  &  Co.,  carry  on  a  large 
lumber  business  in  Meredith,  are  the  sons  of 
Jonathan  and  Elsie  (Sturtevant)  Morse  Clark. 
Jonathan  Clark,  a  native  of  Beverly,  Mass., 
having  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  moved 
in  1S24  to  Centre  Harbor,  N.  H.,  and  engaged 
ill  business  upon  his  own  account.  In  1834 
he  removed  to  Moultonboro,  N.H.,  where  he 
followed  his  trade  as  a  master  builder  for  the 
rest  of  his  life,  and  died  in  April,  1868.  In 
politics  he  was  originally  a  Whig  and  later  a 
Republican.  He  married  Mrs.  Elsie  (Sturte- 
vant) Morse,  daughter  of  Joseph  Sturtevant,  of 
Centre  Harbor.  She  became  the  mother  of 
four  children,  namely:  Elizabeth,  who  married 
Reuben  Clough,  of  Warner,  N.H.;  Emeline 
A.,  now  the  wife  of  Samuel  Lull,  of  the  same 
town;  and  George  II.  and  Joseph  S. ,  the  sub- 
jects of  this  sketch.  She  died  in  1847.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jonathan  Clark  were  members  of 
the  Congregational  church. 

George  H.  Clark,  who  was  born  in  Centre 
Harbor,  February  13,  1833,  acquired  a  dis- 
trict-school education,  and  then  learned  the 
carijentcr's  trade  with  his  father.  He  was 
afterward  employed  for  five  years  in  a  piano 
factory.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he  and  his 
brother  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber 
in  Meredith.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 
He  belongs  to  Chocorua  Lodge  of  Masons  and 
to  the  Masonic  Chapter  in  Laconia.  In  i860 
George  H.  Clark  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mary  A.  Tilton,  daughter  of  Joseph  Tilton,  of 


Meredith   Centre.      He  atteiuls   the   Congrega- 
tional church. 

Joseph  S.  Clark  was  born  in  Moultonboro, 
August  30,  1S38.  After  completing  his  stud- 
ies in  the  district  schools  he  served  an  ap|)ieii- 
ticeship  with  his  father,  and  afterward  lol- 
lowed  the  carpenter's  trade  for  a  time.  At 
the  age  of  twenty  he  became  a  partner  in  the 
firm  of  George  H.  Clark  &  Co.  The  firm  are 
extensive  manufacturers  ami  dealers  in  all 
kinds  of  lumber,  and  their  annual  outimt 
reaches  large  figures.  In  1866  Joseph  S. 
Clark  married  Eliza  J.  Wiggin,  daughter  of 
Washington  Wiggin,  of  Meredith.  Mrs. 
Clark  is  now  the  mother  of  two  chiUlren  — 
Joseph  and  Mary.      In  i)olitics  Mr.  Clark    is   a 

Republican. 

< •••» 

'^Y^^ORRISON  BENNETT,  a  farmer  by 
occupation,  is  an  influential  citi- 
zen of  Alton,  Belknap  County, 
N.  H.  A  son  of  Benjamin,  Jr.,  and  Lydia 
(Morrison)  Bennett,  he  was  born  June  7,  1S22, 
in  the  house  he  now  occupies,  a  substantial 
frame  dwelling  built  by  his  paternal  grand- 
father in  1774. 

Benjamin  Bennett,  .Sr. ,  was  one  of  the  ear- 
liest settlers  of  Alton,  coming  here  from  Dur- 
ham. He  had  previously  worked  out  for  a  few 
years  in  New  Durham.  In  Alton  he  ])ur- 
chased  a  one-hundred-and-fifty-acie  tract  ol 
wild  land,  on  which  he  felled  the  first  trees. 
The  Bennett  house  is  probably  the  first  frame 
dwelling  built  in  Alton,  ami  in  the  early  days 
town  meetings  were  frequently  held  here. 
Grandfather  Bennett  lived  to  be  eighty-two 
years  of  age,  and  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  from  whom  he  was  soon  called  to  part  by 
death,  was  Betsey  March,  daughter  of  Squire 
Paul  March,  a  well-to-do  farmer;  and  his  sec- 
ond was  Mrs.  lilizabeth  Ciage  Bell,  daughter 
of  Captain  Gage,  of  Dover,  N.II.      By  the  first 


86 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


union  there  was  a  daughter,  Iklsey,  who  mar- 
ried Samuel  Willey,  of  New  Durham;  and  by 
tlie  second,  there  were  two  sons  and  three 
ikuighters,  namely:  Sarah,  who  married  Jona- 
than liuzzell;  Nancy,  who  married  Squire 
Uavid  Willey;  Hannah,  who  married  John 
Runnals;  Gage,  who  went  away  when  quite 
young,  and  was  unheard  from;  and  Benjamin, 
[r.  Their  mother  was  first  married  to  Colonel 
I'"rederick  Bell,  of  Great  Island,  N.H.,  who 
was  killed  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Benjamin  Bennett,  Jr.,  passed  his  life  on 
the  homestead,  dying  here  September  7,  1870, 
aged  seventy-nine  years.  His  wife,  Lydia, 
survives  him.  She  is  a  daughter  of  David 
Morrison,  who  fought  in  the  Revolution  under 
General  John  Stark,  going  into  the  war  when 
eighteen  years  old,  and  serving  three  years. 
David  Morrison,  born  in  1763,  was  of  the 
third  generation  in  descent  from  Samuel  Mor- 
rison, one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Londonderry, 
N.  H.  Benjamin  and  Lydia  (Morrison)  Ben- 
nett had  si.x  children  —  Morrison,  Albert, 
John,  1-^veline,  David,  and  a  child  that  died  in 
infancy.  David  Bennett  died  when  two  and 
one-half  years  old;  Albert,  now  deceased,  re- 
sided in  VVolfboro;  John,  who  emigrated  to 
New  York  State,  and  served  in  the  Civil  War, 
in  the  Seventh  Independent  New  York  Bat- 
tery, died  in  1866;  Eveline  married  Jeremiah 
York,  of  Dover,  N.H. 

Morrison  Bennett  in  his  youth  attended  pri- 
vate schools  and  Strafford  Academy  a  few 
terms;  and  then  he  taught  seventeen  terms  of 
school  winters,  and  did  farm  work  summers. 
I'"inally  he  took  up  farming  exclusively,  and 
upon  his  father's  death  purchased  the  home- 
stead, which  he  still  owns.  Besides  attending 
to  his  personal  affairs,  Mr.  Bennett  has  for 
twenty  years  served  as  a  Selectman  of  Alton, 
has  been  Town  Treasurer,  and  for  two  years  he 
represented    Alton    in    the    State    legislature, 


being  for  many  years  past   one   of  the   leading 
politicians  of  the  town. 

Mr.  Bennett  was  married  on  July  17,  1852, 
to  Miss  Christiana  E.  Berry,  of  Strafford,  one 
of  his  pupils.  They  have  had  nine  children; 
namely,  Ina  B.,  Abbie  J.,  Hezekiah  H.,  John 
M.,  Charles  A.,  Nettie  E.,  Ered  S.,  Lillian 
C,  and  Ira  B.  Abbie  and  Nettie  died  in 
childhood;  Ina  B.  is  the  wife  of  Frank  E. 
Mooney;  Ira  B.  married  Lulu  V.  I'lint,  and 
has  one  child  that  is  the  fifth  generation  of 
the  family  to  reside  on  this  place,  and  the 
fourth  now  living  here,  as  the  mother  of  Mr. 
Morrison  Bennett  makes  her  home  with  him. 

Mrs.  Lydia  Morrison  Bennett  is  the  oldest 
person  residing  in  Alton,  being  ninety-seven 
years  of  age.  Despite  her  years,  she  is  re- 
markably well  preserved,  with  memory  and 
other  faculties  clear,  but  somewhat  troubled 
with  rheumatism  and  a  slight  deafness.  The 
following  interesting  notice  of  her  aj^peared 
in  the  Boston  Globe,  July  18,  1896:  — 

"Mrs.  Bennett  has  fifteen  grandchildren, 
ten  great-grandchildren,  antl  two  great -great- 
grandchildren living.  The  house  in  which 
she  now  lives  was  built  in  1774  by  her  hus- 
band's father;  and  in  its  front  room  to-day 
stands  an  old-fashioned  tall  clock  which  her 
husband  bought  at  an  auction  before  their  mar- 
riage, and  which  has  ticked  steadily  in  this 
same  house  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
family  for  seventy-four  years.  This  clock  is 
known  to  be  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old. 
It  still  keeps  the  best  of  time,  and  its  owner  is 
very  proud  of  it. 

"One  remarkable  thing  about  Mrs.  Bennett 
is  the  fact  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  sol- 
dier, the  wife  of  a  soldier,  and  the  mother  of  a 
soldier.  Her  father  served  in  the  Continental 
army  in  the  Revolutionary  War  seven  years; 
her  husband  served  in  the  War  of  1812,  by 
reason  of  which  she  is  now  a  pensioner;  and  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


87 


son,  John,  served  in  the  Rebellion,  dying  soon 
after  his  return  home  from  the  effects  of  disa- 
bilities contracted  in  the  service. 

"Mrs.  lieniiett  was  born  less  tlian  four  years 
after  the  incorporation  of  the  town  of  Alton, 
the  centennial  anniversary  of  which  was  cele- 
brated June  16,  1896;  and  her  stories  of  the 
early  days  of  the  town  are  very  interesting. 
During  her  married  life  she  has  spun  wool  and 
linen,  and  she  wove  all  the  cloth  necessary  for 
use  in  her  family  for  clothing  and  all  other 
purposes.  Travelling  was  all  on  horseback  in 
her  early  days;  and  she  used  frequently  to 
take  a  bridle  in  her  hand,  and  go  to  the  past- 
ure and  catch  the  horse  and  start  away.  In 
speaking  of  the  difference  of  the  amount  of 
labor  performed  by  the  women  of  to-day  and 
those  of  her  time,  she  remarked  with  disdain 
that  the  women  nowadays,  who  only  had  their 
housework  to  do,  wanted  a  maid  to  do  that  for 
them. 

"Mrs.  Bennett  knits,  sews,  and  reads,  with- 
out the  aid  of  spectacles;  and  when  the  corre- 
spondent visited  her  she  was  engaged  in  taking 
up  stitches  preparatory  to  knitting  a  stocking. 
A  year  ago  she  finished  a  quilt  of  patchwork 
containing  one  thousand  and  seventy-one 
pieces;  and  last  winter  she  knit  a  pair  of 
double  mittens,  in  what  is  known  as  the  fox 
and  geese  pattern,  and  all  without  the  aid  of 
spectacles.  She  tells  with  pride  that  she 
knit  each  of  her  boys  a  pair  of  mittens  when 
they  left  home,  remarking  that  the  last  pair 
was  for  her  grandson.  Her  hearing  is  some- 
what impaired;  but  her  memory  is  remarkable, 
and  her  mind  wonderfully  clear  and  strong." 


|RVIN     HENRY    SMITH,     Commandant 
of    the     Soldiers'     Home,    Tilton,    and 
a    veteran    of    the    Civil    War,    was 
born    in    Langdon,    N.H.,    February   2,    1840, 


son  of  Orin  and  Merinda  (Partridge)  Smith. 
His  great-grandfather,  Kbenezer  Smith,  who 
was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  servetl  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  after- 
ward settled  in  Langdon,  Siilli\'an  County. 
Ezra  Smith,  the  grandfather,  who  was  born  in 
Winchentlon,  Mass.,  September  13,  1778,  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  Langdon  when  he 
was  ten  years  old,  and  was  reared  a  farmer. 
He  followed  agricultural  pursuits  during  the 
active  period  of  his  life,  and  died  in  Langdon. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Hannah 
Henry,  reared  four  children  ;  namely,  Nancy, 
Alden,  Orin,  and  Franklin.  Alden  and  Orin 
were  twins. 

Orin  Smith,  born  in  Langdon  in  1808,  re- 
sided at  home  until  his  marriage,  after  which 
he  engaged  in  farming  upon  his  own  account. 
In  1 861  he  sold  his  property  in  Langdon,  and 
bought  a  farm  in  Peterboro,  N.  H.,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1884.  His  wife,  Merinda,  was  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  Partridge,  of  Alstead,  N.I  I.  Of  her 
grandfather,  Samuel  Partridge  (first),  a  brave 
Revolutionary  patriot,  who  died  in  the  service, 
it  is  related  that  he  insisted  ujjon  doing  duty 
in  the  Continental  armv,  although  unable  to 
stand.  Herfather,  Samuel  Partridge  (second), 
who  was  a  native  of  Boston,  settled  in  Alstead, 
where  he  became  a  prosperous  farmer,  and  was 
an  active  member  of  the  Congregational 
church.  She  and  her  husband  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children  —  Ezra  M.,  I'",r\in 
PL,  Harriet  M.,  Albert  O.,  Silas  AL,  ICmma 
R.,  and  Alden  K.  Harriet  M.  married  A.  B. 
Tarbell,  of  Peterboro,  and  is  no  longer  living. 
The  mother  died  January  17,  1889.  She  was 
a  member  of  the  Congregational  church. 

Ervin  Henry  Smith  began  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Langdon,  and  completed 
his  studies  at  the  Union  Academy  in  Alstead. 
At  the  age  of -nineteen   he  went  to   Peterboro, 


8S 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


and  was  a  clerk  in  a  store  until  1864.  He 
then  enlisted  in  Coni])any  C,  First  New 
llaTupshire  Cavalry,  which  was  attached  to  the 
Second  Brigade,  Third  Division,  Cavalry 
Corps,  under  the  command  of  General  Sheri- 
dan. He  participated  in  Wilson's  ten  days' 
raid  in  June,  1864,  was  present  at  the  battle 
of  Winchester,  and  remained  with  the  army 
through  the  Shenandoah  Valley  campaign, 
until  the  engagement  on  the  back  road,  No- 
vember 12,  1864,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner. 
He  was  first  confined  in  Richmond,  and  later 
at  Salisbury.  He  suffered  much  in  the  latter 
place,  where  a  hole  in  the  ground  was  his  only 
siielter,  and  the  supply  of  food  was  scanty  and 
of  the  poorest  quality.  The  prisoners  were 
divided  into  squads  of  one  hundred  men  each. 
Between  December  6  and  February  22,  si.xty- 
one  of  Mr.  Smith's  squad  died  from  hunger 
and  exposure.  The  prisoners  here  were  offered 
a  chance  to  enlist  in  the  Confederate  army, 
with  the  assurance  that  they  would  not  be 
ordered  into  the  field.  Mr.  Smith  was  paroled 
on  P'ebruary  22,  1865,  and  was  mustered  out  of 
service  as  a  Sergeant  on  June  i  5  of  that  year. 
Returning  to  Peterboro,  he  was  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  there  until  1872,  when  he 
moved  to  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  was  in  the 
hardware  trade  there  for  seven  years.  After 
this  he  was  again  in  trade  in  Peterboro  for  a 
time;  but  on  account  of  failing  health  he  sold 
his  business,  and  then  engaged  quite  exten- 
sively in  truck  farming.  When  the  Soldiers' 
Home  was  opened  in  Tilton,  December  3, 
1890,  he  was  appointed  Commandant  by  the 
Board  of  Managers.  The  home  now  furnishes 
an  abiding-place  for  nearly  one  hundred 
veterans. 

On  December  18,  1867,  Mr.  Smith  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Clara  L.  Gray,  daugh- 
ter of  William  C.  Gray,  of  Peterboro.  He  has 
one  daughter,  Clara  M.     In  politics  Mr.  Smith 


is  a  Republican.  He  cast  his  first  Presiden- 
tial vote  at  Cedar  Creek,  Va.,  for  Abraham 
Lincoln.  While  residing,  in  Peterboro  he 
served  as  Tax  Collector  for  a  number  of  years, 
was  Town  Treasurer  for  seven  years,  and  he 
resigned  from  the  ]5oard  of  Selectmen  upon 
his  removal.  He  is  a  member  of  Peterboro 
Lodge,  No.  15,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  and  a  Past  Com- 
mander of  A.  l*".  .Stevens  Post,  No.  6, 
G.  A.  R.,  of  Peterboro,  N.H. 


M 


UDLEY  L.  STOKES,  M.D.,  a  suc- 
cessful and  [lopular  j^hysician  of 
l^ochester,  Strafford  County,  was 
born  in  P'reedom,  N.H.,  July  26,  1866,  son  of 
Stephen  A.  and  Esther  A.  (Mills)  Stokes. 
His  father,  a  native  of  Eaton,  N.  H.,  was  the 
well-to-do  proprietor  of  a  carriage  and  carpen- 
ter shop. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  lived  at  home 
with  his  parents  until  about  fifteen  years  of 
age,  receiving  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  He  then  went  to  New  Hampton, 
where  he  attended  the  Literary  Institute. 
Later  he  studied  medicine  with  Drs.  Merrow 
and  Lougee,  of  Freedom,  N.  H.,  for  about  a 
year.  In  the  summer  of  1S86  he  entered 
Dartmouth  College,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  November,  1S88,  then  going  to  the 
Long  Island  College  Hospital  at  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y. ,  where  he  took  a  four  months'  post-grad- 
uate course.  In  May,  1889,  he  went  to  Goffs- 
town,  N.  H.,  where  he-was  engaged  in  practice 
for  two  years,  subsequently  coming  from  that 
place  to  Rochester.  Here  he  has  acquired  a 
good  practice,  and  is  numbered  among  the 
leading  physicians  of  the  town. 

On  October  11,  1889,  Dr.  Stokes  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  I*".  Tyler,  of 
F^reedom,  N.H.  Two  sons  arc  the  fruit  of 
their  union — Leroy  T.  and   Samuel.      Politi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


89 


call)',  Ur.  Stokes  is  a  Democrat,  but  on  ac- 
count of  his  professional  duties  has  not  de- 
voted much  time  to  jjolitical  matters.  He 
was  County  Physician,  however,  from  Decem- 
ber, 1 89 1,  to  December,  1892;  was  City  Phy- 
sician a  year;  and  served  a  short  time  on  the 
Board  of  Health,  from  which  he  subsecjuently 
resigned.  He  is  a  member  of  Humane  Lodge, 
No.  2,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Temple  Chapter,  R.  A.  M. ; 
and  Palestine  Commandery,  K.  T. 


/®Tc 


I'LORGE  WILLIAM  YOUNG,  a  suc- 
VmT  cessful  farmer  of  Rochester,  was  born 
in  the  town  of  15arrington,  N.H., 
July  24,  1830,  son  of  Aaron  and  Lydia 
(Daniels)  Young.  The  family  is  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  James  Young  emigrated  to 
this  country  from  Scotland,  settled  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  married  Margaret  Sloan.  Their 
son  William,  the  grandfather  of  George  W. , 
settleil  in  the  town  of  Barrington,  N.H.,  and 
married  Charity  Howe. 

Aaron  Young,  who  was  born  in  Barrington, 
received  his  education  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  town.  Soon  after  his  marriage 
he  purchased  a  large  farm  in  Barrington,  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  its  cultiva- 
tion and  improvement.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Whig,  and  he  was  well  known  throughout  all 
that  section  of  country.  He  represented  the 
town  of  Barrington  in  the  New  Hampshire 
legislature,  served  on  its  Board  of  Select- 
men and  in  other  public  ofifices.  In  re- 
ligion he  affiliated  with  the  Congregation- 
alists.  His  death  occurred  in  1854.  He 
married  Lydia  Daniels,  daughter  of  Clement 
Daniels,  of  Barrington,  and  had  a  faniily  of 
si.x  children.  These  were-:  Esther,  who  mar- 
ried John  E.  Buzzell,  of  Durham,  and  is  now  a 
widow;  Sophia  A.,  now  deceased,  who  married 
George  S.  Hanson,  of  Somcrsworth  ;  the  Hon. 


Jacob  D.,  living  in  Madbury,  who  was  Judge 
of  the  Probate  Court  in  Strafford  County  for 
seventeen  years,  and  more  recently  a  member 
of  the  Governor's  Council ;  Aaron,  who  resides 
in  Portsmouth,  and  is  Special  Agent  for  the 
United  States  Treasury  Department  in  Boston, 
Mass.  ;  Andrew  H.,  Aaron's  twin  brother,  who 
was  Collector  of  United  States  Internal  Reve- 
nue for  thirteen  years,  later  Uuartermaster, 
United  States  Army,  and  died  December  10, 
1890;  and  George  William,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

George  William  Young  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools  of  I^arrington.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  entered  the  news- 
paper office  of  the  Dover  I'.nqiiinr  as  an  ap- 
prentice to  learn  the  printing  trade.  Upon 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service,  being 
then  twenty  years  old,  he  bought  out  a  job 
printing  establishment  in  Dover,  and  subse- 
quently carried  it  on  for  some  three  years, 
when  he  sold  out  the  business.  In  1S57  he 
became  the  agent  of  the  New  England  Protec- 
tive Union  Store  at  Bow  Lake,  Strafford,  and 
remained  in  that  position  for  about  two  3'ears. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  on 
his  own  account  in  Dover,  and  continued  in 
the  same  until  March,  1863.  During  this 
period  he  was  chosen  to  represent  his  ward  on 
the  Board  of  Selectmen,  and  afterward  in  the 
Common  Council.  He  also  served  as  clerk  of 
his  ward  for  two  years.  In  1S63  he  went  into 
the  Quartermaster's  department  of  the  United 
States  Army,  and  remained  in  the  service  of 
the  government  until  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War.  Beginning  on  December  i,  1865,  he 
was  chief  clerk  antl  cashier  of  the  I'^reedmen's 
Bureau  in  the  State  of  Virginia  until  May  i, 
1869.  Pie  then  entered  the  service  of  the 
military  government  of  Virginia,  and  had  the 
oversight  and  charge  of  the  offices  of  the  Clerk 
of  the  Senate,    Clerk  of  the   House,    and  the 


9° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Adjutant-gencrars  Department;  and  he  was 
the  Superintendent  of  Public  Printing.  Sub- 
sequently he  was  appointed  Deputy  Collector 
of  Internal  Revenue  for  Virginia,  which  office 
he  held  for  nearly  sixteen  years,  with  his 
headquarters  at  Clarksville,  Va.  During  his 
residence  in  Virginia  he  was  elected  by  the 
Republicans  for  nine  successive  years  to  rep- 
resent Mecklenburg  County  in  the  Virginia 
legislature,  where  he  served  on  most  of  the 
committees. 

At  one  time  he  received  from  his  party  a 
complimentary  nomination  for  Speaker  of  the 
House.  Throughout  the  whole  period  of  his 
residence  in  Mecklenburg  County  he  was  the 
United  States  Commissioner  there.  In  the 
year  18S5  he  returned  once  more  to  his  native 
State.  After  residing  for  about  two  years  in 
Dover,  he  came  to  Rochester,  and  purchased 
his  present  farm  of  some  twenty-five  acres, 
where  he  has  continued  to  live  ever  since. 
Since  his  arrival  he  has  served  the  city  as  the 
Moderator  of  his  ward.  An  interesting  sou- 
venir of  the  war,  preserved  by  Mr.  Young,  and 
used  by  him  for  several  years  in  Virginia,  is  a 
fine  mahogany  desk,  which  came  from  the 
house  occupied  by  Jefferson  Davis  all  through 
his  presidency  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

Mr.  Young  married  Cynthia  E.  Moody, 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Urania  (Hobbs) 
Moody,  of  Ossipee,  N.H.  His  six  children 
are:  Ella  C,  who  married  Herman  E.  Can- 
ney,  of  Dover;  George  W.,  Jr.,  who  resides 
in  Brookfield,  Mass. ;  Aaron  Clarence,  of 
Rochester;  Emma  E.,  married  to  George  H. 
Clark,  of  Dover;  Charles  Sumner,  who  resides 
in  St.  Louis,  Mo.  ;  and  Albert  S.,  living  in 
Rochester.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
in  religious  belief  a  Congregationalist.  He  is 
well  content  to  pass  the  residue  of  his  days 
among  his  kinsfolk  and  early  friends,  by  whom 
he  is  held  in  the  highest  regard. 


OXATHAN  LUKE  LOVERING,  who 
conducts  a  flourishing  livery  business 
in  Tilton,  was  born  in  Springfield, 
N.H.,  March  29,  1839,  son  of  Daniel  ami 
Sarah  (Russell)  Lovering.  His  grandfatlier, 
Daniel  Lovering  (first),  a  native  of  Raymond, 
N.H.,  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  Spring- 
field, and  became  a  prosperous  farmer  of  that 
town.  Daniel  Lovering  (second),  father  of 
Jonathan  L.,  was  born  in  Springfield  in  1806. 
He  was  reared  upon  the  homestead  farm, 
which  he  inherited;  and  the  active  period  of 
his  life  was  de^'oted  to  tilling  the  soil  and 
raising  cattle  and  sheep.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Democrat.  His  wife,  Sarah,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Russell,  of  Springfield, 
became  the  mother  of  nine  children ;  namely, 
Moses  H.,  Sarah  P.,  Levi  R.,  Susan  R., 
Rosina  R. ,  Jonathan  L.,  Lydia  J.,  Augusta 
M.,  and  Amos  E.  Of  these  Moses  H.,  Levi 
R.,  Susan  R.,  Rosina  R.,  Lydia  J.,  and  Au- 
gusta M.  are  no  longer  living.  Sarah  P.  mar- 
ried Benjamin  P.  Cross,  of  Wilmot,  N.  H.; 
and  Amos  E.  married  Adella  Gage,  of  Pena- 
cook,  N.H.  The  father  died  in  Springfield, 
N.H.,  December  22,  185 1,  aged  forty-five; 
and  his  wife  died  in  New  London,  N.  H.,  Julv 
25,  1 868,  aged  sixty-one  years.  Both  were 
members  of  the  Universalist  church. 

When  his  father  died  Jonathan  Luke  Lover- 
ing, then  but  twelve  years  old,  took  entire 
charge  of  the  farm,  and  thereafter  conducted  it 
for  four  years.  In  that  period  his  brothers 
Levi  R.  and  Moses  H.died,  the  former  on  May 
10,  1853,  and  the  latter  on  the  14th  of  the  same 
month.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  moved  with 
his  mother,  who  married  again,  to  New  Lon- 
don, N.H.  He  acquired  a  district -school  edu- 
cation, and  resided  at  home  until  he  was  about 
eighteen.  He  then  began  to  work  as  a  farm 
assistant;  and  some  four  years  later  he  bought 
of  General    Luther  McCutchins  a  farm  in  New 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


9' 


Lomlon.  After  this  lie  was  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  and  butchering,  and  he  ran  a 
meat  cart  for  six  years.  Later  he  bought  and 
ran  the  stage  and  mail  routes  between  New 
London  and  Potter  Place,  and  that  from  New 
London  to  Bradford  for  three  years.  In  1873 
he  sold  his  farm  and  stage  lines,  and,  coming 
to  Tilton,  purchased  the  stage  and  mail  route, 
together  with  the  livery  business  connected 
with  the  hotel,  which  was  then  known  as  the 
Dexter  House,  He  ran  the  stage  line  from 
Tilton  to  Franklin  until  1895,  when  it  was 
discontinued,  owing  to  the  building  of  the 
railroad  from  Tilton  to  P""ranklin.  In  1880  he 
bought  the  Dexter  House,  rebuilt  it  in  1886; 
and  now,  bearing  the  name  of  the  Lovering 
Hotel,  it  is  one  of  the  finest  public  houses  in 
this  section.  He  still  owns  the  property,  and 
continues  to  carry  on  the  livery  stable  con- 
nected with  it.  In  politics  he  supports  the 
Democratic  party,  and  was  elected  to  the  New 
Hampshire  House  of  Representatives  in  1892. 
On  February  11,  1862,  Mr.  Lovering  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Roxanna  E.  Todd,  of 
New  London,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary 
(Dodge)  Todd.  Of  his  four  children  two  are 
living,  namely:  Fred  H.,  who  was  born  Octo- 
ber 18,  1865;  and  Wenona  D.,  born  July  10, 
1882.  Fred  H.,  now  an  architect  in  Buffalo, 
N.Y.,  married  Charlotte  Calef,  of  Lowell, 
Mass.,  and  has  one  son,  Maitland  C,  born 
December  i,  1894.  Mr.  Lovering  is  con- 
nected with  the  Knights  of  Honor.  Mrs. 
Lovering  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

[ARK  H.  MATHE.S,  a  well-to-do 
farmer  and  prominent  town  officer 
of  Durham,  Strafford  County,  was 
born  here,  October  2,  1840,  son  of  Jacob  and 
Mehitable  J.  (Willey)  Mathes.  Ten  genera- 
tions   of    this    family    have   been    born  at   the 


ancestral  mansion.  l-'rancis  Mathes,  the  ear- 
liest progenitor  and  original  grant-owner, 
came  here  from  England  in  1640.  The 
grandfather  and  great-grandfather  of  Mark  H. 
were  both  named  \'alentine. 

Jacob  Mathes  was  a  stone  cutter,  and  fol- 
lowed his  trade  for  many  years  in  Ouincy, 
Mass.  Returning  to  the  old  homestead  in 
Durham  in  1848,  he  continued  at  .stone  work 
and  contracting  until  1872.  In  politics  he 
affiliated  with  the  Republican  party.  Offi- 
cially, he  served  acceptably  as  Chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen,  Collector  and  Rejjresenta- 
tive  to  the  legislature.  His  wife  bore  him  five 
children;  namely,  Sarah  E.,  Mark  H.,  Carrie 
A.,  Hannah  A.,  and  Emma  E.  Sarah  E. 
married  William  R.  Coffin;  Carrie  A.  married 
Ambrose  C.  Hill;  Hannah  became  the  wife  of 
George  Shrives;  and  Emma  E.  is  deceased. 
The  father  died  in  1872,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six 
years;  and  his  wife,  who  lived  to  be  sixty- 
seven,  died  in   1S84. 

Mark  H.  Mathes  removed  with  his  parents 
to  the  ancestral  abode  when  he  was  seven 
years  of  age.  His  district -school  education 
was  supplemented  by  a  course  of  study  at 
Colby  Academy  in  New  London,  N.H.  When 
his  father  died  he  returned  home,  where  he 
has  since  managed  the  farm.  Since  first  exer- 
cising the  elective  franchise,  he  has  affiliated 
with  the  Republican  party,  and  like  his  hon- 
ored father  he  has  attained  official  distinction. 
He  served  as  Selectman  for  three  years,  being 
Chairman  of  the  Board  in  the  last  year;  was  a 
member  of  the  State  legislature  in  1S85;  was 
Tax  Collector  in  1893,  1894,  1895,  and  1896; 
and  was  Road  Commissioner  in  1895  and 
1896. 

Mr.  Mathes  has  been  twice  married.  By 
the  first  union,  contracted  in  1875  with  Emma 
Clark,  there  was  one  child,  Jacob,  who  died  in 
1890.      The  maiden   name   of   his   seconil   wife 


92 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


was  Zella  Stevens.  They  were  married  in 
1878,  and  now  have  two  children  —  Charles 
E.  I',  and  Albert  H.  Fraternally,  Mr. 
Mathcs  is  identified  with  Swaniscott  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  v.,  of  New  Market,  N.H. ;  and  with 
Scammel  Grange.  Mrs.  Mathes  is  a  highly 
respected  member  of  the  Durham  Congrega- 
tional church. 


STEPHEN  SHANNON  JEVV- 
1{;TT.  —  "Of  the  young  men  of  New 
Hampshire  who  have  made  their 
mark  within  the  past  few  years,  no  one  has 
advanced  to  the  front  with  such  rapidity  and 
certainty  as  Stephen  S.  Jewett,  of  Laconia. 
His  success  has  not  been  owing  to  any  fortui- 
tous circumstances,  nor  to  any  special  advan- 
tages of  birth,  education,  or  wealth,  but  wholly 
to  his  merits  as  a  man  of  superior  ability,  of 
great  courage,  and  of  unsurpassed  fixity  of  pur- 
pose. He  is  one  whom,  in  homely  but  expres- 
sive language,  it  is  safe  to  tie  to."  (  T/w  Granite 
Montlily,  April,   1895.) 

Mr.  Jewett  was  born  in  that  part  of  Gilford, 
Belknap  County,  N.  H.,  now  included  in  La- 
conia, on  September  18,  185S.  He  is  the  son 
of  John  G.  and  Carrie  E.  (Shannon)  Jewett, 
and  comes  of  English  stock.  His  great- 
grandfather, Samuel  Jewett,  who  was  one  of 
the  Revolutionary  patriots  in  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  resided  for  some  time  in  Hollis, 
N.H.,  whence  he  moved  to  Laconia,  he  and 
his  brother  being  practically  the  first  settlers 
of  this  place.  Smith  Jewett,  Mr.  Jewett's 
grandfather,  was  a  respected  citizen  of  La- 
conia; and  his  son,  John  G.  Jewett,  is  a  native 
resident  of  this  place,  and  is  a  highly 
esteemed  citizen.  A  gentleman  of  scholarly 
attainments,  he  taught  school  for  a  number  of 
years. 

Stephen  Shannon  Jewett  acquired  his  early 
education   in   the   public   schools   of    Laconia 


and  under  private  tuition  by  his  father.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  took  up  the  study  of 
law  with  the  Hon.  Charles  F.  Stone,  and  was 
prepared  for  examination  for  the  bar  in  1S79; 
but  being  under  age  he  was  obliged  to  wait  a 
year.  Admitted  to  the  bar  in  March,  18S0, 
he  began  practice  in  Laconia,  and.  until  i88g 
conducted  an  independent  business.  William 
A.  Plummer  then  became  his  partner,  and  he 
is  still  associated  with  him.  During  the  fif- 
teen years  of  Mr.  Jewett's  active  practice  few 
important  cases  have  appeared  on  the  docket 
of  Belknap  County  without  his  name  in  con- 
nection, either  as  counsel  for  plaintiff  or  de- 
fendant. His  most  noted  recent  case  was  the 
celebrated  crim.  con.  suit  of  Wilcomb  against 
VVilcomb,  Mr.  Jewett  appearing  for  the  plain- 
tiff. In  1S84  he  accepted  the  position  of 
Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  for  Belknap 
County,  as  an  accommodation  to  suit  the  'con- 
venience of  the  court,  and  served  for  a  short 
time.  He  drafted  and  secured  the  passage  of 
Laconia's  city  charter,  was  the  first  City 
Solicitor"  elected,  and  as  City  Solicitor  is  still 
in  office.  Aside  from  his  legal  work  he  has 
many  financial  interests.  He  is  a  Director  in 
the  Laconia  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
the  Laconia  Land  and  Improvement  Company, 
the  Standard  Electric  Time  Company,  the 
Laconia  Masonic  Temple  Association,  the  La- 
conia National  Bank,  and  the  Weirs  Hotel  and 
Land  Company. 

Mr.  Jewett  began  to  take  an  interest  in  pol- 
itics in  1876  when  a  youth  of  eighteen,  and 
was  soon  recognized  as  a  Republican  leader. 
He  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  Town  Com- 
mittee from  1880  to  1890,  and,  becoming  a 
member  of  the  State  Committee  in  1884,  was 
elected  Secretary  of  that  body  in  1890.  He 
gave  ample  proof  of  his  efificiency  in  this 
capacity  during  what  is  known  as  "the  famous 
Tuttle  campaign,   the  hardest-fought  political 


STEPHEN    S.    JEWETT. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


95 


battle  ever  known  in  New  Hampshire."  In 
the  House  of  Representatives  he  was  luigross- 
ing  Clerk  in  1883,  and  served  at  different 
times  as  Assistant  Clerk  and  Clerk.  "As 
Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  who 
had  the  making  up  of  the  roll,  he  appeared 
before  the  full  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
the  famous  attempt  of  the  Democrats  to  make 
him  disclose  his  intentions  as  to  whether  or 
not  he  intended  to  place  on  the  roll  the  names 
of  certain  Representatives  who  had  been  de- 
clared elected  in  town  meeting.  The  great 
battle  over,  the  'If  Kntitled'  will  not  soon  be 
forgotten  in  this  State,  nor  will  Mr.  Jewett's 
services  to  the  Republican  party  at  that  criti- 
cal juncture.  As  in  all  the  crises  of  his  life, 
he  rose  to  the  occasion,  and  suddenly  the 
people  of  all  parties  recognized  him  as  the 
coming  man.  At  the  opening  of  the  next 
campaign,  that  of  1892,  Mr.  Jewett  was  chosen 
Chairman  of  the  State  Committee;  and  the 
triumphant  election  of  Governor  John  B. 
Smith  proved  the  wisdom  of  the  choice.  In 
1894  he  was  again  put  at  the  head  of  the  great 
organization;  and,  with  the  experience  of  two 
years  before  to  guide  him,  he  secured  the  elec- 
tion of  the  candidate.  Governor  Charles  A. 
Busiel,  by  the  unheard-of  majority  of  ten 
thousand  votes.  At  this  election  he  was 
himself  elected  to  represent  his  ward  in  the 
legislature,  and  his  name  was  at  once  put  for- 
ward by  his  friends  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Speakership.  With  the  tremendous  prestige 
which  he  had  attained  as  leader  in  the  great 
Republican  victory  in  November,  no  candidate 
could  stand  before  him;  and  he  was  nominated 
for  Speaker  in  the  Republican  caucus  by  a  vote 
of  two  to  one  over  his  only  competitor.  He 
was  elected  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  has 
made  as  good  a  Speaker  as  ever  presided  in  our 
legislative  halls."    {Graiii/r  Montlily.) 

Mr.  Jewett  was  Colonel  on  the  staff  of  Gov- 


ernor Goodell  in  18S9.  He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  National  Republican  Convention  at  St. 
Louis  in  1896  that  nominated  McKinley  for 
President;  and  at  present,  though  his  contin- 
ually increasing  law  ]:)ractice  prevents  him 
from  entering  to  any  great  extent  into  political 
work,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  New  Hampshire  Republican 
State  Committee,  and  he  is  on  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Republican  National  League. 

Mr.  Jewett  was  married  June  30,  1880,  to 
Annie  L.  Bray,  of  Bradford,  England.  lie 
had  then  just  started  in  the  practice  of  law, 
and  had  not  even  an  assured  income;  and  his 
subsequent  success  he  insists  is  due  much 
more  to  his  wife  than  to  himself.  They  have 
one  promising  boy,  Theo  S. 

A  member  of  several  bar  associations,  Mr. 
Jewett  has  also  formed  a  number  of  other 
social  connections.  At  one  time  he  was  a 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  National 
Guard ;  and  for  several  years  he  belonged  to 
Company  K,  Third  Regiment,  of  Laconia. 
In  Masonry  he  has  taken  all  the  degrees  up  to 
the  thirty-second ;  and  he  has  been  Master  of 
Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  High  Priest  of  Lhiion 
Chapter,  Master  of  Pythagorean  Chapter,  and 
Commander  of  Pilgrim  Commandery  —  all  of 
Laconia;  and  is  now  an  officer  of  the  Grand 
Council  of  New  Hampshire.  In  private  life 
he  is  courteous  and  agreeable,  witii  a  kindly 
word  always  for  the  absent  and  those  in 
trouble. 


<  *  ■  >  I 


fs^AMES  E.  HAYES,  Sheriff  of  Strafford 
County,  was  born  April  13,  1841,  in 
the  town  nf  Earmington,  N.  H.,  on  the 
homestead  which  his  great-grandfather,  Daniel 
Hayes,  cleared  from  the  wilderness.  This 
homestead  was  likewise  the  birthplace  of 
Daniel  Hayes,  Jr.,  the  grandfather,  and  of  liis 
son   Richard,  the  fatlier  of  James  E.      Each   of 


96 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


these  progenitors  was  a  sturdy  tiller  of  the 
soil;  and  each  in  his  turn  added  to  the  im- 
provements already  be,<;un  on  tiie  land,  and 
made  it  his  honie.  Richard  Hayes  married 
Martha  A.  lidgerly,  of  Farmington,  who  bore 
liim  two  children,  namely:  Annie  M.,  who 
marrieil  Alvah  M.  Kimball;  and  James  E.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

James  E.  Hayes,  in  common  with  most 
farmers'  sons,  received  the  larger  jiart  of  his 
education  in  tlie  district  school.  He  left 
school  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  to  learn 
shoemaking.  This  trade  he  afterward  fol- 
lowed for  thirty  consecutive  years.  In  1882 
he  erected  in  his  native  town  a  factory  for  the 
manufacture  of  heels  for  boots  and  shoes;  and 
he  has  since  carried  it  on  successfully,  build- 
ing up  an  extensive  business.  The  factory  is 
now  under  the  charge  of  his  son,  Eugene  B. 
Hayes.  It  was  personally  managed  by  Mr. 
James  E.  Hayes  until  1892,  when  he  was 
appointed  Deputy  Sheriff,  an  office  to  which 
he  was  re-elected  the  following  year.  In 
1895  and  1896  he  served  in  the  capacity  of 
Sheriff  of  Strafford  County  with  so  much 
ability  that  he  was  elected  to  the  office  for  a 
second  term.  In  politics  he  has  been  a  firm 
supporter  of  Republican  principles,  and  cast 
his  first  Presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. In  1872  Mr.  Hayes  represented  the 
town  of  Farmington  in  the  State  legislature, 
and  in  1887  he  served  it  as  Selectman.  Dur- 
ing the  administration  of  President  Harrison 
he  took  the  manufacturers'  census  of  his  dis- 
trict. He  is  a  member  of  the  local  grange, 
and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Congregational  church. 

On  November  24,  1870,  Mr.  Hayes  married 
Miss  Mary  E.  Peavey,  of  Farmington,  a 
daughter  of  John  L.  and  Emily  Furber  Peavey. 
The  only  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes 
are:   Eugene  B.,  Deputy  Sheriff  and   manager 


of    his    father's   factory    in    Farmington;     and 

John    R. ,  a    student    of    the    Dover    Business 

College. 

» ■  ■  ■  I 

LPHEUS  L.  BEAN,  a  retired 
farmer  and  an  extensive  real  estate 
dealer  of  Belmont,  was  born  at 
Loudon  Ridge,  N. H.,  February  4,  1820,  son 
of  Elijah  and  Betsey  (Mudgett)  Bean.  The 
maternal  grandfather,  Scribner  Mudgett,  who 
was  pron)inent  among  the  early  settlers  of  this 
district,  emigrated  from  England  about  the 
year  17S3,  settled  upon  two  hundred  acres  of 
wild  land  situated  in  Gilmanton,  and  there 
cleared  a  good  farm,  half  of  which  he  gave  to 
one  of  his  sons.  He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five  years.  His  ten  children  were:  Edward, 
Richard,  Samuel,  John,  Mary,  Sally,  Susan, 
Betsey,  William,  and  one  whose  name  is  un- 
known. Susan  became  Mrs.  Clifford.  Sally 
taught  school  for  some  years,  after  which  she 
married  Levi  Sleeper,  a  prominent  farmer. 
Betsey,  born  February  29,  17SS,  who  was 
William's  twin  sister,  and  always  resided  at 
the  homestead,  in  1813  became  the  wife  of 
Elijah  Bean,  who  was  born  November  30, 
1788. 

P21ijah  and  ]5etsey  (Mudgett)  Bean  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  one  of  whom  died  in 
infancy.  The  others  were:  Fanny  G.,  Joseph 
M.,  Alpheus  L. ,  ]5etsey  N.,  and  Erastus 
Alonzo.  Fanny  G. ,  who  was  born  September 
10,  1815,  married  Joshua  Wood,  son  of  John 
Wood,  a  stone-maker  of  Hancock,  N.  H. 
Joshua  Wood,  who  was  a  painter,  followed  his 
trade  in  Manchester  for  a  time;  and  he  and  his 
wife  passed  their  last  days  in  Tilton.  They 
had  two  children,  neither  of  whom  is  living. 
Joseph  M.  Bean,  born  October  11,  1S17,  who 
was  engaged  in  farming  and  the  live-stock  busi- 
ness until  he  reached  the  age  of  seventy,  is 
still    living.      His  first   wife,    who  was   before 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


97 


marriage  Catherine  Tilton,  became  tlie  mother 
of  three  children,  of  whom  George,  the  only 
survivor,  is  now  residing  in  Springvalc,  Me. 
l?y  his  second  wife,  Ann  (Neal)  l^ean,  who 
was  a  native  of  Meredith,  N.  II.,  he  became 
the  father  of  Ellen  Bean.  Mllen  married  for 
her  first  husband  Otis  Clark,  a  well-known 
citizen  of  Manchester,  who  died  in  1892,  leav- 
ing one  daughter.  She  married  for  her  second 
husband  Frank  Davis,  who  owns  a  farm  situ- 
ated upon  the  dividing  line  between  Manches- 
ter and  Canterbury,  N.II.  Both  her  parents 
reside  with  her.  Betsey  Bean,  born  Novem- 
ber 18,  1822,  died  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  October 
21,  1S39.  Erastus  Bean,  born  February  23, 
1827,  who  died  in  California  in  1852,  married 
on  December  19,  1850,  Augusta  Ewer,  of  Bel- 
mont. The  only  child  of  that  union,  Flora 
Elizabeth,  died  when  one  year  old. 

Alpheus  L.  Bean  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  When  his  studies  were  com- 
pleted he  engaged  in  farming.  Having  bought 
a  part  of  his  father's  farm,  he  resided  there 
imtil  1847,  when  he  sold  the  property  and  en- 
gaged in  the  stone  business.  In  1850  he 
again  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits, and  bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  acres,  located  in  what  was  called  the 
Jamestown  Section  of  Belmont.  He  erected  a 
new  house  upon  that  farm,  and  resided  there 
until  1854,  when  he  sold  ths  estate  advantage- 
ously. From  that  time  until  settling  upon  his 
present  farm  he  made  a  business  of  buying 
agricultural  propert)',  which  he  would  improve 
and  sell,  realizing  each  time  a  handsome  profit. 
Among  the  estates  that  jjassed  through  his 
hands  in  this  manner  were  the  Ilackett  Emery 
place,  a  farm  located  in  the  French  neighbor- 
hood, and  another  situated  in  the  Jamestown 
Section.  In  1865  he  purchased  forty  acres  of 
the  farm  on  Ladd  PI  ill  he  now  occupies. 
Since   then   he   has  increased  its  size  to  eighty 


acres.  Aside  from  carrying  on  general  farm- 
ing, he  had  a  milk  route,  and  kept  ten  cows 
and  four  horses.  He  has  been  successful  botJi 
in  speculation  and  agricultural  pursuits,  and 
for  many  years  was  one  of  the  most  active  and 
industrious  residents  of  Belmont.  Some  time 
since  he  retired  from  active  labor,  leaving  the 
management  of  the  farm  to  his  son,  and  is  now 
devoting  his  time  to  looking  after  his  invest- 
ments, which  include  some  valuable  interests 
in  Laconia.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican; 
and,  though  averse  to  taking  ]iart.  in  public 
affairs,  he  was  persuaded  to  serve  two  years  as 
a  member  of  the  I^oard  of  Selectmen. 

In  1S44  Mr.  Bean  contracted  his  first  mar- 
riage with  Polly  G.  Dow.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Joseph  Dow,  of  Sanbornton,  N.  H.,  and  died 
in  1846.  In  1850  he  wedded  Matilda  A. 
Bean,  daughter  of  Joseph  Bean,  of  ]5rentwood, 
N.  H.  ;  and  on  April  22,  1869,  he  married  for 
his  third  wife  Mrs.  Addie  L.  (Leighton) 
Morrill.  Moses  Leighton,  the  father  of  his 
third  wife,  was  reared  in  h'ranklin,  N.II.,  son 
of  Edwin  Leighton,  was  a  prosperous  farmer 
of  Sanbornton,  and  was  prominent  in  local 
politics.  He  was  the  father  of  seven  other 
children;  namely,  Lydia,  Samuel,  Ira,  Wes- 
ley, Freeman,  Edward,  and  Joel.  Lydia  mar- 
ried C.  J.  Smith,  a  foreman  in  the  Laconia 
Car  Works,  and  had  one  daughter,  Carrie,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty  three  years.  Samuel 
enlisted  in  a  New  Hampshire  Cavalry  Regi- 
ment, and  died  from  disease  contracted  in 
prison  during  the  Civil  War.  Ira,  who  is  an 
overseer  in  the  Laconia  car  shops,  wedded 
Martha  A.  Somes,  and  became  the  father  of 
two  children,  who  died  at  an  early  age.  Wes- 
ley, who  enlisted  in  the  Twelfth  New  Hamp- 
shire Volunteers,  was  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg.  Freeman  died  of  tyjilioid 
fever  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  Edward,  who 
is  overseer   of   a   foundrv    in   Concord,  married 


98 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


for  his  first  wife  Leltie  Currier,  of  Belmont; 
and  she  bore  him  three  children  —  Archie, 
Edward,  and  Grace.  Mrs.  Bean  married  for 
her  first  husband  Frani<  Morrill,  of  Gilford, 
N.  II.  By  her  Mr.  Bean  has  two  children  — 
Mattie  May  and  Frank  A.  Mattie  May,  born 
Fci)ruary  26,  1870,  was  a  graduate  from  the 
Laconia  High  School  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
and  then  took  a  cla.ssical  course  at  the  New 
Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  in  Tilton. 
After  teaching  school  for  a  time,  she  in  1892 
married  Edward  G.  Rand,  a  prosperous  farmer 
of  Belmont.  I'rank  A.,  born  August  18, 
1876,  was  educated  at  the  seminary  in  Tilton, 
and  is  now  managing  the  homestead  farm. 
Mr.  Bean  was  one  of  the  first  to  join  the 
Christian  Church   in   Laconia. 


20UIS  WARNER  FLANDERS,  M.D., 
of  Dover,  prominently  identified  with 
^■^  the  medical  profession  as  a  special- 
ist in  treating  diseases  of  the  eye  and  ear, 
was  born  April  27,  1864,  in  Wickford, 
Washington  County,  R.I.,  son  of  the  Rev. 
Alonzo  B.  Flanders,  D.  D.,  and  a  grandson  of 
the  late  James  F'landers.  The  grandfather 
was  a  man  of  some  prominence  in  Vermont, 
where  his  death  occurred  when  seventy-si.x 
years    old. 

The  Rev.  A.  B.  I^'landers,  who  was  born  in 
Chelsea,  Vt.,  December  6,  1829,  received  his 
early  education  in  Exeter,  N.  H.  He  then 
studied  for  the  ministry  with  Bishop  Carleton 
C.  Chase,  of  this  State,  and  was  duly  admitted 
to  priestly  orders  at  Claremont,  N.H.,  in 
June,  1853.  Soon  after  this  event  he  was 
called  to  Wickford,  R.I.,  where  he  labored 
twelve  years  as  rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he  enlisted 
in  the  Fourth  Rhode  Island  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, and  served  as  Chaplain  at  the  front  for  two 


years.  During  this  time  he  was  twice  stricken 
with  malarial  fever.  The  second  attack  was 
so  severe  that  only  the  bravery  of  his  devoted 
wife,  who  made  her  way  through  the  lines  and 
nursed  him  back  to  health,  could  have  pre- 
vented a  fatal  termination.  After  his  return 
to  Wickford,  acting  upon  the  advice  of  his 
physician,  he  went  to  Vermont,  hoping  to  ben- 
efit his  health  by  a  stay  in  the  mountains.  In 
December,  1868,  he  settled  in  Chester,  Vt., 
where  he  afterward  founded  St.  Luke's  Churcii, 
of  which  he  was  rector  for  fifteen  years.  Af- 
terward he  spent  a  short  time  at  White  River 
Junction,  Vt.,  and  then  removed  to  St.  Al- 
bans, in  the  same  State,  where  he  is  still 
actively  engaged  in  his  ministry,  which  now 
covers  a  period  of  more  than  forty  years.  He 
is  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  highly  esteemed 
ministers  of  Vermont.  His  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity  was  conferred  on  him  by  the  Ver- 
mont University.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Standing  Committee  of  the  diocese,  an  K\- 
amining  Chaplain,  and  has  served  as  a  dele- 
gate to  the  General  Convention  several  times. 
His  wife,  in  maidenhood  Sarah  A.  Ide,  was 
born  in  Windsor,  Vt.,  daughter  of  Simeon  Ide. 
Mr.  Ide  was  well  known  in  literary  and  po- 
litical circles,  having  been  an  editor,  pub- 
lisher, and  politician,  and  the  founder  of  the 
Vermont  Journal  and  the  American  Yioman, 
both  of  which  he  established  in  iSiS.  In 
1815  he  printed  in  an  old  blacksmith  shop 
the  first  edition  of  the  New  Testament  ever 
printed  in  New  Hampshire.  He  was  de- 
scribed as  "leader  among  men,"  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  militia,  and  he  had  an 
extensive  acquaintance  with  the  most  promi- 
nent politicians  of  his  native  State.  He  lived 
to  the  venerable  age  of  ninety-four  years. 

Louis  W.  Flanders  obtained  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  of  Chester  and 
the  Stevens  High  School  at  Claremont,  N.  H. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


99 


Subsequently  ho  entered  the  University  of 
Vermont,  and  graduated  from  the  medical  de- 
partment in  the  summer  of  1885.  Then  he 
began  the  practice  of  general  medicine  at 
Highgate,  \'t.,  remaining  there  a  short  time. 
The  Doctor  removed  then  to  Brandon,  Vt. , 
and  in  the  following  year  was  associated  with 
A.  T.  Woodward.  Going  thence  to  Castleton, 
Vt.,  he  continued  in  practice  there  until  iSgo, 
when  he  gave  up  his  general  work  and  re- 
moved to  Burlington,  in  the  same  State. 
Here  he  was  assistant  to  J.  H.  Woodward, 
M.D.,  Professor  of  Ophthalmology  and  Otol- 
ogy, and  Adjunct  Professor  of  the  Materia 
Medica  in  the  University  of  Vermont.  Dr. 
Flanders  remained  in  Burlington  three  years, 
becoming  skilled  in  the  branches  of  study  in 
which  he  was  specially  interested.  In  1893 
he  opened  an  ofifice  in  Dover,  where  as  an 
oculist  and  aurist  he  now  possesses  a  lucra- 
tive practice  within  a  circuit  of  twenty  miles. 
On  December  26,  i8go.  Dr.  Flanders  mar- 
ried Miss  Annie  Miriam  Hilton,  of  Chester,  a 
companion  of  his  early  childhood  and  a  school- 
mate. Politically,  the  Doctor  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican, but  takes  no  active  part  in  public 
affairs.  Socially,  he  is  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  belonging  to 
]?urington  Lodge,  No.  100,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Burlington,  of  which  he  is  a  Past  Master; 
to  ]3urlington  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.  ;  to  Orphan 
Council,  R.  &  S.  M.,  Dover;  to  Burlington 
Commandery,  K.  T.  ;  and  to  the  Vermont 
Consistory,    A.   A.    S. ,    Northern   jurisdiction. 


"ON.  WILLIAM  E.  WATERHOUSE, 
the  proprietor  of  a  large  farm  in  Bar- 
rington,  his  birthplace  and  present 
home,  was  born  January  31,  1S45,  only  child 
of  Jeremiah  and  Martha  A.  (Winkley)  Water- 
house,  and  grandson   of  Jeremiah  Waterhouse. 


Timothy  Waterhouse,  the  father  of  Jcicmiah 
Waterhouse,  Sr.,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to 
settle  in  Barrington. 

Jeremiah  Waterhouse,  Jr.,  served  a  four 
years'  a|iprenticeship  to  the  carpenter's  trade, 
and  then  took  up  the  business  of  building  on 
contract.  This  he  followed  successfully  for 
twenty-five  years,  after  which  he  retired  to  a 
farm  and  engaged  in  agriculture.  I'ormerly  a 
Whig,  after  the  formation  of  the  Republican 
party  he  became  an  adherent  of  that  organiza- 
tion. In  1859  and  I  S60  he  was  a  member  of 
the  State  legislature;  and  from  1861  to  tlie 
time  of  his  death,  which  happened  in  1888,  he 
was  Postmaster  of  Barrington.  In  the  latter 
ofifice  he  was  succeeded  by  his  widow,  who  con- 
tinued to  hold  it  thereafter  until  her  death  in 
1892. 

William  E.  Waterhouse  was  educated  in  the 
common  and  high  schools  of  Barrington  and 
at  Franklin  Academy  of  Dover.  Being  the 
only  child,  he  lived  with  his  parents  until 
their  death.  In  the  home  farm  he  has  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  Besides  this  he 
owns  other  land  amounting  to  four  hundred 
and  fifty  acres.  While  gi\'ing  due  attention  to 
his  real  estate  and  other  interests,  he  has 
taken  a  very  active  part  in  jniblic  affairs.  He 
was  first  elected  to  ofifice  in  1867,  when  he 
became  Town  Clerk,  in  which  capacity  he 
afterward  served  the  town  until  1S71.  During 
the  ne.Nt  two  years  he  was  legislative  Repre- 
sentative. In  1876  and  1877  he  served  as 
Selectman,  and  in  1886  he  was  re-elected  to 
serve  until  the  sjiring  of  1890;  and  he  was 
Chairman  of  the  Board  for  two  years  of  that 
time.  In  1882  he  was  elected  Count)'  Com- 
missioner, and  afterward  held  the  ofifice  two 
years.  Since  1887  he  has  been  Moderator  at 
town  and  school  meetings.  He  has  served  on 
the  Scliool  Board  for  the  past  foui'  years.  In 
1893   he   was    elected    to    the    New  Hani[ishire 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Senate  from  the  Twelftli  District,  on  the  Re- 
publican nomination.  For  tlie  past  twenty 
years  he  has  Ijccii  a  member  of  tlic  State  Cen- 
tral Republican  Committee. 

On  February  i,  1868,  Mr.  Waterhouse  mar- 
ried Miss  Flizabeth  S.  Hale,  of  Barrington. 
His  children  are:  Jeremiah,  born  April  14, 
1875;  and  Ruth,  born  June  22,  1887.  In  the 
fall  of  1896  Jeremiah  was  elected  to  the 
legislature,  and  celebrated  the  event  by  giv- 
ing a  supper  to  over  a  thousand  of  his  friends. 
He  belongs  to  the  third  of  the  three  gen- 
erations of  the  Waterhouse  family  that  have 
represented  Barrington  in  the  legislature. 
The  Hon.  William  E.  Waterhouse  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Centennial  Grange;  of  Wannalancet 
Tribe,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  of 
Dover;  and  of  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge,  I.  O. 
O.  F.,   of  the  same  place. 


iALVIN  JENKINS,  a  successful  farmer 
of  Barnstead,  was  born  here,  April  30, 
1840,  son  of  Joseph  and  Lydia  Ann 
(Merrill)  Jenkins.  John  Jenkins,  Joseph's 
father,  who  came  to  Barnstead  from  Lee, 
N.H.,  purchased  a  tract  of  land  near  Suncook 
Pond,  on  which  he  settled,  and  subsequently 
became  the  owner  of  considerable  land  in  Lee. 
He  died  in  the  latter  place.  His  children 
were:  John,  Joseph,  Lois,  Hannah,  Sally,  and 
William.  John,  who  lived  and  died  in  Lee, 
N.H.,  leaving  five  children,  represented  his 
town  in  the  State  legislature  and  held  other 
offices.  Sally  married  John  M.  Chesley,  and 
lived  in  Barnstead.  Lois  married  Sargent 
Hanson,  and  now  resides  in  Madbury,  N.  H. 
Hannah  married  Jacob  Odcll,  of  Durham,  and 
had  one  child,  who  died  while  attending  col- 
lege. William,  who  was  a  manufacturer  of 
starch  in  different  places  in  New  York,  and 
died   in    1895,  married  Joanna    Foss,  who  died 


some  years  ago.  They  had  five  children,  of 
whom   Louisa,   Fannie,  and  Emma  are  living. 

Joseph  Jenkins,  born  in  Lee,  removed  when 
a  young  man  to  Barnstead,  where  he  took  up 
farming,  and  subsequently  became  the  largest 
land-owner  in  this  town.  He  was  also  quite 
largely  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  timber 
lots.  In  politics  he  was  a  loyal  Republican. 
Whenever  he  was  a  candidate  for  office,  he 
was  always  successful.  He  was  Selectman  for 
many  years,  and  he  represented  the  town  in 
the  State  legislature  for  two  years.  In  relig- 
ion he  was  a  strong  believer  in  the  tenets  of 
Quakerism.  He  lived  to  be  ninety  two  years 
old.  The  first  of  his  two  marriages  was  con- 
tracted with  Miss  Nancy  Walker;  and  the 
second  with  Miss  Lydia  Ann  Merrill,  daugh- 
ter of  Elisha  Merrill.  By  the  first  there  were 
five  children;  namely,  William  A.,  Joseph, 
John,  Oren,  and  Louisa.  Of  these,  Joseph, 
John,  and  Oren  are  living.  Louisa  died  in 
girlhood.  The  children  of  the  second  mar- 
riage were:  Charles  F.,  Everett,  Lewis  and 
Louisa  (twins),  Calvin,  Melvin,  Mary  and 
Lyman  (twins).  Everett  served  in  the  Civil 
War  until  a  severe"  wound,  received  at  the 
battle  of  Fredericksburg,  obliged  him  to  re- 
turn home.  Lewis  and  Melvin  were  also  sol- 
diers in  the  war.  Lewis  was  wounded  in  the 
foot.  After  the  war  Melvin  served  for  a  time 
on  the  police  force  of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  and 
there  subsequently  became  the  City  Marshal. 
Lyman  is  now  a  Deacon  in  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church  of  Barnstead. 

After  acquiring  a  common-school  education, 
Calvin  Jenkins  took  up  farming  with  his 
father,  with  whom  he  remained  until  he  was 
twenty-si.x  years  of  age.  Then  he  started  out 
for  himself,  continuing  in  the  same  occupa- 
tion on  a  farm  on  Beauty  Hill,  that  his  father 
gave  him,  containing  one  hundred  acres.  The 
buildings  were  subsequently  destroyed   by  fire, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


entailing  a  licavy  loss  to  him.  Afterward,  in 
1892,  he  purchased  the  place  at  Barnstead 
Parade  where  he  now  lives.  Mr.  Jenkins  is 
one  of  the  representative  farmers  of  the  town. 
He  is  prominent  in  the  Republican  party. 
In  1888  and  1889  he  was  elected  Deputy 
Sheriff  of  Belknap  County,  and  served  two 
years.  Re-elected  in  1892,  1894,  and  1896, 
he  is  still  serving  in  that  capacity.  On  pre- 
vious occasions,  when  he  was  a  candidate  for 
ofifice,  the  Democrats  carried  the  elections. 
On  February  26,  1S62,  l\ir.  Jenkins  married 
Miss  Hannah  M.  Sackett,  daughter  of  Noble 
Sackett,  of  Barnstead,  who  had  eleven  other 
children.  Mr.  Sackett,  who  came  to  Barn- 
stead from  Massachusetts  and  was  the  first 
shoemaker  in  this  town,  followed  his  trade 
up  to  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Jenkins  have  one  son,  Edgar,  who  is  em- 
ployed by  the  American  E.xpress  Company, 
Boston.  Edgar  married  Grace  A.  Willey, 
daughter  of  Horatio  G.  Willey,  of  Barnstead, 
and  now  has  one  child  —  Harold  W. ,  born 
April  7,  1895.  Mrs.  Calvin  Jenkins  is  a 
member  of  the  First  Congregational   Church. 


LVAH  B.  FLANDERS,  Tax  Collector 
of  Alton,  was  born  upon  the  farm  he 
now  occupies,  in  West  Alton,  son  of 
Andrew  and  Betsey  (Eaton)  F^landers.  His 
grandfather,  Ezekiel  Flanders,  in  young  man- 
hood accompanied  his  parents  from  Amesbury, 
Mass.,  to  Alton,  and  later,  in  West  Alton, 
took  up  a  tract  of  fifty  acres  of  wild  land,  and 
converted  it  into  the  farm  now  owned  by  his 
grandson,  Alvah  B.  Ezekiel,  who  was  prob- 
ably the  first  settler  in  this  part  of  the  town, 
besides  clearing  thirty  acres  of  his  land, 
hauled  lumber  on  sleds  to  Gilmanton.  He 
finally  erected  a  frame  house,  and  resided  here 
until    his    death.      He    married    for     his     first 


wife  Susannah  Buzzell,  and  reared  five  chil- 
dren—  Andrew,  luioch,  Sally,  IClizabcth,  and 
Su.san.  Enoch,  who  settled  upon  land  in  Gil- 
ford given  him  by  liis  father,  about  one  mile 
from  the  homestead,  married,  and  raised  a 
family  of  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Sally  became  the  wife  of  Jacob  Leavitt,  of 
Gilford,  and  left  one  daughter.  IClizabeth 
married  Lyman  Blaisdell,  a  farmer  of  Gilford; 
and  of  her  family  there  is  one  sin'vivor. 
Susan  married  William  B.  Hinckley,  of 
Alton,  and  had  a  family  of  six  childien.  The 
mother  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-five;  and 
the  father,  who  was  then  eighty  years  old, 
married  Betsey  Davis,  and  passed  the  last  ten 
years  of  his  life  happily  with  his  second  biide. 
His  second  wife  died  at  ninety-two. 

Andrew  Flanders,  born  in  Alton  in  1790, 
was  nine  months  old  when  his  parents  moved 
to  West  Alton.  When  a  young  man  he 
settled  and  erected  a  house  on  a  part  of  the 
homestead  property.  He  finally  succeeded  to 
the  ownershiji  of  the  entire  farm.  Energetic 
and  industrious,  he  became  prosperous,  and 
added  about  one  hundred  acres  to  the  tract. 
He  supported  the  Democratic  part}'  in  politics, 
and  acted  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  many 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  first  Adventists  in 
Alton,  and  continued  in  that  belief  until  his 
death,  which  occurreil  in  1872.  His  wife, 
Betsey,  who  was  a  nati\e  of  Pittsfield,  N.H., 
became  the  mother  of  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren, nine  of  whom  lived  to  maturit\'.  These 
were:  John  K. ,  Sally,  lizekiel  S. ,  Andrew  S., 
Betsey,  Aniasa  K.  J.,  Dana  J.,  Ilezekiah  11, 
and  Ah'ah  B.  John  ]■'..  died  in  Laconia,  leav- 
ing one  son.  Sally  became  tlie  wife  of  John 
Carr.  Andrew  S.  married  in  Newburyport, 
Mass.,  and  resided  there  for  the  rest  of  his 
life.  Amasa  married,  and  resided  in  Alton 
Dana  J.  died  in  Salem,  and  left  four  daugh- 
ters.     Betsey     died     at    the    homestead,    aged 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


twenty-two  years.  Hezekiah  moved  from  Gil- 
ford to  Salem,  where  he  died.  Mrs.  Andrew 
Flanders  died  in  i<SS4,  aged  sixty-two  years. 

Aivah  1^.  Inlanders  was  reared  and  educated 
in  Alton.  He  belongs  to  the  third  of  the 
three  generations  of  the  family  that  have  occu- 
pied the  homestead.  At  his  father's  death  he 
succeeded  to  the  property,  on  which  he  has 
since  successfully  carried  on  farming.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  a  local  party 
lender  of  ability.  He  has  been  the  candidate 
of  JKith  parties  for  Ta.x  Collector  since  1888. 
Mr.  Flanders  married  Sarah  C,  daughter  of 
Daniel  b'landers,  of  Alton.  Her  parents  were 
active  and  industrious  and  sturdy  farming 
people.  Mr.  Alvah  B.  Flanders  and  his  wife 
have  five  children;  namely,  Edwin  D.,  Ellen 
E. ,  Oscar  A.,  Willie  A.,  and  Maurice  L. 
Edwin  D. ,  now  the  proprietor  of  a  flourishing 
provision  business  and  of  some  valuable  real 
estate  in  Nashua,  N.  H.,  is  married,  and  has 
two  sons.  Ellen  K.  and  Maurice  L.  reside  at 
home.  Oscar  A.  taught  school  for  a  time,  and 
is  now  employed  in  a  grocery  store  in  Lake- 
port.  W'illie  A.  is  with  his  i)rothcr  in 
Nashua. 


"ON.  CHARLES  H.  LOONEY,  a 
irominent  merchant  of  Milton,  and 
an  e.\-member  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Senate,  was  born  in  this  town,  July  11, 
1849,  son  of  I^'rancis  and  Rhoda  Ann  (Leigh- 
ton)  Looney.  His  grandfather  was  Thomas 
Looney,  an  Englishman,  who  late  in  life  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  and  died  soon 
after  his  arrival.  The  father  was  a  native  of 
Manchester,  England,  where  he  learned  the 
cotton  manufacturing  business.  In  1820  he 
came  to  this  country,  and  for  some  time  acted 
as  agent  of  the  satine  mills  in  Dover,  N.H. 
He  finally  settled  in  Milton,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged   in    manufacturing    cotton    warp    for    a 


number  of  years;  and  he  died  January  18, 
1854.  He  married  Rhoda  Ann  Leighton,  a 
native  of  Milton,  and  became  the  father  of  two 
sons:  Charles  IL,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
and  Edwin  F.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen years. 

Charles  H.  Looney  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  at  the  Classical  Institute 
of  Milton,  N.H.  When  his  studies  were  com- 
pleted he  entered  Twomblys  grocery  store  as 
a  clerk;  and  two  years  later  he  was  employed 
in  the  same  capacity  in  Farmington,  N.H.,  by 
Captain  Herring,  with  whom  he  remained  a 
year.  In  1871  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness upon  his  own  account  in  Milton,  and 
there  conducted  a  flourishing  trade  until  i88g, 
when  he  was  appointed  Deputy  Collector  of 
Customs  for  the  Portsmouth  district.  In 
1894  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Mr. 
Amos  M.  Roberts  in  the  grocery  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Looney  &  Roberts, 
which  has  been  continued  until  the  present 
time.  Mr.  Looney  is  one  of  the  most  active 
and  influential  leaders  of  the  Republican  party 
in  this  section  of  the  State,  and  his  political 
career  has  been  marked  by  a  display  of  such 
sterling  ability  as  to  insure  for  him  the  steady 
support  of  the  majority  of  his  party.  He  was 
appointed  Postmaster  in  Milton  by  President 
Grant  in  1871,  and  held  the  office  with  general 
satisfaction  for  thirteen  years.  He  served  as 
Town  Clerk  for  twelve  years,  and  was  elected 
to  the  legislature  in  1885  and  to  the  State 
Senate  in  1887.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  the  Nute  High  School  of  Mil- 
ton. He  was  Deputy  Collector  of  Customs  at 
Portsmouth  for  five  years,  and  is  now  a  candi- 
date for  the  collectorship  of  that  port. 

Mr.  Looney  married  Emily  E.  Miller, 
daughter  of  Robert  Miller,  of  Milton,  and  has 
four  sons;  namely,  Ned  Francis,  Walter  E. , 
Robert   M.,  and    Harry    H.      He    is   connected 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'03 


with  Fraternal  Lodge,  1*".  &  A.  M.,  of  Farni- 
iiigton,  N.H.  ;  and  with  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen.  The  family  attend  the 
Congretrational  church. 


iKWIS  A.  PROCTOR,  a  leading  farmer 
of  Alton,  was  born  January  ig,  1836, 
on  the  place  where  he  now  resides, 
son  of  the  late  John  D.  Proctor,  and  grandson 
of  Thomas  Proctor.  John  Proctor  hired  out 
when  quite  young  with  Joseph  Drew,  and  after 
a  time  married  his  employer's  daughter, 
Selina.  They  started  out  for  themselves, 
were  thrifty,  prudent,  and  determined  to  suc- 
ceed, and  after  a  time  were  able  to  buy  a  part 
of  their  father's  farm,  about  one  hundred 
acres.  Later  they  bought  the  whole  farm, 
three  hundred  acres  and  more.  John  D.  Proc- 
tor lived  to  be  seventy-five  years  of  age,  dying 
in  1883.  He  was  a  Whig  and  later  a  Repub- 
lican. In  religious  belief  both  he  and  his 
wife  were  Adventists.  Mrs.  Proctor  died  in 
1886.  Their  two  children  were  Lewis  A.  and 
Martha  J. 

Lewis  Proctor  attended  the  district  schools. 
After  his  school  days  were  over,  he  worked 
with  his  father  until  1866,  when  he  took 
charge  of  the  farm.  He  has  built  a  new  two- 
story  house,  containing  fifteen  finished  rooms, 
and  has  much  improved  the  property.  The 
house  is  now  one  of  the  many  pleasant  New 
Hampshire  homes  open  to  the  tourist  during 
the  summer  season.  Mr.  Proctor  married 
Miss  Sarah  Collins,  daughter  of  Thomas  Col- 
lins, of  Alton,  and  grand-daughter  of  John  H. 
Collins,  an  early  settler  of  Barnstead,  N.H. 
Thomas  Collins  married  Dorothy  Munsey,  and 
had  four  children  —  John,  Sarah,  Fan'nie,  and 
Frank.  John,  a  painter,  married  and  is  living 
in  Pembroke.  Frank  is  marrietl,  and  re- 
sides in   Gilmanton.      Fannie  married  Joseph 


Yeaton,  of  Pittslield.  .Mrs.  Proctor  is  the 
mother  of  six  children  :  John  W.,  Lillian  !•". , 
lilla  M.,  and  Cliarles  II.,  who  live  at  home; 
Mabelle  F.,  now  Mrs.  P'rank  McDuffee;  and 
L'ville  P.,  whn  married  Lillian  C.  Hennett, 
and  is  livinLTon  the  Dodire  place  in  ISarnsteail. 


fs^LRI-.MIAH     Y.     WIXCLATl".,    a    pmmi- 
nent  druggi.^t  of  Dover,  anil  tiie  worthy 
representative    of    one    of    the    earliest 
settled  families  of  Strafford  County,  is  of  sub- 


stantial  English   antecedents. 


The    emigrant 


ancestor  was  John  Wingate,  who  came  from 
England  to  the  United  -States  in  1658,  ami 
soon  afterward  purchased  a  tract  of  land  situ- 
ated on  what  is  now  known  as  Dover  Point. 
He  there  began  the  improvement  of  a  farm 
which  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Wingate 
family,  being  now  owned  by  !\Ir.  Joseph  Will- 
iam Wingate,  a  brother  of  Jeremiah  Y.  and  a 
descendant  of  the  si.Nth  generation.  A  more 
extended  account  of  the  Wingates  will  be 
found  in  the  History  of  the  Wingate  Family 
in  England  and  America,  compiled  by 
Charles  E.  Wingate,  and  published  in  1S86 
by  James  P.  D.  Wingate,  of  Plxeter,  N.  H. 

Jeremiah  Y.  Wingate  was  born  June  15, 
1842,  in  the  town  of  Dover,  son  of  William  P. 
and  Lydia  Chandler  Wingate,  prosperous 
farmers  of  this  locality.  He  grew  to  man- 
hood on  the  homestead,  obtaining  an  excellent 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  the  place 
and  at  P'raiiklin  i\c:ulem_\'.  When  about 
twenty-one  years  old,  he  entered  the  drug 
store  of  Dr.  John  PL  Wheeler,  of  Dover,  with 
whom  he  served  a  full  term  of  apprenticeship. 
He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  James  II. 
Wheeler,  M.D.,  and  for  nine  years  was  suc- 
cessfully engaged  in  an  a]iothecary's  business. 
At  the  end  of  that  ])eriod  the  firm  was  tlis- 
solved;    and   he   went    to   Conway,    \.H.,    and 


I04 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


engaged  in  business  there,  remaining  about  a 
year  and  a  half.  Not  being  satisfied  with  his 
trade  in  tluit  place,  he  returned  to  this  city, 
and,  opening  his  present  fine  store,  has  since 
been  actively  engaged  in  the  drug  business. 
He  has  an  extensive  and  profitable  trade,  hav- 
ing among  his  customers  many  of  the  leading 
people  of  Dover  and  vicinity. 

On  November  4,  1870,  Mr.  Wingate  married 
Miss  Arvilla  S.  Clement.s,  who  was  born  in 
Dover,  daugiiter  of  John  and  Abigail  (Dow) 
Clements.  His  children  are:  Florence  H., 
born  September  2,  1872,  who  is  now  a  book- 
keeper in  this  city ;  Maude  A.,  born  June  17, 
1876,  who  is  a  clerk  in  her  father's  store; 
Martha  C,  born  March  20,  18S0,  now  a  pupil 
of  the  Dover  High  School;  and  Henry,  born 
June  29,  1885.  Inheriting  the  political  faith 
that  has  dominated  the  family  for  eight  gen- 
erations, Mr.  Wingate  is  one  of  the  most  earn- 
est supporters  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
takes  an  active  part  in  local  affairs  so  far  as 
the  demands  of  his  business  will  allow.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church,  with  which  he  has  been  united 
for  thirty  years. 


"FNRY  OUIMBY  DALTON,  senior 
member  of  the  firm  Dalton  &  Ben- 
nett, iiroprietors  of  Lakeside  House, 
Tilton,  was  born  in  Northfield,  N.  H.,  De- 
cember 20,  1829,  son  of  Absalom  and  Harriet 
B.  (Aldrich)  Dalton.  His  grandfather,  Sam- 
uel Dalton,  born  in  Londonderry,  N.  IL,  July 
-9'  '757>  was  a  son  of  John  Dalton,  whose 
father  came  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  Sam- 
uel Dalton  enlisted  in  the  Continental  army 
for  the  short  term  when  eight  years  old,  and 
afterward  re-enlisted  for  four  years.  In  1793 
he  settled  upon  a  farm  in  Northfield,  and  died 
in   upper     Gilmanton,    January    i,    1837.      He 


married  for  his  first  wife  Polly  Myrick,  who 
was  born  in  Hampstead,  N.  II.,  March  16, 
1778,  and  died  July  18,  1820.  His  second 
marriage  was  contracted  witii  Mrs.  Rachel 
(Gile)    Wadleigh. 

Absalom  Dalton,  the  father  of  Henry  O. , 
was  born  in  Northfield,  July  31,  1801.  When 
a  young  man,  he  taught  school  in  Stewarts- 
town,  N.  H.  Later,  in  Massachusetts,  he 
learned  the  stone  cutter's  trade,  and  followed 
it  for  some  years  in  some  of  the  largest 
quarries  of  New  England.  Afterward  for 
thirty  years  he  followed  agriculture  in  North- 
field  and  Sanbornton.  Upon  the  death  of  his 
wife  he  took  up  his  residence  with  his  son, 
Henry  0.  His  death  occurred  in  October, 
1 888,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  His  wife,  Har- 
riet B. ,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Caleb  Aldrich, 
of  Northfield,  became  the  mother  of  seven 
children,  five  of  whom  reached  maturity.  Of 
these  there  are  living:  Henry  O. ,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch ;  and  Urana  M.,  the  wife  of  Eben 
B.  Calef.  The  others  were  Ransom  S. ,  Mary 
A.,  and  George  W.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Absalom 
Dalton  were  members  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church. 

Henry  Quimby  Dalton  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools.  When  ten  years  old,  his 
father's  house,  including  all  the  furniture, 
with  the  e.xception  of  a  chair  and  a  bed,  was 
sold  to  satisfy  a  note  which  the  elder  Dalton 
had  indorsed.  In  consequence  young  Henry 
then  went  to  work  upon  a  farm  in  Hookset, 
N.  H.  Thirteen  months  later,  he  left  Hook- 
set  for  Belmont,  where  he  worked  upon  differ- 
ent farms.  When  fifteen  years  of  age,  he 
began  to  learn  the  stone  cutter's  trade  with  his 
father  at  Sanbornton;  and  he  has  since  fol- 
lowed it  at  intervals.  When  twenty-one  years 
old,  he  purchased  the  Jerry  Gilman  farm. 
I,ater    he   sold    that    estate;  and     in    1866     he 


HENRY     Q.    DALTON. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


107 


puichiised  his  present  pnipeity,  which  now 
contains  about  two  hundred  acres.  He  culti- 
vates fifty  acres,  keeps  tliirty  head  of  cattle, 
seven  or  eight  horses,  ami  employs  several 
assistants.  The  greater  part  of  his  farm  prod- 
ucts are  used  at  the  Lakeside  House.  He 
also  owns  considerable  real  estate  in  Laconia. 
In  1869  he  began  keeping  summer  boarders. 
As  the  business  increased,  he  found  it  neces- 
sary to  enlarge  his  house.  The  Lakeside, 
which  occupies  a  sightly  location  on  the  shore 
of  Lake  Winnisquani,  and  has  ample  accom- 
modations for  one  hundred  guests,  is  the  larg- 
est summer  resort  in  Tilton.  From  May  to 
September  it  is  filled  with  patrons,  some  of 
whom  come  from  Florida  and  San  Francisco. 
In  politics  Mr.  Dalton  is  a  Democrat.  He 
has  served  the  town  well  and  faithfully  in  the 
various  capacities  of  Selectman,  Tax  Collec- 
tor, Road  Agent,  Supervisor  of  Church  List, 
and  Appraiser  of  the  Town.  He  has  acted  as 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  fifteen  years. 

On  December  11,  185 1,  Mr.  Dalton  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Sarah  S.  (Gil- 
man)  Weston,  daughter  of  Moses  Gilman,  of 
Sanbornton.  By  her  first  marriage  Mrs.  Dal- 
ton had  one  son  —  Amos  G.  Weston,  M.  D., 
born  October  29,  1846.  He  studied  medicine 
in  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  and  Cincinnati, 
practised  in  Yellow  Springs,  Ohio,  luitil  his 
health  failed,  and  died  of  consumption  in  Poor- 
est City,  Minn.,  P'ebruary  16,  1867.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1865,  he  was  married  in  Yellow  Springs 
to  Ilattie  D.  Chamberlain;  and  he  left  one  son 
—  Willie  Herman,  who  is  now  a  farmer  in 
Ashland,  Neb.  Willie  Herman  Weston  mar- 
ried IClla  Vance,  and  has  three  children  living. 
By  her  present  husband  Mrs.  Dalton  has  one 
daughter  —  Mary  Hattie,  now  the  wife  of  Mar- 
cellus  W.  Bennett  and  the  mother  of  five 
children  —  Harry  Halford,  Mar.shal  P'rank, 
Jean  L. ,  Leeland  Wilson,  and   I^lwood   Vance. 


Harry  Ilalfortl  Bennett,  bom  N'o\emlier  22, 
1873,  has  always  resided  with  his  grandpar- 
ents, and  is  now  the  junini  p;ulner  in  the  liini 
of  Dalton  &  Pennctt.  lie  mairied  yXiinie  .S. , 
daughter  of  l-'rank  I.ea\iH.  of  Laconia.  Mr. 
Dalton,  Sr. ,  is  connecteil  with  the  grange  in 
Tilton,  and  is  a  member  of  the  People's  Chris- 
tian Church  of  Laconia,  having  been  an  ni-- 
ganizer  of  both  societies. 


ORACI-:   T.    BAlil!,  a   well  kn.iwn   ami 
pojndar  citizen   of   Dover,   is  a  nati\'e 

^  \ of   Strafford   Count)'.      He  was  born 

September  8,  1842,  at  15arrington,  on  the  farm 
on  which  his  paternal  grandfather,  Thomas 
Babb,  settled  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury. His  father,  Joseph  T.  Babb,  was  a 
farmer,  and  likewise  woi'ked  at  the  carpenter's 
trade,  in  which  he  was  ([uite  skilful.  He 
was  three  times  married.  His  first  wife,  in 
maidenhood  Abigail  Cater,  dietl,  leaving  him 
three  children,  namely:  Dennis  A.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty-si.\  years;  Martha  S.,  also 
deceased;  and  I'llizabeth  J.  His  second  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  B.  Tibbetts, 
bore  him  two  children  —  Henry  H.  and 
Horace  T.  Henry  IL,  the  elder  of  the  two, 
enlisted  in  1861  in  Company  K,  Seventh  New 
Hampshire  \'ohmteer  Infantiy,  and  died, 
while  serving  in  the  late  war,  at  Beaufint, 
N.C.  Joseph  T.  Babb's  third  marriage  was 
contracted  with  ;\bigail  Kimball,  who  bore 
him  three  children.  These  were:  Mary  ;\., 
who  died  in  i88i  ;  and  John  C.  and  P'rank  H., 
both  of  whom  are  living.  The  father  died  May 
4,   1S92,  in  his  eighty-ninth  )'ear. 

Plorace  T.  Babb  grew  to  man's  estate  on  the 
home  farm,  acquiring  his  early  education  in 
the  district  schools,  and  comjileting  it  ;it  the 
village  high  school.  While  attending  the 
latter  institution,  throughout   the  teini  fi)llow- 


io8 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


ing  his  eighteenth  birthday,  he  walked  the  in- 
tervening distance  of  four  miles  between  it 
and  his  home  morning  and  evening.  On  at- 
taining his  majority,  he  went  to  ]'"armington, 
this  county,  and  secured  work  in  the  mills  of 
Mr.  W.  W.  Hayes,  a  manufacturer  of  rough 
lumber,  carriages,  and  boxes.  Here  he  re- 
mained three  years,  being  foreman  of  the 
mills  in  the  latter  part  of  the  time.  After 
occupying  a  similar  position  in  a  lumber-mill 
at  Rochester,  N.  H.,  for  a  while,  he  returned 
to  his  first  employer,  and  worked  for  him  a 
few  years  more.  I'or  the  succeeding  two  years 
he  was  employed  in  a  shoe  shop  of  Farming- 
ton,  whence  he  came  to  Dover,  accepting  an- 
other position.  A  few  years  later  he  was  in 
business  for  a  short  time  with  Manny  & 
Ahl,  shoe  manufacturers  of  Rochester.  He 
subseciuently  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the 
factory,  and  was  employed  by  C.  W.  Thurs- 
ton &  Co.,  of  Farmington,  and  later  was 
foreman  of  an  ui^per  leather  and  stitching 
room  for  three  and  a  half  years  in  Wolfboro, 
N.  H.  f  laving  again  returned  to  Farmington, 
Mr.  Babb  had  entire  charge  of  the  lumber, 
box,  and  board  mills  of  Mr.  Hayes  for  four 
and  a  half  years.  Removing  from  there  to 
Dover,  he  next  became  agent  for  L.  W.  Nute 
&  Co.,  shoe  manufacturers,  continuing  in  the 
same  position  with  Mr.  Nute's  successor, 
C.  H.  Moulton,  until  1894.  Since  then  he 
has  lived  retired  from  business. 

Mr.  Babb  was  married  June  12,  1 87 1,  to 
Miss  Carrie  A.  Nute,  who  was  born  in  Boston, 
August  28,  1844,  daughter  of  Cyrus  W.  and 
Elmira  (Banfield)  Nute.  Politicallv,  Mr. 
Babb  is  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party.  He  served  most 
acceptably  as  a  Representative  of  the  town  of 
Harrington  in  the  State  legislature  in  1871, 
and  as  Alderman  from  Ward  One  of  Dover  in 
1893  and  1894.      He  has  been,  identified  with 


the  Masonic  fraternity  since  1867,  being  a 
member  of  Fraternal  Lodge,  Farmington, 
N.  H.,  and  afterward  becoming  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Moses  Paul  Lodge  of  Dover.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Columbia  Council,  I'^arm- 
ington  ;  of  St.  Paul's  Commandery,  of  which 
he  is  Standard-bearer;  and  of  the  Dover 
Lodge  of  Perfection.  Mr.  Babb  also  belongs 
to  the  Odd  P^ellows,  having  afifiliation  with  the 
Woodbine  Lodge,  of  Farmington;  the  Royal 
Arcanum,  of  Wolfboro;  the  Order  of  Elks, 
of  Dover;  and  the  Dover  Bellamy  Club,  <if 
which  he  was  one  of  the  organizers. 


'sjY^^HN  W.  CURRIER,  formerly  a  prom- 
inent lawyer  of  Alton,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 7,  1835,  at  Waldcn,  Vt.,  son  of 
the  Rev.  John  and  Martha  (Foster)  Currier. 
His  grandfather  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
in  Vermont,  and  is  said  to  have  lived  for 
some  time  with  the  Lidians.  The  Rev.  John. 
Currier,  who  was  known  in  the  Methodist 
Conference  as  "P'ather  Currier,"  a  faithful 
and  hard-working  minister  for  nearly  sixty 
years,  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six 
years,  having  occupied  many  honorable  posi- 
tions in  connection  with  his  denomination. 
He  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school,  and 
his  brother  fought  in  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill. 

The  early  education  of  John  W.  Currier  was 
received  in  the  common  schools  of  the  various 
towns  in  which  his  father  lived.  In  1850  he 
entered  the  Vermont  Conference  Seminary  at 
Newbury,  Vt.,  where  he  remained  four  years. 
Then,  in  1854,  he  entered  the  Sophomore 
class  in  Wesleyan  University,  from  which  he 
graduated  with  high  honors  in  1857.  During 
his  college  course  he  not  only  taught  school 
for  several  terms,  but  commenced  the  study  of 
law,  so  that  he  was  able  to  graduate  from  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


.09 


Albany  Law  School  in  1S61.  In  1S62  he 
opened  a  law  office  in  Alton,  antl  there  re- 
mained in  the  successful  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession until  he  became  incapable  of  giving  it 
further  attention.  Mr.  Currier  was  for  many 
years  Town  Clerk  of  Alton.  He  was  also  Clerk 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Senate  in  1869  and 
1S70,  and  at  two  different  times  he  was  Solic- 
itor of  Belknap  County.  Each  office  was  filled 
by  him  with  great  credit  to  himself  and  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  all.  He  was  always  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  his  town,  and  was 
prominent  in  every  good  work.  As  an  edu- 
cator he  took  great  interest  in  the  success  of 
the  common  schools,  and  contributed  largely  of 
his  time  to  their  advancement.  A  cultured 
man,  he  was  fond  of  literature,  and  contrib- 
uted to  it  some  gems  of  poetry.  The  touch- 
ing lines,  written  after  he  had  been  blind  one 
year,  are  given  in  full  below.  He  was  a  con- 
sistent Christian  gentleman,  and  did  earnest 
work  in  the  capacity  of  superintendent  of  the 
Sabbath-school  of  the  Congregational  church. 
He  was  also  a  jirominent  member  of  Winnepe- 
saukee  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

On  June  11,  1S65,  Mr.  Currier  married 
Louise  Savage,  daughter  of  Major  George  D. 
Savage,  one  of  Alton's  foremost  citizens,  who 
has  served  the  community  in  all  the  more  im- 
portant town  offices.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Currier  had 
two  children;  namely,  John  F.  and  Charles  L. 
John  F.,  who  graduated  at  Gilmanton  Acad- 
emy in  iSqo,  and  is  at  present  station  agent 
in  Alton,  was  Trustee  of  the  public  library  for 
four  years,  and  is  active  in  politics,  always 
voting  with  the  Republicans.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Winnepesaukee  Lodge,  No.  75,  F. 
&  A.  M.  ;  of  Columbia  Chapter  at  Farming- 
ton,  N.H.,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  and  the 
Knights  of  Honor.  The  father  died  June  8, 
1887.  He  was  a  kind  friend,  a  good  neigh- 
bor, a  good  counsellor,  and  an  able  lawyer;  and 


his  home  was  a  happy  one.  The  regard  in 
which  he  was  held  is  shown  in  the  following 
extract  from  the  Currier  memorial  proceedings 
in  the  Supreme  Court:  "No  one  who  had 
opportunity  to  observe  his  career  as  a  lawyer 
will  dispute  his  creditable  standing  in  the  pro- 
fession. He  was  well  versed  in  legal  knowl- 
edge, was  a  .safe  and  judicious  counsellor  and 
adviser,  and  an  able,  and  at  times  eloquent, 
advocate.  He  was  loyal  to  tiie  court,  true  to 
his  clients,  and  courteous  to  iiis  professional 
brethren.  His  word  was  never  tloubted.  His 
promise  he  never  failed  to  keep.  He  was  so 
modest  and  unassuming  in  his  demeanor  that 
to  one  not  intimately  acquainted  with  liini  he 
might  not  pass  for  all  he  was  worth,  but  to 
those  who  were  more  fortunate  his  modest  de- 
portment lent  an  additional  charm  to  the  sim- 
plicity of  his  character.  We  are  moved  with 
sorrow  that  his  familiar  face  is  gone  from  this 
court  now  forever.  We  miss  a  genial,  com- 
panionable, warm-hearted  friend  and  brother. 
One  who  saw  him  often  during  his  long  and 
painful  illness  informs  me  that  he  was  never 
heard  to  complain.  The  fortitude  he  dis- 
played amid  his  sufferings  may  well  be  called 
heroic.  When  the  ravages  of  wasting  disease 
admonished  him  that  his  days  on  earth  were 
numbered,  he  calmly  met  the  great  ilestroyer. 
When  he  laid  aside  his  chosen  profession  and 
its  opportunities  for  further  advancemetit  and 
high  honors,  if  he  did  not  do  it  without  regret, 
it  was  because  he  was  human.  As  by  his  life 
he  proved  himself  an  able  and  upright  lawyer, 
a  courteous  gentleman,  and  a  tried  and  true 
friend,  so  amid  sickness  and  death,  bv  his 
patient  suffering,  cheerful  resignation,  and 
unwavering  faith  in  a  better  life,  he  proved 
himself  an  exemplary  and  consistent  Chris- 
tian." 

Under  the  date  of  May  7,   1885,  Mr.  Cur- 
rier wrote    in    his   diary  as  follows:    "'J'he  last 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


clay   when    I   could   recognize    my    wife, 
father,  or  any  one  else." 


boys, 


A  year  of  darkness  and  of  night, 
A  year  without  a  ray  of  liglit. 
No  sun,  no  moon,  no  stars  I  see. 
No  fireside  lamp  is  lit  for  me. 
No  starry  heavens,  no  azure  sky. 
No  swan-like  clouds  go  floating  by. 
No  mountain,  river,  lake,  or  plain. 
No  wooded  hills,  no  waving  grain. 
No  autumn  tints  of  gorgeous  hues, — 
God's  grand  kaleidoscopic  views. 
No  matchless  painting  on  the  skies. 
At  set  of  sun  or  at  its  rise. 
No  beautiful  grass  of  velvet  green, 
No  plant  or  shrub  or  tree  I've  seen. 
No  fruit,  no  flowers  of  every  hue. 
(Their  fragrance  is  denied  me,  too.) 
The  magic  charms  the  seasons  bring. 
Of  summer,  autumn,  winter,  spring. 
Alike  take  on  the  same  dark  hue, 
Alike  are  hidden  from  my  view. 
All  books  and  papers  closed  to  me. 
How  much  I  miss  their  company! 
The  beasts  and  birds  have  hid  away 
Within  the  shades  that  round  me  lay. 
Uut.  worse  than  all,  this  dreadful  night 

Has  buried  all  my  friends  from  sight. 

My  wife  and  boys,  how  near  they  are! 
And  yet  so  very,  very  far. 

Have  they  much  changed  within  the  year? 

My  wife  grown  old  with  constant  care? 

Oh,  how  I  hunger  for  a  sight 

Of  their  dear  faces  !     If  I  might 

But  see  them  only  once  again, 

And  stamp  their  pictures  on  my  brain, 

I'd  pawn  my  all,  I'd  penance  do, 

I'd  suffer  twice  what  I've  gone  through. 

But,  when  I  strain  my  eye  to  see, 

C'.rim  darkness  sits  and  mocks  at  me. 

My  breath  comes  quick,  my  pulse  beats  fast, 

1  try  in  vain  to  "scape  his  grasp. 

Still  God  is  good  :  of  much  bereft, 

A  thousandfold  there  still  is  left. 

My  reason  still  remains  with  me, — 

A  boon  far  greater  than  to  see. 

My  pleasant  home,  my  boys,  my  wife, 

And  countless  blessings  crown  my  life. 


My  friends,  like  unseen  spirits  come. 
To  cheer  and  brighten  up  my  home. 
May  God  grant  them  his  benison. 
For  all  they've  said,  for  all  they've  done ! 
Ijeyond  this  darkness  and  tliis  pain. 
Beyond  is  sunshine.      May  1  gain 
That  heavenly  land  where  all  is  bright. 
No  sighs,  no  tears,  no  death,  no  night! 


OSEPH  H.  AVERY,  an  enterprising 
business  man  of  Milton,  and  an  ex- 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  legis- 
lature, was  born  in  Acton,  Me.,  June  29,  1S44, 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Nealey)  Avery.  The 
Avery  family  were  early  settlers  in  Parsons- 
field,  Me.,  and  Joseph  H.  Avery's  great-grand- 
father was  the  first  to  break  a  road  through  the 
woods  to  that  town  from  Rochester,  N.H. 
John  Avery  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  in  Acton,  and  has  followed  the  carpenter's 
trade  in  connection  with  farming.  He  is  now 
eighty-si,\  years  old,  and  is  still  active  both 
mentally  and  physically.  He  wedded  Mary 
Nealey,  a  native  of  Sandwich,  N.H.,  who  has 
borne  him  eight  children.  Of  these  five  are 
living;  namely,  Charles,  George,  Lorenzo, 
Jeremiah,  and  Joseph  H. 

After  receiving  his  education  in  the  schools 
of  Acton,  Wakefield,  and  Milton,  Joseph  H. 
Avery  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  in  this 
town,  and  followed  it  for  four  years.  He  ne.xt 
went  to  Boston,  where  he  worked  in  a  restau- 
rant for  three  years.  In  1866  he  returned  to 
Milton,  and  since  that  time  has  had  a  varied 
as  well  as  a  successful  business  career.  At 
different  times  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
grocery  trade,  the  grain  and  flour  business,  the 
lumber  business,  the  manufacture  of  excelsior, 
and  to  some  extent  in  farming.  He  is  now 
in  the  express  business,  and  is  interested  in 
real  estate.  The  shoe  factory  operated  by 
N.  B.  Thayer  &  Co.  was  erected  by  him,  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


he  constructed  the  clam  on  the  Salmon  Falls 
River  which  supplies  it  with  power.  His 
building  enterprises  have  contributeil  much  to 
the  town's  improvement.  He  now  ranks  as 
one  of  Milton's  most  enterprising  and  progres- 
sive business  men.  Politically,  he  acts  with 
the  Republican  party.  He  was  Chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Selectmen  during  the  years  1886, 
1887,  and  1888,  was  Representative  to  the  leg- 
islature in  1889  and  1890,  and  was  again 
elected  a  Selectman  in  1896.  He  has  recently 
received  the  appointment  as  Postmaster  of 
Milton.  His  official  duties  have  always  been 
discharged  with  a  zeal  and  efficiency  that  have 
earned  the  hearty  commendation  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen. 

Mr.  Avery  has  been  twice  married.  By  his 
first  wife,  Theatah  (Hanscom)  Avery,  there 
were  two  children:  Herman,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  nine  years;  and  Addie,  who  is  the  wife 
of  O.  W.  Brown,  of  Sanford,  an  enterprising 
business  man.  His  present  wife,  who  was 
before  marriage  limma  Hanscom,  is  the 
mother  of  one  daughter,  Elsie.  Mr.  Avery  is 
connected  with  Unity  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  Union,  N.H.;  and  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen.  The  family  attend  the 
Congregational  church. 


'OSHUA  C.  PICKERING,  one  of  the 
oldest  business  men  of  Barnstead,  where 
he  is  engaged  in  the  clothing  trade, 
was  born  in  this  town,  March  13,  1843,  son 
of  Caleb  and  Elizabeth  (Roberts)  Pickering. 
He  represents  the  ninth  generation  of  the 
Pickering  family  in  this  country.  About  the 
year  1633  two  men,  who  were  undoubtedly 
cousins,  bearing  the  name  of  John  Pickerin 
(as  it  was  then  spelled),  came  from  England 
to  this  country.  One  of  them  settled  at  Ips- 
wich,   Mass.       The    other,    from    whom    this 


branch  of  the  family  has  sjjrung,  took  uji  his 
residence  at  Portsmouth,  where  he  died  No- 
vember 11,  1668.  Tliis  John  had  si.\  chil- 
dren; namely,  John,  Tiiomas,  Rebecca,  Abi- 
gail, Mary,  and  Sarah.  Thomas,  the  second 
son,  who  died  in  1719  or  1720,  had  three  sons 
and  nine  daughters.  These  were:  James, 
Joshua,  Thomas,  Mary,  Sarah,  Rcbekah,  Abi- 
gail, Hazelel,  Hannah,  Eliza,  Martha,  and 
Mehitable.  James,  son  of  Thomas,  born  in 
1680,  died  in  1768,  in  Newington,  N.ll.  Ik- 
had  four  sons  and  one  daughter;  namely,  John, 
Winthrop,  Anthony,  Thomas,  and  Abigail. 
Of  these,  John,  who  represented  the  fourth 
generation,  and  died  in  Newington  in  1790, 
had  eight  children  —  Valentine,  William, 
Stephen,  James,  John,  Temperance,  Sarah, 
and  Polly.  Temperance  married  a  Hoclgdon, 
and  Sarah  married  a  Taskcr.  Stephen,  who 
was  born  in  Newington  in  1739  and  died  in 
1825,  in  1771  married  Mehitable  Gove,  and 
came  to  Barnstead,  settling  on  the  south-west 
corner  lot,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days.  His  land  adjoined  the  towns  of 
Loudon,  Gilmanton,  and  Pittsfield.  Stephen 
and  Mehitable  Pickerin  had  ten  children; 
namely,  James,  Jacob,  Daniel,  Andrew,  Polly, 
Rosmon  D.,  Abigail,  Sally,  Lois,  and 
Stephen.  When  the  father  tlied,  his  cliiUlren, 
of  whom  the  youngest  was  then  forty-five,  were 
all  at  his  bedside.  He  had  fifty-four  grand- 
children and  fifty-nine  great-grandchildren. 

James  Pickering,  the  eldest  son,  represent- 
ing the  si.xth  generation  from  John  of  Ports- 
mouth, married  Mary  Philbrook,  who  bore  him 
nine  children.  These  were:  John,  Jacob,  Jon- 
athan, Samuel,  Nancy  Ann,  Sally,  Mehitable, 
Betsey,  and  Levi.  The  mother  lived  to  be 
over  ninety  years  oUl.  John,  the  eldest  son, 
married  Patty  Pease,  and  had  three  children  — 
John,  Mary,  and  Olive.  Mary  married  Thomas 
Randall,  and  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


—  John,     Frank,    Olive,    and    Eveline.       Her 
sister  Olive  married  Timothy  Nutter.      Jacob, 
the  second  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Philhrook) 
Pickering,  married   Rebecca  Avery,  who   bore 
him   six   children;    namely,    Monroe,   Charles, 
Levi,  Henrietta,  Irene,  and   Mary  Jane.      Jon- 
athan Pickering,  the  younger  brother  of  Jacob, 
married  Eliza  Foster,  and  had  eight  children, 
three -sons  and  five  daughters.     These  were: 
Charles     H.,     Elbridge,     Christopher,     Ann, 
Lucy,  Sarah,  Rosina,  and  Mary.      Nancy  Ann, 
the  eldest  daughter  of  James  and  Klary  Picker- 
ing,   married   a    Mr.    Perkins,    of    Portsmouth, 
and  had  two  sons  —  Joseph  and  William.      Her 
sister  Sally  successively  married  James  Avery 
and  John    Sanborn,    and    had   two    children  — 
Eunice  and  Sarah.      Mehitable  and  Betsey  re- 
spectively   married    John    Foye    and     Dudley 
Colbath,  and  both  had  children.     Samuel  Pick- 
ering,  the  seventh   lineal   descendant    in  this 
branch   of   the  family,  and   the  grandfather  of 
Joshua   C,    married    Polly    Avery.      She    bore 
him    seven    children,    of  whom    three   died    in 
infancy.      Caleb,  Joshua,    Clarissa,    and    Caro- 
line    attained     maturity.        Clarissa     married 
William    Roberts,    and    had    four    children  — 
Charles,  Caroline,    Polly,    and    Betsey.      Caro- 
line Pickering    married    Caleb    Webster,    and 
had     three     children  —  Emma,      Clara,      and 
Horace.     Joshua  died  in  1852,  aged  thirty-five 
years. 

Caleb  Pickering  was  engaged  in  farming 
with  his  father  until  the  latter's  death,  when 
the  homestead  fell  to  him.  Born  in  1812,  he 
died  in  February,  1894,  fourscore  years  of  age. 
Elizabeth  (Roberts)  Pickering,  his  wife,  who 
was  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Elizabeth 
(Foss)  Roberts,  bore  him  four  children  — 
Tobias  R.,  Joshua  C,  Mary  J.,  and  Sarah  E. 
Tobias  R.,  who  married  Ada  Evans,  had  two 
daughters  —  Ethel  and  Mary.  Mary  J.,  who 
first    married    Daniel    Wright,    and    after    his 


death  Eben  ILanson,  of  Alton,  died  in  March, 
1896.  Sarah  E.  is  the  wife  of  William  Lock, 
and  has  three  sons  and  a  daughter;  namely, 
P'rank,  John,  Wayland,  and  Rosa. 

Joshua  C.  Pickering  acquired  his  education 
in  the  district  school  and  at  Pittsfield  Acad- 
emy. He  learned  the  trade  of  a  clothier  with 
Joshua  M.  Babcock,  with  whom  he  was  associ- 
ated for  twenty  years.  For  seventeen  years  of 
that  time  he  was  a  partner  of  Mr.  Babcock. 
Upon  Mr.  Babcock's  decease  in  1881  he  un- 
dertook the  business  alone,  and  has  carried  it 
on  successfully  since.  While  Mr.  Babcock 
was  living,  the  firm  conducted  a  saw-mill  for  a 
time  in  addition  to  their  other  business.  In 
May,  1865,  Mr.  Pickering  was  married  to  Miss 
Pollen  M.  Grace,  a  daughter  of  Moses  Grace, 
of  North  Barnstead.  The  union  has  been 
blessed  by  the  birth  of  five  children  —  Albert 
C,  Grace  A.,  Bettie  J.,  F"annie  P.,  and  Fred 
R.  Albert  C.  is  married,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren; Grace  is  the  wife  of  George  Hillsgrove, 
and  has  two  children;  Bettie  lives  at  home; 
P'annie-P.  is  the  wife  of  Fred  Hillsgrove;  and 
P'red  is  attending  Pittsfield  Academy.  Joshua 
C.  Pickering  represented  the  town  of  Barn- 
stead  in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  in 
1873  and  1874,  having  been  elected  on  the 
Democratic  ticket.  In  the  legislature  he 
served  on  the  Committees  of  Roads  and 
Bridges  and  Education. 


Ji 


AVID  B.  STORY,  the  landlord  of 
Story's  Tavern  at  The  Weirs,  La- 
conia,  was  born  in  Hopkinton, 
Merrimack  County,  January  19,  1S36,  son  of 
James  K.  and  Sarah  Story.  Nathan  Story, 
the  great-grandfather  of  David  B. ,  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Hopkinton,  to  which  he 
went  from  Esse.x,  Mass.,  travelling  on  horse- 
back  with   his  wife   and    one    child.      At    that 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'3 


time  the  cnuntry  was  nearly  all  a  wilderness. 
Arriving  in  Hopkinton,  he  took  up  a  tract  of 
land  containing  one  hundred  acres,  and  on  it 
built  a  log  hut,  which  was  afterward  replaced 
by  a  frame  house.  He  lived  to  be  over  eighty 
years  of  age.  Five  of  his  six  children  were 
born  in  Hopkinton;  namely,  William  K., 
Lydia,  Hannah,  Sarah,  Elenor,  and  Mary. 

William  K.,  the  grandfather  of  David  R, 
remained  all  his  lifetime  on  the  homestead, 
living  to  be  eighty-six  years  of  age.  Besides 
conducting  the  farm,  he  worked  at  shoemak- 
ing.  He  married  Lydia  Knowlton,  who  lived 
to  be  eighty-five.  They  had  four  children  — 
James  K.,  William,  Sarah,  and  Eliza.  Will- 
iam, when  young,  removed  to  Newton,  N.H., 
where  he  married  and  lived  until  his  death. 
Sarah  married  Samuel  H.  Gale,  who  died  in 
Newton,  N.  H.  She  now  lives  in  Hopkinton. 
Eliza  married  Luther  M.  Tussell.  The  care 
of  the  homestead  farm  fell  to  James  K.,  who 
still  lives  there.  The  residence  is  the  first 
two-story  house  erected  in  the  town,  having 
been  built  in  1760.  While  he  conducted  the 
homestead,  his  chief  occupation  for  forty  years 
was  that  of  wholesale  cigar  dealer,  having  a 
route  between  Cambridgeport,  Mass.,  and 
Hopkinton.  His  political  allegiance  is  given 
to  the  Democrats.  In  addition  to  serving  the 
public  in  a  number  of  minor  town  offices,  he 
represented  Hopkinton  in  the  New  Hampshire 
legislature  in  1856  and  1857.  Sarah  Story, 
his  wife,  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church.  They  have  had  five  children  ;  namely, 
David  B. ,  John,  James  H.,  George  M.,  and 
Annette.  John  died  in  infancy,  and  James  H. 
died  in  boyhood.  George  M.,  living  in  Goffs- 
town,  N.H.,  is  a  veterinary  physician.  An- 
nette, the  wife  of  C.  H.  Sanborn,  lives  in 
Watertown,  Mass. 

David  B.  Story  attended  the  district  schools 
of  his   native   place   and    Hopkinton  Academy. 


I'inishing  his  academy  course  in  1S55  at  the 
age  of  nineteen  years,  he  went  into  the  meat 
business  in  Concord,  and  remained  in  trade 
there  until  1864.  He  then  inirchased  the 
Perkins  House  at  IIii|)kintnn,  which  he  con- 
ducted until  it  was  burned  in  1S72.  After 
that  he  bought  the  Mount  Belknap  House  in 
Lakeport,  N.  H.,  where  he  remained  four 
years.  In  1876  he  came  to  Laconia  and 
bought  the  City  Hotel,  of  which  he  was  pro- 
prietor for  four  years.  He  purchased  Hotel 
Weirs  in  1S80,  and  conducted  it  until  1890. 
Since  then  he  has  had  Story's  Tavern  at  The 
Weirs.  He  has  been  very  popular  in  both  his 
business  and  social  relations. 

On  February  4,  1S57,  Mr.  Story  and  Miss 
Sarah  J.  French  were  united  in  marriage. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  French,  of 
Boston.  Of  the  five  children  born  to  them, 
James  H.,  P'red  W.,  Charles  F. ,  and  Benjamin 
F.  are  living,  and  are  successful  business  men. 
Charles  F  is  a  paint  and  oil  dealer  in  Laconia  ; 
James  H.  is  in  the  drug  business  in  this  cit\- ; 
and  Fred  W.  has  a  variety  store  here  in  La- 
conia. Benjamin,  a  paper-hanger  and  deco- 
rator, is  in  Boston,  where  he  does  a  contract 
business,  and  em]3lo}-s  from  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  men.  Ada,  the  only  daughter,  died  when 
eighteen  years  of  age.  In  politics  Mr.  Story 
is  a  Democrat.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was 
Deputy  Sheriff  of  Merrimack  County.  In 
1S72  he  was  appointed  to  the  same  office  in 
Belknap  County,  and  therein  served  continu- 
ously until  1888.  From  1882  to  18S6  he 
was  also  High  Sheriff  of  Belknap  County. 
While  occupying  this  office  it  was  his  unpleas- 
ant duty  to  execute,  by  hanging,  Thomas 
Saman,  the  triple  murderer  of  Laconia,  he 
being  the  only  man  ever  hung  that  was  sen- 
tenced by  the  courts  of  this  county.  In  1S81 
and  18S2  he  was  Selectman  of  Laconia.  In 
i8g6,  though   a   Democrat,    he  was  elected  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  State  legislature  from  a  Republican  ward. 
Me  is  now  serving  in  the  Laconia  City  Coun- 
cil. A  number  (if  times  at  the  meetings  of 
Ward  One  he  has  acted  as  Moderator.  Mr. 
Story  is  a  member  of  Chicora  Lodge,  No.  51, 
of  Lakeport,  Laconia  Encampment,  and  Can- 
ton Osgood,  of  Laconia,  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  and  of 
The  Weirs  Grange,  No.  248,  in  which  he  is 
now  Worthy  Master. 


-AMES  A.  MHJ.ER,  who  has  figured 
prominently  in  the  pulilic  affairs  of 
New  Durham  for  a  number  of  years, 
was  born  in  Milton,  N.  H.,  in  1833,  son  of 
Richard  and  Paulina  (Bussell)  Miller.  His 
great-grandfather,  Mark,  and  his  grandfather, 
Henry  Miller,  were  both  born  in  Newington, 
N.  H.,  and  both  settled  in  Milton.  The  latter 
served  as  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812. 

Richard  Miller,  father  of  James  A.,  was 
born  in  Milton,  and  reared  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. For  many  years  he  owned  and  culti- 
vated a  good  farm  in  New  Durham;  but  the 
last  five  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  Farm- 
ington,  N.H.  In  politics  he  voted  with  the 
Democratic  party.  He  married  Paulina  Bus- 
sell,  a  native  of  Acton,  Me.,  and  reared  a 
family  of  si.x  children,  all  of  whom  are  living. 
Richard  Miller  died  at  the  age  of  ninety 
years,  four  months,  and  twenty-one  days. 

James  A.  Miller,  the  chief  subject  of  this 
sketch,  received  a  common-school  education; 
and  when  old  enough  he  began  to  assist  his 
father  in  carrying  on  the  farm.  He  has  al- 
ways resided  upon  his  present  property,  which 
consists  of  sixty-seven  acres  of  productive 
land;  and  he  carries  on  general  farming  and 
dairying.  He  is  one  of  the  active  supporters 
of  the  Democratic  party  in  this  town,  and  has 
filled  with  ability  all  of  the  principal  ofifices. 


He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Select- 
men nineteen  years  in  all,  and  has  acted  as  its 
Chairman  for  nine  years  of  that  time.  He 
was  Tax  Collector  for  two  years,  Town  Treas- 
urer for  one  term,  was  Overseer  of  the  Poor, 
and  represented  this  town  in  the  legislature  in 
1867.  He  also  formerly  acted  as  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace.  ,,,*vi^v^i^'>»'! 

Mr.  Miller  married  for  his  first  wife  Lydia 
M.  Hayes,  who  bore  him  two  children  — 
Henry  B.  and  Florence  A.,  the  last  named 
being  the  wife  of  Charles  Conner,  of  I*"arming- 
ton.  His  present  wife  was  before  marriage 
Ella  J.  Glidden,  of  New  Durham;  and  by  this 
second  union  there  are  five  children  —  Flora 
P.,  James  A.,  Jr.,  Richard,  Grover  C,  and 
Gladys  E.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller  attend  the 
Baptist  church. 


-rQ)OREN  S.  FERNALD,  an  energetic 
IJT  and  prosperous  agriculturist  of  Lee, 
—  ^  Strafford  County,  N.  H.,  was  born 
in  Nottingham,  Rockingham  County,  October 
19,  1S59,  son  of  John  E.  and  Sarah  W.  ]". 
(Thompson)  Fernald.  He  received  a  common- 
school  education,  and  remained  at  home  on  the 
farm  until  attaining  his  majority.  He  then 
went  to  Dover,  N.  H.,  where  he  was  employed 
for  seven  years  in  the  office  of  V.  Mathes. 
Later  he  returned  to  Nottingham  and  pur- 
chased a  farm,  which  he  successfully  managed 
until  1 891.  He  then  came  to  Lee  and  pur- 
chased his  present  farm,  which  contains  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  is  located  on  the 
road  from  Dover  to  Lee,  five  miles  south-east 
of  Dover.  Its  thriving  condition  attests  Mr. 
Fernald's  ability  as  a  practical  farmer.  In 
politics  Mr.  Fernald  indorses  the  principles  of 
the  Republican  party.  While  a  resident  of 
Nottingham,  he  served  the  town  efficiently  as 
Supervisor;    and    in    March,     1896,      he     was 


ERASTUS    A-    CRAWFORD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


elected  Chairman    of   the   J5oard   of   Selectmen 
of  Lee. 

In  1.SS5  Mr.  Fcrnald  married  Cylena  A. 
Demerritt,  who  lia.s  borne  him  six  children  — 
Harold  L.,  Carl  S.,  Edna  F.,  Willis,  Frank, 
and  John  I.  Mr.  Fernald  is  identified  with 
Mount  Pleasant  Lodge,  I.  O.  0.  V.  ;  belongs 
to  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  ;  and  also 
officiates  as  Treasurer  of  Lee  Grange,  having 
served  in  that  capacity  three  years. 


(3HIAS  HAM,  who  owns  and  occupies 
a  good  farm  on  Meredith  Neck,  was 
born  in  Portsmouth,  N.II.,  February 
13,  1824,  son  of  Samuel  and  Caroline  (Odi- 
orne)  Ham.  His  grandfather,  Captain  Tobias 
Ham,  a  master  mariner  hailing  from  Ports- 
mouth, while  sailing  his  schooner  off  Seabrook 
Beach  in  the  year  iSoo,  was  knocked  over- 
board by  a  swinging  boom,  and  was  drowned. 

Samuel  Ham,  born  in  Portsmouth,  Febru- 
ary 23,  1/94,  grew  to  manhood  as  a  farmer, 
and  followed  that  occupation  during  the  active 
period  of  his  life.  In  1S37  he  succeeded  to 
the  Ham  homestead,  and  his  last  days  were 
spent  upon  the  old  place.  In  politics  he  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  but  later  he  voted  with 
the  Republican  party.  His  wife,  Caroline, 
who  was  a  native  of  New  Castle,  N.H.,  be- 
came the  mother  of  twelve  children,  ten  of 
whom  lived  to  maturity.  These  were:  Will- 
iam F.,  who  resides  in  Portsmouth;  Tobias, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Sylvester,  Charles 
F^,  and  George  H.,  who  are  deceased;  Joseph 
O.  and  Benjamin  O.,  who  are  residents  of 
Portsmouth;  Mary  Caroline,  also  deceased; 
Ann  Maria,  the  wife  of  Charles  Gray,  of 
Portsmouth;  and  Robert  M.,  of  that  city. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Ham  were  Second  Ad- 
ventists  in  their  religious  views. 

Tobias   Ham  attended    the   district    schools, 


and  resiiled  upon  the  home  farm  until  he  was 
seventeen  years  old.  He  then  began  to  serve 
an  apprenticeship  at  the  blacksmith's  trade. 
After  following  it  for  four  years,  he  went  to 
work  in  a  machine  shop,  and  was  there  em- 
ployed until  A])ril  12,  1872.  He  then  turned 
his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and, 
purchasing  his  present  farm,  has  since  been 
cjuitc  successful  in  raising  the  usual  crops  of 
his  locality.  Politically,  he  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican, but  takes  no  active  part  in  public 
affairs  beyond  casting  his  vote. 

On  November  24,  1851,  Mr.  Ham  married 
Hannah  Randall,  daughter  of  James  Randall, 
of  Centre  Harbor,  N.II.;  and  he  has  one 
daughter  living — I'.mma  Ftta,  now  the  wife 
of  George  N.  liaton,  of  Meredith.  James 
Randall,  who  was  born  in  Parnstead,  N.  H., 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  upon  a  fariu 
at  Centre  Harbor.  He  and  his  wife,  Lydia 
(Bean)  Randall,  reared  a  family  of  ten  chil- 
dren, namely:  Aaron,  James,  Haven,  Sally, 
John,  Ann,  Lydia,  Hannah,  Oliver,  and  Hen- 
jamin.  Oliver  and  Benjamin  are  now  de- 
ceased. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ham  are  members  of 
the  Free  Will  Baptist  church. 


RASTUS  A.  CRAWFORD,  .senior  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Crawford,  Tolles  & 
Co.,  of  Dover,  N.H.,  carries  on, 
without  doubt,  the  most  extensive  insurance 
business  of  an}-  firm  in  this  State.  He  was 
born  March  28,  1S24,  in  Norfolk,  St.  Law- 
rence County,  N.  Y. ,  a  son  of  Lrastus  and  Lois 
(Allen)  Crawford. 

Erastus  Crawford  was  born  and  reared  to 
man's  estate  in  the  White  Mountain  region  of 
New  Hampshire,  where  his  father,  Abel  Craw- 
ford, was  one  of  the  oldest  and  hardiest  pio- 
neers. In  early  manhood  Erastus  Crawford, 
crossintr  the   Green    Mountain    State,    went   to 


ii8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


St.  Lawrence  County,  New  York.  Soon  after 
his  marriage  he  established  himself  as  a 
farmer  in  Norfolk,  where  he  carried  on  his 
chosen  occupation  until  his  untimely  death  in 
May,  1824,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  years. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Lois  Allen, 
was  born  in  Madrid,  St.  Lawrence  County, 
N.Y.  After  a  few  years  of  widowhood  she 
married  George  A.  Langworthy.  She  lived 
to  the  age  of  forty-eight  years.  By  her  first 
marriage  two  children  were  born,  namely: 
Erastus  A.,  the  special  isubject  of  this  sketch; 
and  Festus. 

Erastus  A.  Crawford,  soon  after  the  death 
of  his  father,  became  an  inmate  of  the  house- 
hold of  his  paternal  grandfather,  the  venerable 
Abel  Crawford,  in  honor  of  whom  the  Notch 
in  the  White  Mountains  received  its  name. 
The  grandfather  was  the  first  white  settler  at 
I5emis,  Carroll  County,  this  State,  and  cleared 
the  land  now  occupied  by  Bemis  station.  For 
many  years  he  was  j^roprietor  of  the  Mount 
Crawford  tavern,  a  popular  hostelry  in  the  old 
stage  days.  He  was  familiar  with  all  sections 
of  that  part  of  the  country,  traversing  it  on 
foot  and  horseback;  and,  according  to  an  arti- 
cle by  Julius  H.  Ward,  "the  first  horse  that 
ever  climbed  the  rocks  of  Mount  Washington 
had  for  a  rider  Abel  Crawford,  who  was  then, 
in  1840,  seventy-five  years  old,  and  who  sat 
proudly  upon  his  noble  animal,  with  head  un- 
covered, while  the  wind  played  lightly  with 
his  silver  locks."  With  this  "veteran  pilot 
of  the  hills,"  as  he  has  been  named,  the  young 
Erastus  was  reared,  attending  the  district 
schools  of  Bartlett  in  his  youth,  assisting  his 
grandfather  in  the  hotel,  and  also  acting  as  a 
guide  through  the  mountains,  this  being  before 
there  were  any  roads  to  the  summit  of  Mount 
Washington.  When  twenty  years  old,  he  came 
to  Strafford  County,  and  for  a  year  pursued  his 
studies  at  the  academy  in  Rochester.      Going 


then  into  a  cotton-mill  at  Great  Falls,  he 
began  working  in  the  lowest  position,  was 
gradually  promoted  from  one  rank  to  another, 
finally  being  appointed  overseer  of  one  depart- 
ment. At  the  end  of  twelve  years  his  health 
failed,  and  he  had  to  seek  other  business. 
Opening  a  meat  and  provision  store,  he  con- 
tinued in  Great  Falls,  now  Somcrsworth, 
for  some  time,  after  which  he  drove  the  stage 
from  Union  Village  to  North  Conway  until 
1870.  In  that  year  Mr.  Crawford  established 
himself  in  the  fire  insurance  business  in 
Somersworth,  carrying  it  on  successfully  until 
coming  to  Dover,  in  1885.  Having  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Tolles,  the 
firm  have  continued  conducting  a  flourishing 
business.  They  represent  about  twenty  of  the 
leading  fire,  life,  and  accident  insurance  com- 
panies of  the  LInited  States,  and  are  State 
agents  for  the  Mutual  Benefit  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  Newark,  N.J.,  the  territory  cov- 
ered by  them  including  not  only  the  counties 
adjoining  Strafford,  but  York  County,  Maine. 

On  December  24,  1846,  Mr.  Crawford  mar- 
ried Miss  Jane  S.  Porter,  of  Somersworth, 
N.  H.  She  was  born  February  11,  1820,  and 
passed  to  the  life  eternal  March  14.  iSg6. 
The  only  child  born  of  their  union  was  a  son, 
Charles  A.,  w4io  died  when  young. 

Mr.  Crawford  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Republican  ]wrty,  of  which  he  has  ever  since 
been  a  stanch  supporter.  He  takes  an  active 
and  intelligent  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his 
adopted  city,  in  the  government  of  which  he 
has  served  two  years,  the  second  year  being 
an  Alderman.  In  1892  he  was  elected  a  Rep- 
resentative to  the  General  Court  from  Ward 
Two.  He  is  a  Master  Mason,  belonging  to 
the  Moses  Paul  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Dover; 
and  he  is  also  connected  with  Washington 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of  Somersworth.  Mr. 
Crawford   is  an  active  member  of    the  Meth- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


"9 


odist  Episcopal  church,  having  united  with 
tliat  denomination  nearly  half  a  century  ago, 
and  for  fifteen  years  has  been  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday-school  ;  while  for  fifty-two 
years  he  has  acted  as  class  leader.  lie  was 
a  lay  delegate  from  the  New  Hampshire 
JMethodist  Conference  to  the  session  of  the 
General  Conference  in  New  \'orl<  in  i888; 
and  in  1SS9  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  World's 
Sunday-school  Con\'ention  held  in  London, 
England. 


4^^^p 


'MITM  NEAL  was  one  of  Sanborn- 
ton's  most  esteemed  residents.  He 
was  born  in  Meredith,  N.  H.,  Eeb- 
ruary  16,  1806,  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah 
(Smith)  Neal.  It  is  believed  that  he  was  a 
descendant  of  the  Neals  of  Dean,  Aliesley 
Park,  one  of  whom,  John  Neal,  married  the 
daughter  of  Henry  Cromwell,  who  was  a  near 
relative  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  His  grandfather, 
Thomas  Neal,  an  Englishman  by  birth,  who 
settled  in  Kittery,  Me.,  served  as  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  The  maiden  name  of 
Thomas  Neal's  wife  was  ]?etsey  Haley.  Jo- 
seph Neal,  born  in  Kittery,  March  23,  1762, 
in  common  with  his  brothers,  was  obliged  to 
begin  earning  his  living  at  an  early  age.  He 
afterward  settled  in  Meredith,  N.  H.,  then  a 
wilderness,  where  he  eventually  became  the 
owner  of  a  good  farm.  His  wife,  Hannah, 
became  the  mother  of  eight  children,  namely: 
William,  John,  Betsey,  Mary,  Hannah,  Jo- 
seph, Smith,  and  Irene.  Of  the  number, 
Irene,  who  was  born  in  1813,  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. 

Smith  Neal  accjuired  a  good  practical  educa- 
tion. When  a  young  man  he  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  agriculture.  He  succeeded  to  the 
possession  of  the  homestead  in  Meredith,  and 
resided  there  until  after  his  marriage,  when  he 
sold  the  property.      In   the  s|)ring  of    1855   he 


bought  the  farm  which  is  now  owneil  liy  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Hanaford,  and  re- 
sided here  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  devoted 
much  attention  to  the  raising  of  cattle,  jiartic- 
ularly  o.xen,  and  aci|uircd  a  wide  rc|iutation  as 
a  breeder  of  those  animals.  l''or  seven  years 
he  owned  what  is  known  as  Governor's  Island, 
comprising  five  hundred  acres  of  land  ;  and  lie 
improved  one  hundred  and  si.xty-five  acres  of 
it  for  agricultural  pur[ioses.  In  jiolitics  he 
was  a  Democrat,  but  never  aspired  to  public 
ofifice. 

On  December  20,  1S52,  Mr.  Neal  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Sarah  Elizabeth 
Smith,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Smith,  of  New 
Hampton,  N.H.  The  only  child  of  this  union 
is  Mary  E.  Mrs.  Smith  Neal  was  a  member 
of  the  Second  Hajitist  Church  of  Sanbornton. 
On  January  i,  1890,  Mary  K.  Neal  was  joined 
in  marriage  w'ith  John  P.  Hanaford.  He  was 
born  in  New  Hamilton,  N.H.,  .Sc]iteniber  iC), 
1853,  son  of  Natlianicl  P.  and  /nlcma  W. 
(Prescott)  Hanaford.  Winthrop  Hanaford, 
grandfather  of  John  P.,  one  of  the  best  known 
residents  of  New  Hampton  and  much  re- 
spected for  his  higli  moral  character,  died  in 
March,  1S96,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three  years. 
He  was  a  man  of  unusual  activity,  even  in 
extreme  old  age.  In  December,  1895,  he  sus- 
tained a  fracture  of  the  leg.  'Ihe  direct  cause 
of  his  death  was  pneumonia.  Nathaniel  P. 
Hanaford,  John  P.  Hanaford's  father,  was  born 
in  New^  llamjiton,  October  28,  1827.  He  re- 
sided in  this  State  until  1S62,  when  he  mo\ed 
to  Chadwick,  Carroll  County,  III.,  where  he  is 
now  engaged  in  farming  and  in  raising  stand- 
ard-bred horses.  John  P.  Hanaford  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Illinois,  but  returned 
later  to  his  native  State  to  attend  the  New 
Hampton  Literary  Institute,  completing  his 
studies  with  a  business  course  at  a  commer- 
cial  college   in   Milwaukee,  Wis.      He   is  now 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in  Chadwick, 
where  he  has  recently  finished  the  erection  of 
a  fine  business  block,  and  where  he  is  also 
interested  with  his  father  in  iiorse-breeding. 


OSES  WHITTIER  CLEMENT, 
who  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
long  and  active  life  was  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  in  Rollinsford,  was 
born  in  this  town,  January  8,  1818,  son  of 
James  and  Hannah  (Hussey)  Clement.  James 
Clement,  Sr. ,  grandfather  of  Moses,  and  a  pio- 
neer settler  of  Rollinsford,  came  from  England 
with  his  three  brothers  in  a  boat  they  had 
built  themselves.  One  of  them  died  on  the 
way.  James  settled  first  at  Dover  Neck,  but 
later  came  to  Rollinsford,  where  he  became 
the  owner  of  a  very  large  tract  of  land.  He 
married  Betsey  Tibbits.  Their  son,  James 
Clement,  Jr.,  was  born  on  the  Rollinsford 
homestead,!  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools.  He  carried  on  a  large  busi- 
ness in  raising  cattle  and  sheep.  He  fought 
as  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812,  being  sta- 
tioned at  Portsmouth,  and  subsequently  drew 
a  pension  from  the  government  for  honorable 
services.  His  wife,  Hannah  Hussey  Clement, 
was  a  sister  of  the  mother  of  John  G.  Whit- 
tier;  and  Mr.  Moses  Clement  was  both  a 
cousin  and  a  close  friend  of  the  famous  poet. 
Mrs.  Clement,  like  her  distinguished  brother, 
was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  She 
was  the  mother  of  the  following  named  chil- 
dren: Edward,  Moses,  Sarah  (twin  sister  of 
Moses),  James,  Oliver,  Elizabeth,  George,  and 
William. 

Moses  Whittier  Clement  resided  all  his  life 
on  the  home  farm,  which  he  bought  when  he 
married,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years 
before  his  marriage,'  when  he  worked  at  shoe- 
making  in  one  of  the   large  manufactories   at 


Haverhill,  Mass.  His  principal  crops  were 
potatoes  and  corn,  and  he  kept  but  a  small 
herd  of  cows.  He  was  a  hale  and  vigorous 
man  for  one  of  his  years.  In  1896  he  loaded 
all  the  hay  cut  on  the  farm,  the  annual  harvest 
of  which  is  about  twenty  tons,  and  trimmed 
out  after  the  mowing  machine.  He  died  sud- 
denly of  heart  trouble,  January  29,  1S97. 

Mr.  Clement  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Hooper,  daughter  of  John  Hooper,  of  Tufton- 
boro.  She  bore  him  five  children,  namely: 
Abbie;  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  infancy; 
George,  the  first  son,  who  died  when  nineteen 
years  of  age;  Elizabeth  (the  second  of  the 
name),  who  married  James  Whitehouse,  and 
resides  in  South  Berwick,  Me.  ;  and  Herbert 
Clement,  who  now  carries  on  the  farm,  about 
thirty-five  acres  of  which  is  tillage  land, 
and  is  under  high  cultivation.  Mrs.  Moses 
Clement  died  January  13,  1894,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five  years.  She  was  a  devoted  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
her  husband  was  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
society.  In  politics  Mr.  Clement  was  a  life- 
long Republican.  Though  never  an  ofifice- 
seeker,  he  was  a  member  of  the  School  Com- 
mittee for  many  years,  and  at  one  time  held 
the  office  of  Road  Surveyor.  In  these  posi- 
tions he  served  the  public  interests  faithfully 
and  efficiently  and  to  the  general  satisfaction 
of  the  townspeople.  His  son  Herbert  is  a 
member  of  Washington  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
of   Somersworth,  in   which    he    is   Past   Grand. 


'fs  iRS.  ELIZABETH  (BENSON) 
JACKSON,  of  Centre  Harbor,  is 
a  native  of  this  town,  and  a 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Almon  and  Rhoda  A. 
(Roys)  Benson.  Her  grandfather  was  liben- 
ezer  Benson,  who  passed  the  greater  jiart  of 
his  life  in  Jericho,  Vt. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


12  I 


The  Rev.  Aliiinn  licnsmi,  Ijorn  in  Jericho, 
June  3,  1 8 10,  was  educated  at  the  Gilmanton 
(N.  H.)  Academy  and  Theological  Seminary, 
and  was  ordained  a  Concjregational  preacher. 
Soon  after  his  ordination  he  came  to  Centre 
Marhor  to  supply  the  pulpit  for  a  short  time, 
and  made  such  a  favorable  impression  that,  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  service  on  the  second 
Sunda)'  of  his  stay,  he  was  unanimously  called 
to  the  pastorate  by  the  society.  He  was  in- 
stalled December  2,  1S40,  as  the  first  settled 
Congregational  minister  in  Centre  Harbor. 
As  the  result  of  his  diligent  labor  and  influ- 
ence among  the  people,  the  church  multiplied 
in  membership.  At  the  close  of  a  protracted 
revival  service  held  in  1843,  all  but  three  chil- 
dren over  twelve  years  old,  belonging  to 
attendants  and  members,  were  converted  and 
added  to  its  fold.  As  his  salary  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  support  him,  he  engaged  in  farming, 
tilling  the  soil  four  days  in  the  week,  and 
spending  Fridays  and  Saturdays  in  his  study. 
He  acquired  considerable  real  estate  as  the 
result  of  his  farming  operations.  After  filling 
the  pulpit  here  for  many  years,  he  retired  from 
his  pastoral  duties,  and  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness of  entertaining  summer  boarders.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Republican.  He  served  as 
a  member  of  the  School  Board  for  some  time, 
and  represented  this  town  in  the  legislature 
for  two  terms.  His  death  occurred  September 
14,  1884.  Rhoda  A.  (Roys)  Jackson,  his 
wife,  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Roys,  of  what 
is  now  Easton,  N.  H.  She  was  a  pupil  of 
Mary  Lyon  at  the  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary. 
After  completing  her  education  she  taught 
school  until  her  marriage.  She  became  the 
mother  of  four  children  ;  namely,  Julitta  K., 
Elizabeth,  Rufus  A.  R.,  and  Theodocia  C. 
Rufus  A.  R.  resides  in  Somcrville,  Mass.; 
and  Theodocia  C.  is  now  the  wife  of  George 
]■:.    Hart,  of  South  Boston.       Mr.  Hart,  who  for 


eleven  years  was  |)ianofi)ile  tuner  in  the  public 
schools  of  l^oston,  is  lunv  teacher  of  tuning  at 
the  Perkins  Institution  for  the  Blind  in  South 
I^oston,  of  which  lie  is  a  graduate.  Mrs. 
Almon  Benson  died  h'tlnuary  20,  1896,  aged 
seventy-eight  years. 

Elizabeth  Benson  was  gr.iduated  from  Mount 
Holyoke  Seminary  in  1871,  and  immediately 
entered  upon  her  career  as  an  educator.  She 
taught  for  two  years  in  Baton  Rouge,  La. ;  for 
one  year  in  Janesville,  Wis.:  for  seven  years 
in  Massachusetts;  and  for  two  years  she  kejit 
a  private  school  in  Centre  Harbor.  On  Sci)- 
tember  10,  1896,  she  married  William  C. 
Jackson.  He  was  born  in  what  is  now  Madi- 
son, N.II.,  March  7,  1843.  His  parents  were 
Caleb  and  Cathrine  (Keneson)  Jackson,  both 
natives  of  RLadison.  His  great-grandfather 
was  James  Jackson,  M.D.,  and  his  grandfather 
was  Daniel  Jackson,  who  resided  in  Madison, 
then  called  Eaton.  In  his  younger  days 
Daniel  Jackson  was  a  carpenter,  and  later  a 
farmer.  He  was  prominent  as  a  member  of 
the  Free  Baptist  church,  and  he  lived  to  be 
seventy  years  old.  He  married  Abigail  Mer- 
rill, daughter  of  Thomas  Merrill,  of  Conwaj', 
N.  H.,  and  became  the  father  of  seventeen 
children,  eleven  of  whom  grew  to  maturity. 
She  was  an  active  member  of  the  h'rec  Bnjitist 
church.  Thomas  Merrill,  who  was  born  in 
Concord,  N.II.,  April  14,  1748,  married  Han- 
nah Ambrose,  of  that  town.  His  father. 
Thomas  Merrill  (first),  born  in  Haverhill, 
Mass.,  February  25,  1723,  settled  in  Concord, 
N.H.,  in  1765,  and  was  the  first  Town  Clerk 
and  the  first  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  that  town. 
The  first  ancestor  of  the  Merrill  family  of 
whom  there  is  any  record,  was  John  Merrill, 
who  was  born  in  Haverhill,  April  14,  1704. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Concord, 
and  was  chosen  a  Deacon  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  in  1730.      Caleb  Jackson,  father 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


of  William  C,  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  who 
also  followed  the  trade  of  carpenter.  He 
owned  farms,  and  resided  at  different  times  in 
Madison,  Centre  Harbor,  Moultonboro,  Sand- 
wich, and  Tamworth.  He  was  known  and  re- 
spected as  an  industrious,  upright  man,  and 
for  many  years  was  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  He  died  in  Tamworth,  Febru- 
ary 16,  1882,  aged  seventy -eight  years  and  six 
months. 

William  C.  Jackson  was  brought  to  Centre 
Harbor  by  his  parents  when  he  was  an  infant. 
After  receiving  his  education  in  this  town,  he 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  and  also  as- 
sisted his  father  in  carrying  on  the  farm.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-one  he  learned  photography, 
and  was  subsequently  engaged  in  that  business 
for  himself  until  iSSi.  He  then  sold  out, 
and  has  since  been  proprietor  of  a  jewelry 
store  in  this  town.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  has  been  identified  with  the 
Congregational  church  as  clerk  and  treasurer 
for  some  years.  Mrs.  Jackson  is  a  lady  of 
more  than  usual  activity,  and  takes  a  deep  in- 
terest in  any  charitable  or  religious  movement 
to  which  she  can  be  of  assistance.  She  is 
Secretary  of  the  Centre  Harbor  Library  Asso- 
ciation and  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 


SCAR  ALONZO  LOUGEE,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  merchants  of  La- 
conia,  was  born  in  this  city,  October 
28,  1857,  son  of  True  Worthy  and  Abbie  R. 
(Gilman)  Lougee.  A  representative  of  an  old 
New  Hampshire  family  of  Colonial  origin,  he 
traces  his  genealogy  directly  to  John  Lougee, 
who  was  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Jersey.  In 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  between  the  years 
1703  and  1 713,  John  Lougee  emigrated  to  this 
country,  and  settled  in  New  Hampshire. 
Some  time  after  he  was  carried  off  by  the  Ind- 


ians. He  subsequently  escaped  from  captiv- 
ity, passed  the  rest  of  his  life  in  Exeter,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  When  he 
was  eighteen  years  old  he  wedded  Mary, 
daughter  of  Moses  Gilman,  of  New  Market, 
and  afterward  reared  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren. John  Lougee  (second),  eldest  son  of 
John  (first),  settled  with  his  brother,  Gilman, 
in  Gilmanton,  N.H.  He  sucessively  married 
Molly  Leavitt,  Susan  Hull,  and  Mrs.  Judith 
Deal,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
four  years.  By  his  first  two  marriages  he  had 
fifteen  children.  The  next  in  line  was  Joseph 
Lougee,  born  in  Gilmanton,  June  28,  1751, 
who  was  a  carpenter  and  a  farmer,  possessed 
unusual  physical  powers,  and  died  in  Gilman- 
ton, February  16,  1845.  It  is  told  of  Joseph 
that,  when  ninety  years  old,  he  assisted  in 
moving  a  barn.  His  first  wife  was  before 
marriage  Apphia  Swazey.  His  second  mar- 
riage was  contracted  November  4,  1780,  with 
Miriam  Fogg,  who  was  born  March  28,  1757. 
He  had  thirteen  children;  namely,  Elisha, 
Polly,  Apphia,  Polly  (second),  Sally,  Sally 
(second),  John  Fogg,  Anna,  Joseph,  Seth, 
Daniel,  Samuel  Dearborn,  and  Apphia  (sec- 
ond). At  his  death  he  left  ten  children, 
forty-five  grandchildren,  and  sixty-five  great- 
grandchildren. 

Elisha  Lougee  (first),  great-grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Gil- 
manton, July  3,  1772.  In  1798  he  settled  in 
Sanbornton,  and  first  occupied  the  property  in 
the  square  now  owned  by  S.  G.  Abbott.  Pre- 
vious to  1 8 10  he  removed  to  the  Thomas  place, 
where  his  son  Elisha  now  resides.  For  many 
years  he  followed  the  carpenter's  trade,  at 
which  he  was  quite  an  expert,  and  usually  had 
a  number  of  apprentices  under  instruction. 
He  was  a  man  of  considerable  prominence  in 
his  day,  and  served  as  a  Lieutenant  in  tlie 
State    militia.      His    death    occurred    in    San- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


123 


buniton,     Uccciiihcr    23,     1843.      In     1793    he 
niarricil    Anna    Lord,  a  nati\c   o[    ICxctcr,  who 
died     November    17,     iiS6o,    at;eil     eighty-two 
years.       Her  ehiklren    were:     Charles,    Mary, 
Mlisha,  I'Llizabeth,  Ann,    and   Joseph.      h^lisha 
Lougee  (second),  grandfather  of  (Jscar  A.,  was 
born    in    Sanbornton,    March     15,     iSoo.       In 
early  manhood   he  engaged    in    farming    in   his 
native   town.      At    a    later   date    he    moved    to 
Northfield  Centre,  and  still   later   to   Laconia, 
where  he  was  engaged    in   tilling  the   soil   for 
fourteen  years.      He  finally  returned  to  his  old 
farm     in     Sanbornton,    and     is    still    residing 
there.      Grandfather   Elisha   Lougee   has   been 
twice    married.      On    September    4,    1823,    he 
was  wedded  to  Thirza    Philbrook,  daughter  of 
Deacon    David   Philbrook,    by   the   Rev.   Peter 
Clark.      She   died   July   21,    1866,  aged   sixty- 
two  years;    and   on    May    15,   1867,  he  married 
Pamelia  A.    Glines,    of   Northfield.     Born    of 
his    first    union    were:    True    Worthy,    Sarah 
Jane,  Thirza  Philbrook,  and    Samuel    Fernald. 
True   Worthy  Lougee,  father  of  Oscar  A.,  was 
born    in   Sanbornton,  October    13,  1S25.      His 
chief  occupation  was  that   of  a   carpenter,  and 
the  greater  part   of   his    life  was   spent    in    La- 
conia.    He  served  as  a  private  in  the  Twelfth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  during 
the  Civil  War.      After  his   discharge  from   the 
army   he    continued    to    reside    here    until    his 
death   by  apoplexy  on  July  21,   1879.      He  was 
a  member  of   the    P"ree   Will    Baptist   church. 
His   wife,  Abbie,  whom   he   married    in    1S53, 
was   born    in    Bethlehem,    N.H.      She   became 
the  mother  of  three  sons,  namely:   Frank  Her- 
bert, who  was  born  March  4,    1855;   Oscar  A., 
the   subject  of  this  sketch ;    and   Orman   True, 
who  was  born  May  25,  1861. 

Oscar  Alonzo  Lougee  graduated  from  the 
Laconia  High  School  in  1875.  Immediately 
after  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  dry-goods  and 
carpet   store   of    George    W.    Weeks,    and   was 


subsequently  em|)loyed  in  that  capacity  until 
March,  1877.  Then,  in  comp.my  with  his 
brother,  I"".  11.  Lougee,  and  .S.  15.  .Smith,  lie 
engaged  in  busines.s,  under  the  liiin  name  of 
Smith,  Lougee  Brothers  &  Co.  In  1.S81  the 
firm  became  known  as  Lougee  15rothers,  and 
in  1884  Orman  T.  Lougee  was  admitted  to 
partneiship.  Business  increased  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  oblige  them  to  establish  them- 
selves in  their  present  location  in  December, 
1885.  .Since  then  they  have  had  to  make  addi- 
tions to  their  lloor  space,  including  an  annex 
twenty  by  forty  feet,  erected  in  the  siiring  of 
1890,  antl  a  large  storehouse,  sixty  by  forty 
feet,  erected  in  the  fall  of  1896.  Dealing  in 
dry  and  fancy  goods,  carpets,  furniture,  bed- 
ding, etc.,  they  carry  one  of  the  largest  stocks 
in  Laconia.  The  firm  has  also  a  large  store 
in  St.  Johnsbury,  \'t. 

Mr.  Lougee  attends  the  Free  Baptist  church. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  an  earnest 
advocate  of  the  gold  standaid.  I  le  represented 
Ward  Four  in  the  Common  Council  of  Laconia 
in  1895  and  1896,  serving  ui)oii  the  Committee 
on  I-"inance  for  both  years.  He  is  connected 
with  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  !•".  & 
A.  M.  ;  with  Winnepesaukee  Lodge,  No.  7, 
I.  O.  O.  F. ;  and  with  Laconia  iMicampment, 
of  which  he  is  Patriarch. 

The  business  ability  Mr.  Lougee  has  shown 
himself  to  be  possessed  of  gives  promise  of 
still  greater  success  than  he  has  yet  won. 


f^OSI':i'LI  H.  FICRNALD,  who  is  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  town  o( 
Dover,  N.  H.,  was  born  in  1829  in 
Alexandria,  Grafton  County,  this  State,  a  son 
of  Joseph  and  Lydia  (Fernald)  Fernald. 
When  he  was  an  infant  his  parents  removed  to 
Strafford  County,  locating  in  the  town  of  Har- 
rington; and  a  few  years  later  they  settled    in 


'24 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Uurliam,  going  from  there,  when  he  was  a  lad 
of  twelve  years,  to  the  town  of  Madbury.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Durham 
and  Madbury,  and  grew  to  manhood  in  the 
latter  place.  When  about  twenty  years  of 
age,  being  desirous  of  learning  some  useful 
trade,  and  being  somewhat  of  a  mechanic,  he 
came  to  Dover,  and  here  served  an  apprentice- 
ship of  two  years  and  a  half  with  a  carpenter. 
He  subsequently  worked  at  his  trade  in  this 
vicinity  for  about  four  years,  making  his  home 
successively  in  Madbury  and  Durham.  In 
1854  he  went  to  Lawrence,  Mass.,  and  from 
there,  in  the  following  spring,  to  California, 
making  the  trip  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  Going  directly  to  San  Francisco,  he 
there  readily  found  employment  at  carpenter- 
ing. After  remaining  si.x  years  in  California, 
he  returned  to  his  native  State,  and  settled  in 
Madbury,  where  he  followed  his  early  vocation 
until  1888,  doing  a  large  amount  of  work  in 
that  locality.  Coming  thence  to  Dover,  he 
has  since  given  his  attention  to  farmings  hav- 
ing a  farm  of  eighteen  acres ;  and,  besides  rais- 
ing fruit,  vegetables,  hay,  and  some  grain,  he 
has  a  small  dairy.  During  the  eight  or  more 
years  that  he  has  been  engaged  in  his  present 
occupation  he  has  met  with  exceptionally 
good  results,  the  skilful  and  systematic 
methods  with  which  he  carries  on  his  work 
bringing  him  due  reward.  Politically,  he  is  a 
stanch  adherent  of  the  principles  promulgated 
by  the  Democratic  party;  and  he  is  in  all 
things  a  true  and  loyal  citizen. 


[cy^IDNEY  B.  HAYES,  clerk  and  pay- 
master of  the  Cocheco  Woollen 
Manufacturing  Company  at  East 
Rochester,  was  born  June  16,  1850,  in  the 
town  of  Strafford,  son  of  Charles  H.  Hayes. 
He  traces  his  descent  to  pioneer  stock.      His 


great-grandfather  on  the  paternal  siile  removed 
to  Strafford  from  Barrington  in  the  early  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  transporting  his 
household  goods  in  an  o.x  cart,  and  making  the 
journey  of  ten  miles  through  the  woods. 
After  settling  in  Strafford,  Great-grandfather 
Hayes  engaged  in  clearing  a  tract  of  land;  and 
in  the  humble  log  cabin  built  by  his  own 
hands  his  children,  including  Joseph,  the 
grandfather  of  Sidney  1?.,  were  born. 

Charles  H.  Hayes  was  born  and  reared  in 
Strafford,  and  in  his  younger  days  was  there  en- 
gaged in  general  farming  and  dairying.  Later 
in  life  he  became  connected  with  the  Cocheco 
Woollen  Manufacturing  Company  of  East  Roch- 
ester, where  he  spent  his  declining  years,  dy- 
ing in  1 89 1.  He  was  a  man  of  good  business 
ability,  and  was  highly  respected  for  his  man- 
liness and  integrity.  He  took  no  active  part 
in  town  or  county  affairs,  but  he  was  a  loyal 
supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Reiniblican 
party.  He  married  Miss  Sarah  J.  Foss,  of 
Rochester,  who  bore  him  three  children, 
namely:  George  L.,  now  of  Maiden,  Mass.; 
Mary  E.,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  H.  H.  French, 
also  of  Maiden;  and  Sidney  B.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Sidney  B.  Hayes  obtained  his  elementary 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Strafford. 
He  subsequently  attended  the  Maine  State 
Seminary  at  Lewiston  and  the  Edward  Little 
Institute  of  Auburn,  Me.,  graduating  from  the 
commercial  department  of  the  latter  in  1869. 
Mr.  Hayes  then  became  a  clerk  in  the  dry- 
goods  store  of  S.  H.  Feineman  &  Brother,  of 
Rochester,  remaining  eighteen  months  in  their 
employ.  He  resigned  that  situation  to  enter 
the  ofifiee  of  the  Cocheco  Woollen  Manufact- 
uring Company  in  his  present  responsible 
capacity,  the  duties  of  which  he  has  since  dis- 
charged in  a  manner  that  has  given  the  utmost 
satisfaction.     Mr.  Hayes  takes  great   interest 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'^S 


in  local  affairs.  Besides  serving  as  a  member 
of  the  School  Board  for  three  years,  he  repre- 
sented Rochester  in  the  State  legislature  in 
1S76  and  1877.  In  1S96  Ward  One  unani- 
mously elected  him  to  the  City  Council  for  a 
term  of  three  years.  This  was  an  emphatic 
expression  of  the  esteem  in  which  liis  fellow- 
citizens  hold  him. 

Mr.  Hayes  was  first  married  November  19, 
1S72,  to  Miss  Emma  A.  Stone,  of  South  Ber- 
wick, Me.  After  a  happy  wedded  life  of 
twenty  years  she  died,  leaving  no  children. 
On  October  31,  1895,  Mr.  Hayes  contracted  a 
second  marriage  with  Mrs.  Rosa  A.  Gowell, 
of  Pittsfield,  Me.  fie  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Humane  Lodge,  No.  21,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Rochester;  and  he  is  now  a  member  of  Temple 
Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  of  that  place.  He  is 
likewise  an  Odd  Fellow  of  prominence,  be- 
longing to  Cocheco  Lodge,  No.  39,  of  East 
Rochester,  of  which  he  is  now  Treasurer;  and 
to  the  Norway  Plains  Encampment  of  Roches- 
ter. He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  and  the  superintendent 
of  its  Sunday-school. 


"red  E.  berry,  who  is  quite  largely 
engaged  in  general  farming  in  Barn- 
stead,  was  born  here,  October  30,  1857, 
son  of  Ira  L.  and  Lavinia  E.  (Drew)  Berry. 
On  April  19,  1827,  Eliphalet  Berry,  father  of 
Ira  L. ,  came  from  Strafford,  this  State,  to 
Barnstead,  and  settled  on  a  forty-acre  tract  of 
land,  which  now  forms  a  part  of  the  farm 
owned  by  his  grandson.  This  land  was  a  jior- 
tion  of  the  large  tract  purchased  by  John  Drew; 
and  the  house  thereon  was  built  by  Elijah 
Drew,  one  of  John  Drew's  sons.  Eliphalet 
died  December  13,  1859,  aged  about  si.\ty-two 
years.  He  was  the  father  of  four  children, 
namely:  Ira  L. ,    Eliza  Ann,  Lucy,  and  Will- 


iam. The  daughters  died  young.  William, 
who  enlisted  in  Company  H  of  the  Twelfth 
New  Hampshire  Regiment,  in  whicl)  he  I)e- 
came  a  Cori)oral,  was  wounded  at  tlie  battle  cif 
ChancellorsviUe,  so  that  he  died  shortly  after. 
He  left  a  widow,  Josephine  (l^vans)  Berry, 
who  afterward  married  George  Carver,  of 
Havre  de  Grace,  Md.  b.liphalet's  wife,  Eliz- 
abeth (Locke)  Berry,  died  January  11,  1877. 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 

Ira  L.  Berry  received  his  education  in  a 
district  and  private  sclninl,  supi)Iemented  by 
a  few  terms  at  (Jilmanton  and  Northlield 
Academies.  Thereafter  he  followed  the  pro- 
fession of  teacher  in  Harnstead  and  other 
towns  of  this  State  and  in  Rhode  Island. 
From  Rhode  Island  he  returned  to  the  hon)e- 
stead,  whicii  finally  became  iiis  by  inheritance. 
For  fifteen  successive  years  he  served  the  town 
as  Selectman,  and  was  Chairman  of  the  Board 
for  a  large  part  of  the  time.  He  also  held 
the  office  of  County  Cinnmissioiiei'  and  that  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  His  re|iutation  was  that 
of  a  model  public  official.  He  died  l'"ebruary 
28,  1892,  aged  sixty-three  years.  Lavinia, 
his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Drew,  is  a  de- 
scendant of  John  Drew,  who  is  thought  to  have 
been  the  earliest  settler  of  North  Barnstead. 
J.  Horace  Drew,  of  Gilmanton,  traces  his  de- 
scent to  the  same  ancestor.  Lavinia  Drew 
attended  both  Gilmanton  and  Northfield  Acad- 
emies, and  subsec[uent!y  taught  school  for  some 
time  before  her  marriage  and  in  RJindc  Island 
after  it.  She  has  become  the  niotlier  ot  tiiree 
children  —  P'red  E. ,  Lucy  A.,  and  Myra  K. 
Lucy,  after  teaching  school  for  a  niunber  of 
year.s,  married  J.  W.  Whitney,  of  Syracuse, 
N.Y.,  who  is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  Homer,  N.  Y.  Myra  is  the  wife 
of  E.   H.   Shannon,  a  lawyer  at  Laconia. 

On  completing  his  education  at  the  New 
Hampton    Academy,     l-'red    K.     Berry    worked 


126 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


for  two  years  in  Beverly,  Mass.,  for  an  express 
company.  The  ne.xt  seven  years  were  em- 
pl())etl  in  lumber  and  mercantile  !}usiness  in 
l^'loritla.  Upon  his  return  North  he  went  to 
Saco,  Me.,  where  he  was  associated  with  a  box 
manufacturing  company  for  a  time.  Returning 
from  Saco  to  the  homestead,  he  has  since  re- 
sided here.  The  farm  contains  about  three 
hundred  acres  of  land.  He  gives  especial 
attention  to  the  [iroduction  of  milk.  On 
March  27,  1890,  Mr.  Berry  married  Kdith  M. 
Tarbox,  daughter  of  Charles  L.  and  Julia  A. 
(Tuck)  Tarbox,  of  Biddeford,  Me.  They 
have  three  children  —  Helen  J.,  Grace  E.,  and 
Edith  T.   Berry. 


-rf7\0BERT  V.  SWEET,  M.D.,  a  promi- 
I  ^^  nent  homceopathic  physician  of  Roch- 
i-P  v^_  ^  ester,  and  formerly  Mayor  of  this 
city,  was  burn  in  Port  liyron,  N.  Y.,  April  25, 
1865.  He  was  fitted  for  college  at  the  high 
school  in  his  native  town,  and,  entering  Cor- 
nell University,  was  graduated  with  the  class 
of  1885.  He  was  principal  of  the  Rose  Union 
School,  at  Rose,  N.Y.,  one  year,  and  then 
became  a  medical  student  at  the  New  York 
Homctopathic  College  and  Hospital.  He  was 
graduated  in  1888,  and,  immediately  locating 
in  Rochester,  began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion. He  has  not  only  attained  a  high  degree 
of  success  in  his  calling,  but  his  popularity  as 
a  citizen  was  of  so  marked  a  nature  as  to  result 
in  his  nomination  and  election  as  Mayor  in 
1894.  In  politics  he  is  an  independent 
Democrat.  During  bis  term  of  office  he 
gave  the  city  an  able  and  efficient  administra- 
tion of  public  affairs.  In  January,  1896,  he 
pursued  a  post-graduate  course  in  New  York 
City,  after  the  completion  of  which  he  spent 
eight  months  in  travelling  through  Great  Brit- 
ain,    France,     Germany,    and     Italy    for    the 


benefit  of  his  health,  making  personal  observa- 
tions of  various  matters  connected  with  atl- 
vaiicetl  medical  science.  He  returned  home  a 
short  time  ago,  and,  with  renewed  vigor  and 
increased  knowledge,  is  now  busy  with  his 
professional  duties. 

In  June,  1892,  Dr.  Sweet  was  imited  in 
marriage  with  Josephine  Wallace,  daughter 
of  E.  G.  Wallace,  of  Rochester.  Mrs.  Sweet 
is  the  mother  of  three  children;  namely, 
Pauline,  Carlyle,  and  Robert  Vaughan,  Jr. 

Dr.  Sweet  is  well  advanced  in  Masonry, 
and  belongs  to  Humane  Lodge,  No.  21,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.,  Temple  Chapter,  No.  20,  R.  A.  M., 
and  Palestine  Commandery,  K.  T.,  of  Roches- 
ter. He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 


f^OHN   HENRY  ROBINSO-N,  one  of  the 
best-known  farmers  of  Laconia,  and  an 

ex-member  of  the  New  Flamiishire  leg- 
islature, was  born  in  the  house  where  he  now 
resides,  June  22,  1844,  son  of  John  Langdon 
and  Rachel  C.  (Smith)  Robinson.  The  farm 
which  Mr.  Robinson  occupies  was  cleared  from 
the  wilderness  by  his  great-grandfather,  Chase 
Robinson,  who  removed  hither  from  Stratham, 
N.H.,  many  years  ago,  when  Laconia  was  part 
of  the  town  of  Meredith.  He  erected  the 
present  residence,  which  was  the  birthplace  of 
his  son,  Thomas  Robinson,  grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Thomas  Robinson 
succeeded  to  the  possession  of  the  homestead, 
and  resided  here  until  his  death,  which 
occurred   when  he  was   fifty-five  years  old. 

John  Langdon  Robinson,  father  of  John  II., 
was  born  at  the  homestead,  April  18,  1S09. 
He  inherited  the  property,  and  the  active 
period  of  his  life  has  been  devoted  to  agricult- 
ural pursuits.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 
His  wife,  Rachel  C.  Smith,  whom  he  married 
October  29,   1831,  was  a  daughter  of  Washing- 


.-> 


JOHN     H.    ROBINSON. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


'-9 


tjn  Smith,  of  this  town,  and  _L;rancl-ilaughtor  of 
Judge  Ebcnezer  Snii.th,  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers.  Two  chiklren  were  born  of  this 
union,  nameh' :  Charles  I'".;  and  John  Henry, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  niuther  died 
January  12,  1892,  aged  eighty-one  years. 
She  was  a  member  of  the  h'ree  Will  Baptist 
church. 

John  Henry  Robinson  was  edncatetl  in  the 
district  school  and  at  the  New  Hampton  Lit- 
erary Institution.  Tilling  the  soil  has  been 
his  occupation  since  completing  his  studies, 
and  for  many  years  past  he  has  managed  the 
Robinson  farm  with  unusual  energy  and  suc- 
cess. He  has  one  hundreil  and  ten  acres 
of  excellent  land,  forty  of  which  are  under 
cultivation. 

On  May  15,  1S69,  Mr.  Robinson  was  joined 
in  marriage  with  Hannah  Blaisdell,  daughter 
of  David  Blaisdell,  of  this  town.  Her  father 
was  born  in  Laconia,  February  9,  1S09;  and 
his  father,  John  Blaisdell,  resided  in  Meredith 
previous  to  the  incorporation  of  this  town. 
David  Blaisdell  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
in  his  youth,  and  shortly  after  finishing  his 
apprenticeship  engaged  in  business  for  him- 
self as  an  architect  and  builder.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Robinson  have  one  daughter,  I'^leanor 
Blaisdell. 

Mr.  Robinson  has  served  as  Supervisor  of 
Elections  si.x  years,  was  for  three  years  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  and,  while 
a  Representative  to  the  legislature  in  1891, 
was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Towns. 
He  is  connected  with  Chocorua  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  v.,  of  Lakeport;  Granite  Lodge, 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen;  and  is  a 
Fast  Master  of  Laconia  Grange,  I'atrt)ns  of 
Husbandry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson  are  ac- 
tive members  of  the  Free  Will  Bajitist  church, 
which  he  has  served  as  Deacon,  Treasurer,  and 
chorister. 


/STlORGI':  F.  MATHKS,  general  agent 
\J5T  at  the  Boston  &  Maine  railway  ilepot 
in  Dover,  was  born  iMareh  25,  1.S56, 
in  the  town  of  Rochester,  N.IL,  son  of  the 
late  Stephen  i\L  and  Louisa  ]•".  (Davis) 
Mathes.  He  is  ilesceniled  from  one  of  the 
earlier  settlers  of  this  part  of  the  State.  His 
father,  Stephen  M.  l\Lathes,  was  born  and  bred 
in  Milton,  N.IL  On  attaining  his  majority 
Stephen,  locating  in  Rochester,  engaged  in  a 
general  mercantile  business,  and  became  one 
of  the  mos-t  prominent  men  of  the  place  before 
his  death,  which  occurred  at  the  age  of  three- 
score years.  He  was  a  leailing  member  of  the 
lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  organized  in  that  town. 
His  wife,  who  was  als(j  born  in  Milton,  is  now 
spcmding  her  declining  years  in  Rochester. 
She  is  a  sincere  Christian  woman  and  a  de- 
voted member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

George  F.  Mathes  was  but  a  year  old  when 
his  father  died.  He  received  a  practical  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools.  When  about 
seventeen  years  old  he  began  his  term  of  ser- 
vice in  the  work  with  which  he  has  since  been 
identified.  The  first  two  months  were  spent 
as  baggage-master  in  tlie  station  at  Rochester. 
Then  he  began  braking  on  a  freight  train,  sub- 
sequently becoming  brakeman  and  baggage- 
master  on  a  passenger  train  of  the  Great  Fall.s 
&  Conway  road,  which  is  now  a  part  of  the 
Boston  &  Maine  system.  He  was  afterward 
promoted  to  the  [losition  of  conductor.  In 
1893  Mr.  Mathes  acci'pted  his  i)resent  position 
in  Dover,  where  he  has  established  for  himself 
a  firm  place  among  the  most  respected  busi- 
ness men  and  citizens.  He  is  a  self-made 
man  in  every  sense  implied  by  the  term,  hav- 
ing by  his  own  efforts  steadily  climbed  the 
ladder  of  prosperity.  Politically,  Mr.  Mathes 
is  a  sturdy  Republican,  ami  for  many  years 
was  quite  an  active  member  of  his  party.      He 


13° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


was  a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion in  18S9,  and  in  1S93  represented  the 
town  of  Wolfboro  in  the  State  legislature. 
Socially,  he  is  a  member  of  Syracuse  Lodge, 
No.  27,  K.  of  P.,  of  Salmonville;  and  of  the 
Wolfboro  Tribe  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men. 

Mr.  Mathes  was  married  to  Miss  Fannie  A. 
Parker,  daughter  of  C.  H.  Parker,  of  Wolfboro. 
They  have  one  child,  Charles  A.,  who  is  now 
a  brakeman  on  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mathes  arc  not  publicly  identi- 
fied with  any  religious  organization;  but  they 
are  liberal  in  their  beliefs,  and  attend  the 
Unitarian  church. 


JZICKIKI.  HAY1':S,  of  Alton,  and  his 
brother  William,  are  among  the  most 
widely  known  and  respected  citizens 
of  Belknap  County,  their  unusual  loyalty  to 
each  other  so  associating  them  in  the  minds  of 
others  that,  although  their  youthful  years  have 
long  since  passed,  they  still  are  known  as  the 
"Hayes  Boys."  They  are  sons  of  William 
and  Polly  (Wentworth)  Hayes.  Plzekiel  was 
born  in  Alton,  May  4,  1826. 

William  Hayes,  the  father,  came  to  Alton 
from  Farmington,  this  State,  and  in  1804  pur- 
chased the  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  or  more 
now  owned  by  his  son  Ezekiel.  But  little  of 
the  land  had  previously  been  cleared,  so  that 
for  the  first  few  years  he  was  obliged  to  give 
the  larger  share  of  his  time  to  getting  off  the 
timber;  but  he  was  industrious,  and  prospered 
in  his  undertakings.  He  purchased  another 
farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  which  he  gave  to 
his  two  older  sons.  He  continued  to  reside  on 
the  home  farm  until  his  death,  living  to  be 
eighty-three  years  of  age.  He  was  a  man  of 
strictly  temperate  habits,  believing  a  moderate 
drinker  to  be  but  a  "Prop  to  the  Drunkard's 


Grave."  For  a  number  of  years  he  served  as 
Selectman  of  Alton.  In  church  affairs  also 
he  was  very  active,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
committee  that  had  charge  of  the  erection  of 
the  first  church  built  in  Alton  Centre.  Polly, 
his  wife,  was  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Went- 
worth, of  Milton,  N.II.  She  lived  to  be 
ninety-two  years  old.  They  had  si.x  children, 
namely:  Daniel,  Stephen  W.,  Olive,  Ira  F., 
Ezekiel,  and  William.  Daniel  was  a  carriage- 
maker  and  carpenter.  Stephen,  a  carriage- 
maker  and  cabinet-maker,  was  a  prominent 
Republican,  and  served  as  Town  Clerk  a  num- 
ber of  years.  Olive,  the  only  daughter,  mar- 
ried Joshua  Wright,  of  Alton.  Ira  Hayes, 
living  in  Sangerville,  Me.,  is  a  prominent 
Republican  politician,  and  has  been  a  Police 
Judge  for  a  number  of  years. 

Ezekiel  was  for  five  terms  a  student  of  Leb- 
anon Academy,  Lebanon,  Me.,  attending 
school  in  the  winter  and  working  at  farming 
in  the  summer  months.  He  taught  school  for 
a  number  of  years,  and  all  his  life  has  found 
much  pleasure  in  reading.  As  mentioned 
above,  he  now  owns  the  old  homestead,  and 
his  brother  William  owns  a  farm  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  street.  The  two  farms  contain 
about  three  hundred  and  seventy  acres.  They 
carried  them  on  together  until  a  few  years  ago, 
when,  owing  to  the  expectation  of  Ezekiel  that 
his  son  would  take  up  the  work  with  him,  they 
divided  their  property.  While  living  on  sep- 
arate farms,  one  never  transacted  any  business 
without  consulting  the  other;  and  the  profits  of 
all  sales  were  divided.  Even  since  the  di- 
vision they  are  as  inseparable  as  ever,  each  de- 
ferring important  business  matters  to  the 
judgment  of  the  other,  and  in  busy  times 
assisting  each  other  in  their  work.  William 
is  a  widower. 

Ezekiel    Hayes  married    L}'dia  A.  P^ench,  a 
daughter  of  Ira  P^ench,  a  farmer  and  carpenter 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


131 


of  Alton.  l'"or  lour  years  Mrs.  Hayes  was 
successfully  engaged  in  school  teaching. 
They  have  a  son  and  daughter — Mary  Ellen 
and  Herbert  E.  The  daughter,  who  followed 
teaching  for  a  number  of  years,  is  now  the  wife 
of  James  N.  Ames,  and  has  four  chiklren. 
Herbert  E. ,  the  son,  is  engaged  in  the  pro- 
vision business  in  Boston,  his  store  being  on 
Warren  Street,  in  the  Roxbury  District.  Mrs. 
Hayes  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 


-1^T1:NRY  rust  PARKER,  M.D.,  an 
l-^n  eminent  physician  and  an  esteemed 
JL^  V  __  citizen  (jf  Dover,  while  a  native  of 
the  Granite  State,  comes  of  substantial  Eng- 
lish ancestry.  He  was  born  at  Wolfboro,  Jan- 
uary 24,  1836.  His  first  knowledge  of  books 
was  obtained  in  the  common  schools,  where  he 
usually  stood  very  near  the  head  of  his  class. 
When  but  twelve  years  of  age,  he  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  lose  both  of  his  parents,  and  was 
thereby  thrown  wholly  upon  his  own  resources. 
Realizing  the  need  of  a  good  education  in 
order  to  insure  his  future  success,  the  young 
lad  worked  for  it  with  a  persistent  energy  that 
was  bound  to  succeed.  Before  many  years  had 
passed,  he  was  a  student  in  the  Wolfboro 
Academy,  and  later  his  name  was  enrolled 
among  the  noted  instructors  of  that  institution. 
While  performing  his  duties  as  a  teacher,  Mr. 
Parker  devoted  his  free  time  to  the  study  of 
medicine,  for  which  he  had  a  strong  predilec- 
tion. Afterward  he  entered  the  medical  de- 
partment of  Dartmouth  College,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1866.  l^eginning  the 
jjiactice  of  his  profession  in  his  native  town, 
he  continued  there  until  1881,  when  he  came 
to  Dover.  Here,  preceded  by  his  reputation 
for  skill  and  knowledge,  he  made  ra|)id  strides 
in  his  profession;  and  to-day  he  occupies  an 
assured    position    among   the     leading     [jracti- 


tioners  of  this  seeti(jn  of  New  iMigland.  He 
was  examining  surgeon  for  pensions  in  Straf- 
ford County.  Under  both  administrations  of 
President  Cleveland  he  was  President  of  the 
15oard  of  Examining  Surgeons  for  this  county, 
and  he  holds  that  of!ice  still.  He  is  likewise 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  million-dollar  estate 
left  by  the  late  tHram  Barker,  of  l-'armington, 
N.  II.  ;  President  of  the  Medical  Society  of 
Dover;  member  of  the  New  Ham|)shire  Medi- 
cal Society ;  member  of  the  Strafford  County 
Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  President  in 
the  years  1891  and  1892 ;  and  a  member  of  the 
State  E.xecutive  Committee,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  of 
New  Hampshire  and  \'ermont. 

Dr.  Parker  was  married  May  27,  1866,  to 
Miss  Ella  M.  Thompson,  of  Wolfboro;  and 
they  have  become  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren. These  are:  Nathalie  S.,  the  wife  of 
George  B.  Harper,  of  Montreal,  Can.  ;  Al- 
berta T. ,  the  wife  of  Harry  P.  Henderson,  of 
Dover;  and  Henry  R.  Parker,  Jr.,  who  died 
December  27,  1894,  aged  nineteen  years. 
The  Doctor  is  a  member  of  the  St.  Thomas 
Episcopal  Church  of  Dover.  In  politics  he  is 
a  stanch  Democrat.  He  has  had  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  Democrat  to  fill  the  Mayor's 
chair  in  Dover,  having  been  elected  to  this 
office  in  1890;  and  he  was  re-elected  in  1891. 
In  Masonic  circles  he  is  quite  prominent, 
being  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  ami  a 
Past  Master  of  the  151  ue  Lodsre. 


<■*»»■» 


LONZO  S.  ]-"RENCH,  a  lifelong  resi- 
dent of  Alton,  was  born  here  May  25, 
S34,  son  of  Ira  and  Lois  (McDuf- 
fee)  Erench.  His  [laternal  grandfather,  Eben- 
ezer  P'rench,  came  from  I-'armington,  N.H.,  to 
Alton  over  a  century  ago,  when  the  town  was 
only  partially  settled.  Ebcnezer  purchased  in 
the  east  jxut  of  the  town  a  tract  of  wild  land 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


that,  when  deared,  iMOVcd  to  be  the  finest 
pasture  in  this  seetion.  Later  in  life  he 
bought  considerable  adjoining  land.  He  was 
a  carpenter  by  trade.  Before  coming  to  Alton 
he  had  married  Abigail  Walker.  He  died  at 
the  age  of  fifty  years.  She  lived  to  be  about 
seventy-five.  They  had  eight  children; 
namely,  Ira,  Willard,  I.ydia,  Seth,  Sarah, 
Abigail,  Eben,  and  one  that  died  in  infancy. 
Willard  and  Seth  farmed  together  in  Alton. 
The  latter  married,  while  the  former  remained 
single.  In  his  younger  days  Willard,  who  had 
received  a  good  common-school  education, 
taught  school  for  several  terms.  Abigail  was 
twice  married,  her  first  husband  being  Oilman 
Hunt,  and  the  second  Moses  Gilman.  She 
died  in  1SC95,  aged  eighty-five  years,  leaving 
no  children.  Eben,  a  shoemaker,  removed 
when  young  to  Woburn,  Mass.,  where  he  mar- 
ried and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
Sarah  remained  single. 

Ira  French,  the  eldest  child   of   his   parents, 
after  learning  the  trade  of  a  caprenter  with  his 
father,  was  overseer  of  a  department  in  one  of 
the   cotton-mills    of    Dover,    N.H.,    for   a   few 
years.      When  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
his  father  died;   and,  returning  to  the   home- 
stead farm,  he  afterward  carried  it  on  until  his 
own  death.      After  becoming  the  owner   of   the 
place,  he  purchased   sufficient   land  to  increase 
it   in  size  to  about    two    hundred    acres.      He 
made  a  specialty  of  stock-raising.      In  politics 
he  was  a   Whig,    and   took   an    active  part    in 
matters  of  public  interest.      In  religious  belief 
he  was  a  Free  Baptist,  belonging  to  the  church 
at  East  Alton.      He  was  born   in   the   first  year 
of  the  present  century,  and  died  in  1877,  aged 
seventy-seven    years.        By    his    wife    Lois,     a 
daughter  of  James  McDuffee,  he  was  the  father 
of  six  children —  Oren  L. ,  Ann  E.,  James  M., 
Lydia   A.,   Alonzo    S. ,   and    Eleanor    M.      Of 
these  Oren,    a  resident  of  Alton,    Lydia,    the 


wife  of  Ezekiel  Hayes,  and  Alonzo  are  the 
only  survivors.  Ann  E.  was  the  wife  of  Jo- 
seph B.  l{vans ;  James  M.,  who  was  station 
agent  at  Alton  Bay  for  twenty-seven  years,  left 
a  widow  and  children;  and  Eleanor  died  when 
si.xteen  years  old. 

Having   liist  attended    the   tiistrict    schools, 
Alonzo   S.   French    studied   for  a  few  terms   at 
both  Wolfboro  and   New  Hampton  Academics. 
Upon  the  completion   of   his   course  he   taught 
school    in   the   winter  for  a  time,  working  with 
his   father  during  the   remainder   of   the  year. 
At    a    later  date   he   took   full    charge   of    the 
homestead,  which   he  managed   until    he   came 
to  Alton  village  in    1886.      On  June  6,  1S58, 
he    married     Nancy     J.     Fuiber,    daughter    of 
George  W.   Furber,  of  Wolfboro.      Mr.   French 
has  been  a  Reiniblican  since   the   organization 
of  the  party.      In    i860  he  was   superintendent 
of  the  town  schools.      In    1866  and    1867,  he 
represented  the   town    in   the   Lower  House   of 
the   State   legislature,    serving   therein   on    the 
Committee  on    Public  Lands.      For  four  years, 
beginning   in    1888,    he   was   Town  Treasurer; 
and   he   was   Selectman    in    1 S64,    1865,    1887, 
1888,    1895,  and  1896,  being  on  the  board  with 
Amos    L.     Rollins,'   when    the    war    debt    was 
raised,    and    Chairman    of   that    body   in    1896. 
He  was  for  many  years  a  Trustee  of  the   I'~ive 
Cent    Savings    Bank,    and    in     1896    he     was 
elected  for  two  years  to  serve  as  Moderator  of 
town  meetings. 


■«-»•♦-»■  - 


IMON  WENTWORTH,  a  .skilful 
and  influential  agriculturist  of  North 
Rochester,  was  born  October  13, 
1823,  on  the  farm  which  he  now  occupies,  son 
of  Beard  and  Sarah  (Roberts)  Wentworth. 
He  comes  of  pioneer  ancestry,  his  paternal 
grandfather,  Elihu  Wentworth,  having  pur- 
chased this  tract  of  land  when  the  district  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


•33 


covered  with  woods.  Clenring  a  space  in  this 
wilderness,  Jilihu  erected  a  small  house,  prob- 
ably of  logs,  for  himself  and  family,  and  here 
spent  his  remaining  days. 

]5card  Wentworth  assisted  in  clearing  the 
land  as  soon  as  he  was  old  enongh  to  use  an 
axe.  Having  inherited  the  old  homestead,  he 
continued  to  improve  it,  and  lived  here  until 
his  death  at  an  advanced  age  in  1873.  His 
body  was  interred  in  the  family  cemetery  on 
the  farm  where  he  had  lived  and  toiled.  In 
politics  he  was  a  sound  Democrat.  With  his 
wife,  Sarah,  who  was  a  native  of  Rochester, 
he  reared  eight  children,  namely:  Ira,  of 
Rochester;  Simon,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Jonas,  also  of  Rochester;  Eliza  A.,  the  widow 
of  Leonard  Hayes,  of  Milton,  this  county; 
George  B.,  who  was  killed  in  an  accident  on 
the  Bradford  railroad  in  iSSS;  John  F. ,  of 
Rochester;  Martin  V.  B. ,  of  Dover;  and 
Sarah  A.,  who  makes  her  home  in  Milton  with 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Hayes. 

In  his  boyhood  Simon  Wentworth  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Milton,  where  he  was 
well  drilled  in  the  elementary  branches.  Be- 
tween the  school  sessions  he  obtained  a  practi- 
cal knowledge  of  agriculture  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  his  parents.  Since  coming  into  posses- 
sion of  the  ancestral  acres,  he  has  carried  on 
general  farming,  lumbering,  and  dairying  with 
signal  success.  Having  acquired  more  land 
by  purchase,  he  is  now  the  owner  of  four  hun- 
dred acres  lying  in  Rochester,  Milton,  and 
Lebanon.  In  1853  he  was  appointed  depot 
master  at  Hayes  Crossing,  a  position  which  he 
still  holds.  He  was  also  Postmaster  at  North 
Rochester  for  twenty  years. 

Mr.  Wentworth  married  Miss  Frances  J. 
Cook,  of  Milton,  and  has  three  children. 
These  are:  Elmer  E.,  of  Springvale,  Me.; 
Walter  S. ,  who  assists  in  the  care  of  the  home 
farm;  and  P'red   B. ,  of   the   city  of    Rochester. 


Mr.  Wentworth  has  voted  with  the  Republi- 
can party  since  its  organization,  and  for  two 
years  served  his  fellow-townsmen  as  Select- 
man. He  was  made  a  Mason  in  Humane 
Lodge,  A.  1".  &  A.  M.,  of  Rochester,  with 
which  he  has  been  connected  several  years. 
He  attenils  the  Congregational  Church  of  Mil- 
ton, and  is  a  willing  contributor  toward  its 
support. 

Il.I.IAM  !■■.  HARMON,  a  promi- 
nent liveryman  of  Somersworth,  was 
born  in  Scarboro,  Me.,  March  15. 
1845,  son  of  Lorenzo  D.  and  Mary  (Hodsdon) 
Harmon.  The  father,  also  a  native  of  Scar- 
boro, spent  his  life  in  that  town  chiefly  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  died  at  the  early  age  of 
thirty  years.  The  mother  still  survives  him, 
and  is  now  about  eighty  years  of  age. 

When  but  six  months  old,  William  F.  Har- 
mon was  bereft  of  his  father.  About  two  and 
a  half  years  later  his  mother  came  with  him 
to  Somersworth,  where  he  afterward  attended 
the  public  schools  until  he  was  about  si.xteen 
years  of  age.  On  I-'ebruary  iS,  1862,  when 
not  quite  seventeen,  he  enlisted  for  three  years 
in  Company  D  of  the  P\)urth  New  Hampshire 
Regiment  as  a  drummer  boy.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term  he  re-enlisted  in  the  .same 
company  and  regiment,  and  served  with  them 
until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  He  shared 
in  the  action  of  Pokatalego,  the  siege  of 
Charleston,  the  engagements  of  Morris  Island 
and  Cold  Harbor,  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  the 
fight  at  Deep  Bottom,  and  the  attack  on  l-'ort 
F"isiier,  passing  through  all  without  being 
wounded  or  taken  prisoner.  On  receiving  his 
final  discharge  he  returned  to  Somersworth, 
and  worked  as  clerk  in  a  dry-goods  store  for 
three  years.  He  ne.xt  engaged  in  the  news- 
paper and  periodical  business,  which  he  had 
successively  conducted  for  about  fourteen  years. 


'34 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


when  he  sold  out,  to  assume  the  duties  of  Post- 
master of  Somersworth.  He  was  appointed  to 
this  office  in  September,  1886,  and  served  four 
years  and  four  months.  Then  he  took  up  the 
insurance  business,  which  he  followed  until 
1882.  In  1892  and  1893  he  was  Tax  Col- 
lector for  Somersworth.  Also  in  1893  he  first 
engaged  in  the  livery  business,  which  he  has 
since  carried  on  with  marked  success. 

On  November  25,  1871,  Mr.  Harmon  mar- 
ried Miss  Lizzie  Bracy,  of  Somersworth,  by 
whom  he  became  the  father  of  five  children. 
These  are:  Winnifred  L. ,  who  is  assistant  in 
the  Somersworth  High  School;  William  F. , 
who  is  employed  in  the  general  ticket  office  of 
the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad  in  Boston; 
Charles  H.,  a  resident  of  Somersworth;  Helen 
M.,  at  home  and  attending  school;  and 
Marion,  also  at  home.  On  national  questions 
Mr.  Harmon  supports  the  Democratic  party, 
but  in  local  affairs  he  takes  a  liberal  course. 
From  1876  to  1880  he  served  as  Town  Clerk, 
and  in  1890  and  1891  he  was  a  member  of  the 
School  Board.  He  belongs  to  Littlefield  Post, 
No.  8,  G.  A.  R. ,  of  this  city,  and  in  1883  was 
its  Commander. 


TT^HARLES  E.  SMALL,  a  thrifty  farmer 
I    jp       and  a  highly  esteemed  resident  of  Bel- 

^»i£_^  mont,  was  born  in  Canterbury, 
N.H.,  June  23,  i860,  son  of  Darius  and  Susan 
(Heath)  Small.  His  grandfather,  Jeremiah 
Small,  who  was  reared  in  Canterbury,  married 
Hannah  Young,  of  Upper  Gilmanton  (now 
Belmont),  and  was  the  father  of  nine  children 
—  William  P.,  Eliza  K.,  Darius,  Jane,  John, 
Andrew  J.,  Gideon,  Winthrop,  and  Caroline. 
William  P.,  who  is  living  in  Canterbury,  has 
four  children,  namely:  Ella,  the  wife  of  Frank 
Merrill;  Emma,  a  book-keeper;  Walter,  who 
married   a   Miss    Langehy;    and    Almon,    who 


married  Florence  Baglcy.  Eliza  K.  married 
Nathan  V.  Foster,  of  Belmont,  and  has  one 
son,  Frank  A.  Foster,  M.D.,  of  Waltliam, 
Mass.  Jane,  who  is  the  wife  of  Enoch  Pick- 
ard,  of  Canterbury,  has  si.>c  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Jane,  now  Mrs.  Burbeck,  of  Concord; 
Frances,  who  married  diaries  Osgood,  son  of 
Edward  Osgood,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Can- 
terbury;  Louise,  who  married  Hugh  Tallent; 
lillen,  who  married  a  Mr.  Dearborn,  of  Con- 
cord, and  is  now  a  widow;  Grace,  who  married 
Harry  Ray;  and  Warren,  who  married  Alice 
Shaw,  of  Concord.  John  Small  married  Sarah 
Dennis,  of  Providence,  R.I.,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, namely:  Anna,  who  wedded  Fred  Cole, 
of  Concord;  and  Linius,  now  a  widower,  who 
wedded  Ida  Lovering.  Andrew  J.  Small  mar- 
ried Calista  Howe,  who  died  leaving  three 
children  —  Eva  G.,  Alfaretta,  and  Charles  H. 
Alfaretta  is  a  trained  nurse  in  Boston,  and 
Charles  H.  is  an  engineer.  Gideon  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three.  Winthrop  died  leav- 
ing one  child.  Caroline  married  Sylvanus 
Moore,  "of  Canterbury. 

Darius  Small,  Charles  E.  Small's  father, 
born  in  Canterbury,  was  reared  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  moved  to  Belmont  in  i860,  and 
settled  upon  a  farm  of  eighty  acres,  which  he 
cultivated  industriously,  and  died  April  5, 
1894.  His  wife,  Susan,  died  May  3,  1884. 
Her  father  was  Abraham  Heath,  of  Nofthfield, 
N.  H. ,  who  reared  three  other  children  ;  namely, 
Rachel,  Joseph,  and  Josiah.  Rachel,  now 
deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Samuel  Wyatt,  of 
Northfield;  Joseph  married  Caroline  Grant, 
and  has  four  children;  and  Josiah  married 
Judith  Hubbard,  and  has  two  children.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Darius  Small  had  three  children, 
namely:  Jeremiah,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four 
years;  John  A.,  who  married  Sarah  E.  Ma.\- 
field,  and  resides  in  Lakeport,  N.H.;  and 
Charles  E.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


>35 


When  lie  went  with  liis  parents  to  Belmont, 
Charles  E.  Small  was  eight  months  old. 
He  acquired  his  education  in  the  public 
schools.  Since  completing  his  studies  lie  has 
been  engaged  in  carrying  on  the  homesteatl 
farm,  in  company  with  his  father.  As  a  result 
of  tlTeir  thrift  and  good  judgment  the  property 
now  comprises  two  hundred  acres.  Mi-.  Small 
wedtlcd  Mary  Jane  (iarmon,  daughter  of  Nich- 
olas and  Sarah  S.  (Hean)  Garmon,  respectively 
of  Gilmanton  and  Belmont.  Nicholas  Garmon 
served  as  Selectman,  Town  Clerk,  and  County 
Commissioner.  In  politics  Mr.  Small  is  a 
Republican.  lie  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  for  four  years,  during  two 
of  which  he  acted  as  Chairman. 


/^HARLES  DAVIS  THYNG,  the  La- 
I    jr^      conia  jailer  and   the  efficient  superin- 

^J^  ^  tendent  of  the  poor  farm,  was  born 
in  Lakeport,  Belknap  County,  August  4,  1845, 
son  of  Jeremiah  B.  and  Hannah  (Davis) 
Thyng.  His  grandfather,  Jeremiah  Thyng, 
who  was  a  native  of  Brentwood,  N.H.,  in  his 
early  manhood  became  a  pioneer  of  Gilford, 
settling  on  Liberty  Hill,  and  was  an  organizer 
of  the  Eree  Baptist  church  in  this  place. 
Jeremiah's  wife,  in  maidenhood  named  Mor- 
rill, was  also  born  in  Bientwood.  They 
reared  six  children,  all  of  whom  are  now  de- 
ceased. 

Jeremiah  B.  Thyng,  the  father  of  Charles 
D.,  was  born  on  Liberty  Hill,  and  remained 
on  the  home  farm  until  he  was  thirty-five  years 
of  age.  He  then  went  to  Gilford,  this  county, 
where  he  managed  a  grocery  store  for  four  or 
five  years.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Lake- 
port,  where  he  was  emploxed  for  a  few  years  in 
a  mill.  The  ne.xt  four  years  were  spent  in 
business  in  Dover,  N.H.,  after  which  he 
opened  a  general  merchandise  store    in    Alton, 


this  county.  Three  years  later  he  returned  to 
the  old  homestead  in  Gilff)rd.  In  1860  he  re- 
moved to  New  Hampton,  Belknap  County, 
where  he  officiated  as  Selectman,  and  was 
prominent  in  the  J'"ree  Will  Baptist  church. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Davis, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  Davis  family  on 
Governor's  Island  in  Gilford  townshiji.  Jere- 
miah B.  had  only  one  child,  Charles  D. ,  tiie 
subject  of  this  biography.  He  died  in  1881, 
being  then  seventy-seven  years  of  age. 

After  graduating  from  the  New  Hampton 
Academy  in  1865,  Charles  D.  Thyng  estab- 
lished a  drug,  book,  and  stationery  store  in 
that  town,  and  afterward  managed  it  success- 
fully for  thirty  years.  He  then  came  to 
Laconia;  and  on  January  i,  1895,  he  was  a]i- 
pointcd  superintendent  of  the  poor  farm  and 
jailer.  In  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  was  Postmaster  of  New 
Hamilton  for  eighteen  years,  its  Town  Treas- 
urer for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  in  1SS7  he 
was  its  Representative  in  the  legislature. 
While  Representative  he  was  on  the  Commit- 
tees of  Mileage  and  Revision  of  the  Statutes, 
and  he  was  inlluential  in  securing  the  charter 
for  the  Gordon  Nash  Library  of  New  Hamjiton. 

On  Eebruary  i,  1870,  I\Ir.  Thyng  was  mar- 
ried to  Caroline  R.,  daughter  of  I'"lavel  Bow- 
ker,  of  Brunswick,  Me.  His  children  by  the 
union  are:  Herbert  M.,  Arthur  D.,  Cora  H., 
and  Elsie  B.  Herbert  M.  was  graduated  from 
New  Hampton  Academy,  and  is  now  a  Senior 
in  Dartmouth  College;  Arthur  D.,  who  was 
graduated  from  the  commercial  department  of 
the  same  institution  in  the  summer  of  1896,  is 
assisting  his  father;  Cora  H.,  who  graduated 
from  New  Hampton  Institute  in  189(7,  resides 
at  home.  Mr.  Thyng  has  been  identified  with 
Cardigan  Lodge,  No.  38.  I.  O.  O.  E.,  of  Bris- 
tol, since  1873.  He  is  now  Past  Grand  Mas- 
ter,    having     held    all    the    chairs.       He    also 


13^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


belongs  to  the  Daunhtcrs  of  Rebecca  in  the 
same  town.  In  religion  he  affiliates  with  the 
Free  Will  15aptist  church,  in  which  he  has 
officiateil  for  four  years  as  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday-school. 


7~AHARLES  HENRY  TRICKl-.V,  for- 
I    rp       nierly   engaged    as   a   dealer    in    coal, 

^>r  ^  wood,  hay,  and  lumber  in  Dover, 
N.  H.,  was  prominently  associated  for  many 
years  with  the  mercantile  interests  of  this 
part  of  Strafford  County;  and  his  death,  which 
occurred  February  2,  1896,  was  deeply  de- 
plored as  a  public  loss  to  the  community. 
Mr.  Trickey  was  born  August  14,  1833,  in 
Brookfield,  Carroll  County,  N.H.,  where  his 
father,  Lemuel  Trickey,  was  prosperously  en- 
gaged in  general  agriculture.  His  mother, 
Mrs.  Maria  Goodhue  Trickey,  is  a  descendant 
of  Governor  Thomas  Wiggin.  She  is  now 
living,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one 
years,  with  her  daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  Georgie 
Trickey,  at  her  home  on  Central  Avenue. 

Having  diligently  improved  his  opportuni- 
ties for  acquiring  an  education  in  the  district 
schools  and  in  the  academy  at  Wakefield, 
N.H.,  at  the  youthful  age  of  seventeen  Charles 
H.  Trickey  taught  school  in  the  adjoining 
town  of  New  Durham,  meeting  with  such  suc- 
cess that  the  following  year  the  school  agent 
offered  him  five  dollars  a  month  more  than 
they  had  ever  paid  a  teacher  before.  In  1853, 
at  about  twenty  years  of  age,  Mr.  Trickey  left 
the  old  home  farm  in  search  of  more  congenial 
and  remunerative  employment.  Making  his 
way  to  Dover,  he  obtained  a  situation  as  clerk 
in  the  store  of  John  Bickford,  a  merchant 
tailor,  with  whom,  after  remaining  for  a  few 
years  in  a  subordinate  position,  he  subse- 
quently formed  a  copartnership,  which  con- 
tinued  for   some   time.      He  then    bought    his 


]")artner's  share  in  the  store  and  stock,  and 
successfully  managed  the  entire  business  until 
1870.  In  that  year  Mr.  Trickey,  having  dis- 
posed of  his  other  interests,  bought  out  the 
coal,  wood,  and  lumber  business  of  Mr.  M.  D. 
Page,  at  the  same  time  purchasing  an  interest 
in  the  business  of  Mr.  George  Avery,  a  lum- 
berman, teamster,  and  dealer  in  hay;  and  from 
that  date  until  his  demise  he  was  most 
profitably  engaged  in  trade.  In  each  depart- 
ment, under  his  energetic  and  capable  manage- 
ment, growth  was  soon  apparent;  and  in  the 
matter  of  coal  alone  the  sale  was  increased 
from  si.\  hundred  tons  each  year  to  the  large 
amount  of  ten  thousand  tons. 

Mr.  Trickey  was  interested  in  some  of  the 
enterprises  most  likely  to  advance  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  Dover,  being  the  prime 
mover  in  the  establishment  of  the  Dover  Navi- 
gation Company  and  in  having  the  channel  of 
the  river  deepened  for  the  accommodation  of 
vessels  of  a  larger  draft.  In  politics  he  was  a 
stanch  Republican,  but  steadily  declined  all 
offices,  even  refusing  to  accept  the  nomination 
as  candidate  for  the  mayorship  of  this  city, 
although  earnestly  solicited  to  do  so.  He  was 
not  connected  by  membership  with  any  relig- 
ious organization,  but  was  a  regular  attendant 
of  the  First  Congregational  Church. 

On  December  25,  1869,  Mr.  Trickey  mar- 
ried Miss  Ada,  daughter  of  ex-Mayor  Albert 
Bond,  of  Dover.  Two  daughters  were  the 
fruit  of  this  union,  namely:  Marion  Gertrude, 
wife  of  the  Rev.  George  Alcott,  of  Danielson, 
Conn. ;  and  Lola  Maud,  now  a  student  at  the 
Normal  College  in  Willimantic,  Conn.  On 
April  28,  1886,  Mr.  Trickey  married  Mrs. 
Georgie  Hanson,  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Abbie  A.  Boston,  of  Wells,  Me.  Of  this 
union  two  children  were  born,  namely: 
Charles  Lemuel,  December  17,  18S7;  and 
Mabel  Grace,  April   13,   1891. 


V 


CHARLES    H.    TRICKEY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


«39 


At  his  death  Mr.  Trickey  left  a  will  ap- 
pointing Mrs.  Trickey  sole  executrix  of  his 
estate,  a  high  proof  of  the  confidence  he  liad 
in  her  practical  ability  and  good  judgment. 
Although  she  had  neyer  had  any  business  ex- 
perience, Mrs.  Georgia  Trickey,  who  is  a 
bright,  active  woman,  has  managed  the  inter- 
ests left  to  her  care  with  a  sagacity  ai)ove 
comment,  lier  business  as  a  dealer  in  coal  and 
wood  comparing  favorably  with  that  of  any 
firm  in  the  city. 


jIIARLES  C.  COOK,  the  proprietor  of 
a    large   farm    in    Centre    Harbor,    was 

»if '  born  in  Moultonboro,  N.H.,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1843,  son  of  Nelson  B.  and  Adeline 
S.  (Moulton)  Cook.  His  grandfather,  Eben 
Cook,  born  on  Red  Hill  in  the  town  of  Moul- 
tonboro, spent  the  active  period  of  his  life  in 
tilling  the  soil.  Eben  was  a  natural  mechanic, 
and  was  able  to  make  any  kind  of  a  wooden 
tool  or  implement  used  in  agriculture.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Hannah 
Batchcldcr. 

Nelson  B.  Cook,  Cliarles  C.  Cook's  father, 
was  a  native  of  Moultonboro,  born  November 
14,  1814.  He  was  reared  to  agricultural  life, 
and  for  some  years  after  coming  of  age  he 
worked  as  a  farm  assistant.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-seven  he  took  the  management  of  the 
town  farm,  and  carried  it  on  for  two  years. 
He  purchased  a  farm  in  his  native  town,  and, 
having  erected  a  house,  was  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  on  his  own  account  until  about 
the  year  1880.  He  then  sold  his  property, 
and  lived  in  retirement  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  July,  1895.  His  wife,  Adeline, 
was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Moulton,  a  native 
of  Moultonboro,  who  after  his  marriage  settled 
in  Greensboro,  Vt.,  where  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  was  jjassed.      Mr.  Moulton  was  a  son 


of  Benning  Moulton,  and  a  grandson  of  Gen- 
era! Jonathan  Moulton,  the  founder  of  the 
Moulton  family  in  lielknap  County.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Nelson  B.  Cook  had  three  children, 
namely :  Charles  C. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  ; 
Samantha  P.,  who  married  Charles  M.  McCoy, 
of  Littleton,  N.  H.;  and  George  IC.  The 
parents  were  members  of  tiic  Christian  Ba[)tist 
Church. 

Charles  C.  Cook  attended  school  in  his 
native  town,  and  resided  at  home  until  he  was 
twenty-one.  He  applied  himself  to  various 
pursuits  for  a  time,  and  then  went  to  Aurora, 
111.  While  there  he  was  engaged  in  railroad- 
ing for  nine  years,  six  years  of  which  were 
spent  as  a  locomotive  engineer.  After  a  resi- 
dence of  eleven  years  in  Illinois  he  returned 
to  his  native  State.  In  1879  he  bought  a  farm 
in  Centre  Harbor,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
This  property,  which  originally  contained  one 
hundred  and  forty  acres,  he  has  increased  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  about  thirty-five 
of  which  are  under  cultivation.  He  raises 
large  crops  of  hay,  corn,  and  potatoes,  and 
keeps  twelve  heatl  of  cattle.  In  politics  lie  is 
a  Democrat,  and  he  takes  a  prominent  part  in 
public  affairs.  He  served  as  a  Selectman  four 
years,  is  now  serving  his  tiiird  term  as  Super- 
visor, and  he  has  been  Highway  Surveyor. 

On  August  20,  1873,  Mr.  Cook  married 
Abbie  A.  Paine,  daughter  of  James  M.  Paine, 
of  Centre  Harbor.  Mrs.  Cook's  great-grand- 
father, John  Paine,  who  came  here  from  Rye, 
N.H.,  and  was  a  resident  for  the  rest  of  his 
life,  lived  to  be  ninety-five  years  old.  Iler 
grandfather,  Jonathan  Paine,  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Centre  Harbor  when  he  was  twelve 
years  old.  James  M.  Paine,  Mrs.  Cook's 
father,  was  born  I'ebruary  14,  1803,  upon  tlie 
farm  which  is  now  owned  by  Charles  C.  Cook. 
He  was  one  of  the  active  farmers  of  his  day 
and    a    leading   spirit    in    local    public  affairs. 


140 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


lie  scrveil  as  Representative  to  the  legislature 
tliree  or  four  terms,  was  a  member  of  the 
]5oarcl  of  Selectmen  about  twenty-one  years, 
and  he  was  also  Town  Treasurer,  County  Com- 
missioner, and  County  Treasurer.  In  politics 
he  supported  the  Democratic  party.  He  mar- 
ried for  his  first  wife  Sally  Towle,  daughter 
of  Levi  Towle,  and  reared  a  family  of  two 
children  —  Arthur  L.  and  Adtlie  A.  For  his 
second  wife  he  married  Mrs.  Linda  S.  (Sen- 
ter)  Bailey,  daughter  of  Samuel  M.  Senter, 
and  widow  of  Dr.  William  Bailey.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cook  have  two  children  —  Lillian  May 
and  James  Nelson.  Mr.  Cook  is  a  member  of 
Chocorua  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  ;  and  of  Win- 
nepesaukee  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  of 
Meredith. 


LVAH  T.  RAMSDELL,  a  leading  ar- 
chitect of  Dover,  who  is  devoting  his 
attention  almost  exclusively  to  his 
profession,  was  born  April  15,  1852,  in  York, 
Me.,  son  of  William  Ramsdell.  The  latter, 
who  was  born  in  York  in  1816,  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  a'nd  worked  at  it  and  gen- 
eral farming  during  the  rest  of  his  life,  resid- 
ing in  the  place  of  his  nativity  until  his  tleath, 
which  occurred  February  6,  1869,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-three  years.  Lie  married  Phoebe  A. 
Boston,  who  was  born  in  Wells,  Me.,  and  is 
now  living  in  South  Berwick,  Me.  She  bore 
her  husband  thirteen  children,  namely:  Susan, 
Josephine,  Mary,  Clara,  Phcebe,  Etta,  Emily, 
Albert,  Alvah  T.,  Alfred,  Albion,  Stora,  and 
an  unnamed  daughter.  The  last  two  died  in 
infancy. 

Alvah  T.  Ramsdell  li^-ed  lieneath  the  paren- 
tal roof  until  eighteeen  years  of  age,  attending 
the  district  schools  and  assisting  in  the  labors 
incidental  to  life  on  a  farm.  Being  endowed 
by  nature  with  a  good  mechanical  talent,  he 
then  resolved  to  put  it  to  use.      With  this  pur- 


pose he  went  to  South  Berwick,  and  served  an 
apprenticeship  of  three  years  with  William  A. 
Mclntire,  a  noted  contractor,  builder,  and 
manufacturer  of  builders'  finish.  He  spent  the 
three  following  years  as  a  journeyman  carpen- 
ter in  Berwick  and  vicinity,  after  which  he 
located  in  Boston  as  a  master  mechanic.  Here 
he  proved  himself  so  thoroughly  conversant 
with  his  business  that  he  was  kept  continu- 
ousl)'  employed  by  such  well-known  contrac- 
tors as  William  McKenzey,  Whidden,  Hill  & 
Co.,  and  B.  D.  Whitcomb  &  Co.  Under  his 
superintendence  many  of  Boston's  later  struct- 
ures of  note,  including  the  Ames  and  Cyclo- 
rama  Buildings,  and  the  Boston  Storage  Ware- 
house, were  completed.  During  this  time, 
mindful  of  his  ambition  to  perfect  himself  in 
his  art,  Mr.  Ramsdell  began  the  study  of  draw- 
ing and  architecture  at  the  Boston  evening 
schools.  In  1889  Mr.  Ramsdell  opened  an 
ofifice  in  Dover,  where  he  has  since  built  up  a 
substantial  business,  and  become  prominently 
identified  with  the  political  and  social  life  of 
the  city.  ,  Some  of  the  most  attractive  build- 
ings of  Dover  are  alike  creditable  to  him  and 
ornamental  to  the  place. 

On  April  15,  1877,  Mr.  Ramsdell  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Ida  F"lorence, 
daughter  of  John  S.  and  Joanna  H.  (Brewster) 
Hurd,  of  Dover.  In  jiolitics  Mr.  Ramsdell 
is  a  decided  Republican.  He  served  as  Coun- 
cilman from  Ward  One  in  1894  and  1895,  and 
in  the  latter  year  was  President  of  the  Council. 
He  was  elected  Alderman  in  1896  and  1897. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  prominent  in 
Masonic  circles,  and  has  done  much  to  promote 
the  good  of  the  order  in  New  Hampshire.  He 
belongs  to  Moses  Paul  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  Dover;  Belknap  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.  ;  St. 
Paul  Commandery,  K.  T.  ;  to  the  Wechohamet 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  this  city;  and  to  the 
Olive  Branch    Lodge,  Crescent    Division    Uni- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


141 


form,  K.  P.,  of  Dover.  In  his  Masonic  lodge 
I\[r.  Ranisdcll  is  Treasurer.  He  takes  a  deep 
interest  in  matters  pertaining  to  tlie  moral 
welfare  of  the  community  in  which  he  resides, 
is  a  valued  member  of  the  First  Parish  Con- 
gregational Church,  and  an  earnest  worker  in 
the  Yountr  Men's  Christian  Association. 


^^»^» 


RVII.LK  PARKER  SMITH,  one  of 
Centre  Harbor's  most  prosperous 
farmers,  was  born  here,  March  31, 
I  86 1,  son  of  Noah  and  Grace  E.  W.  (Mudgett) 
Smith.  The  family  is  of  English  origin. 
Philip  Smith,  the  great-grandfather  of  Orville 
P.,  and  a  prosperous  farmer  of  New  Hampton, 
N.  H.,  married  Nancy  Jewell,  a  native  of 
Stratham,  N.  H.  He  was  a  son  of  Benjamin 
Smith,  who  was  a  brother  of  the  grandfather 
of  Orville  P.  Smith's  grandmother. 

Parker  Smith,  the  grandfather,  was  born  in 
New  Hampton,  February  7,  1796.  When  a 
young  man  he  came  to  Centre  Harbor,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty-seven  bought  of  the  heirs  of 
Joseph  Cox  the  farm  upon  which  his  son  and 
grandson  now  reside.  Parker  Smith  died  at 
the  age  of  about  forty  years.  He  married 
Anna  Smith,  who  w-as  born  in  New  Hampton, 
September  25,  1800.  She  descended  from  the 
same  ancestry  as  her  grandson  on  the  paternal 
side.  Penjamin  Smith  was  the  son  of  John, 
who  was  grandson  of  the  first  ancestor  in 
America ;  and  Christopher,  grandfather  of 
Anna,  was  son  of  Benjamin.  Christopher 
Smith,  born  October  20,  1736,  commanded  a 
company  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  although 
not  a  commissioned  officer.  His  wife,  in 
maidenhood  Mary  Page,  was  born  March  20, 
1739.  Christopher  died  December  7,  18 14, 
and  his  wife  died  March  7,  177S.  John 
Smith,  father  of  Anna,  born  in  Hampton, 
N.H.,  January  25,  1760,  also  served  as  a  sol- 


dier in  the  Rcvohitionar)'  War,  and  died  July 
17,  1S42.  lie  wedded  Martha  Drake,  who 
was  born  August  30,  1767,  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham Drake,  and  died  August  14,  1841.  Or- 
ville P.  -Smith's  grandmother  died  .Se|itember 
2,  1858.  She  was  the  mother  of  si.\  children, 
namely:  John  P.,  Martha  A.,  Mary  J.,  Noah, 
Charlotte,  and  Charles.  Noah  Smith,  Orville 
1'.  .Smith's  father,  was  born  in  Centre  Harbor, 
March  7,  1831.  He  has  always  resided  at  the 
homestead,  which  he  inherited,  and  where  he 
has  been  actively  engaged  in  general  farming. 
He  served  as  a  Selectman  four  years,  and  is  a 
Democrat  in  |i(ilitics.  His  wife,  (jrace  I'",. 
W.  (Mudgett)  Smith,  is  a  daughter  of  Levi 
Mudgett,  of  New  Hampton.  Orville  1'.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  is  their  only  child. 
Both  parents  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

Orville  Parker  Smith  acquired  a  common- 
school  education,  and  was  reared  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  After  leaving  school  he 
began  to  help  on  the  home  farm.  He  has  suc- 
cessfully managed  the  property  for  several 
years  past.  The  estate  contains  si.xty-five 
acres  of  land,  thirty-five  of  which  are  used 
for  tillage  purposes,  and  are  very  fertile. 
Large  crops  of  hay,  corn,  oats,  and  iiotatocs 
are  raised.  The  pasturage  facilities  are  e.xcel- 
lent,  and  an  average  of  eighteen  head  of  cattle 
are  wintered. 

On  May  31,  1S88,  Mr.  Smith  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Anna  L.  Giant,  daughter  of 
Daniel  B.  Grant,  of  Moultonboro.  He  is 
prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  town,  to  which 
he  has  rendered  valuable  services.  l'"or  six 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Select- 
men. He  was  on  the  School  Board  for  eight 
years.  He  repiescnted  this  district  in  the 
legislature  in  1892  and  1893.  He  was  Road 
Commissioner  for  three  terms,  and  he  was 
Moderator  at   town   meetings  for  a  number  of 


142 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


years.  He  is  connected  witli  Winncpesankee 
("irange,  Patrons  of  1  lusbaiulry,  in  which  lie 
takes  a  deep  interest,  and  is  a  Past  Master. 


fs^AMES  M.  HAYNES,  now  living  in  re- 
tirement at  his  pleasant  home  in  Dover, 
in  his  active  years  followed  the  callings 
of  carpenter,  teacher,  and  merchant.  He  was 
born  September  iS,  i8ig,  in  VVolfboro,  N.H., 
son  of  James  and  Hannah  (Lord)  Haynes. 
The  family  is  descended  from  Samuel  Haynes, 
who  was  born  in  England  in  i6ii.  In  1635 
-Samuel  emigrated  to  this  country,  settling  in 
Portsmouth,  N.H.,  where  he  was  appointed 
Deacon  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  in 
1 67 1,  and  died  in  1686.  James  Haynes  was 
born  and  reared  in  Wolfboro,  N.H.,  where  he 
afterward  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  until 
1845.  Removing  then  to  Dover,  he  here  con- 
tinued at  his  trade  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  when  he  was  si.xty-eight  years  of  age. 
He  married  Hannah  Lord,  who  was  born  in 
Ossipee,  N.H.,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  VVent- 
worth  Lord,  a  veteran  of  the  Revolution  and 
a  noted  minister  of  his  day.  The  latter  had 
six  brothers,  who  were  also  prominent  in  the 
ministry.  Hannah  (Lord)  Haynes,  after  sur- 
viving her  husband,  died  October  29,  1S66,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years. 

James  M.  Haynes  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  at  an  academy  in  his 
native  town.  On  attaining  his  majority  he 
came  to  Dover,  where  he  was  employed  in 
a  carpenter's  shop  for  about  five  years. 
Throughout  the  following  eight  years  he  was 
employed  as  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Berwick 
and  Rollinsford  in  the  winter  season,  while 
in  the  summer  months  he  worked  at  farming 
in  VVolfboro.  Returning  to  Dover  after  this, 
he  was  a  clerk  in  the  Union  Labor  Store  for 
nearly  five  years,  obtaining  a  practical   insight 


into  the  business.  Then  he  opened  a  grocery 
on  his  own  account,  and  conducted  it  for  fif- 
teen years  with  signal  success,  building  up  a 
thriving  trade,  and  acquiring  an  enviable  repu- 
tation for  his  uprightness  and  accommodating 
disposition.  In  1892  he  had  the  misfortune  to 
break  his  leg,  and  since  then  has  lived  retired. 
On  November  29,  1849,  Mr  Haynes  mar- 
ried Miss  Nancy  Matthews,  a  daughter  of 
Francis  and  Nancy  Page  Matthews.  Mr.  Mat- 
thews, who  was  born  in  Loudon,  N.H.,  and 
lived  there  until  about  fifty  years  of  age,  after- 
ward settled  in  Dover,  where  he  was  engaged 
as  a  stone  mason  until  his  death,  three  years 
later.  He  was  survived  by  his  wife,  who  was 
born  in  Hallowell,  Me.,  and  lived  to  the  age 
of  threescore  and  three  years.  Mrs.  Haynes 
was  born  April  5,  1818,  during  the  residence 
of  her  parents  in  Gilmantown,  Me.,  and  was 
a  mere  child  when  they  removed  to  this  city, 
where  she  has  since  lived.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Haynes  are  the  parents  of  four  children,  as 
follows:  John  M.,  who  became  a  civil  engi- 
neer, and,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven 
3'ears ;  Charlotte  P.,  who  married  Edwin  J. 
Haynes,  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-si.x 
years;  an  unnamed  child,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Annie,  of  whom  there  is  no  special  record; 
and  Louise  H.,  a  teacher,  who  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  William  Penn  Charter  School 
of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  for  the  past  nine  years. 
Politically,  Mr.  Haynes  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can, and  has  served  his  city  faithfully  in  many 
official  positions.  He  made  the  first  enrol- 
ment of  the  town,  was  Assessor  for  three 
years.  School  Committee  man  for  four  years, 
Tax  Collector  for  six  years,  and  an  Overseer 
of  the  Poor  for  a  long  period.  A  Mason  in 
good  standing,  he  belongs  to  Strafford  Lodge, 
and  Belknap  Chapter  of  Dover.  His  relig- 
ious convictions  find  expression  as  a  member 
of  the  Free  Baptist  church. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'43 


N1)R1':W  VARNEY,  a  retired  farmer 
residing  near  Alton  village,  is  a  native 
of  this  town,  born  August  i8,  1819, 
and  a  son  of  Doniinicus  ant!  IV)lly  (Jones)  Var- 
ney.  Thomas  Varney,  the  father  of  Domini- 
cus,  spent  his  life  jHincipally  in  Rochester, 
N.H.,  where  he  followed  both  fanning  anil 
blacksmithing.  lie  lived  to  be  eighty-three 
years  of  age,  and  his  wife  was  ninety  or  over 
when  she  died.  They  had  a  large  family  of 
children.  Dominicus  and  Andrew,  his  brother, 
carried  on  a  farm  together  at  Dover  Neck, 
N.H.,  for  a  few  years.  Then  Andrew  took 
full  charge,  and  Dominicus,  who  was  about 
twenty-five  years  old,  came  to  Alton.  At  that 
time  the  town  was  only  thinly  settled,  and  the 
district  in  which  Dominicus  located  afterward 
came  to  be  known  as  the  "Varney  neighbor- 
hood." 15esides  profitably  engaging  in  farm- 
ing, he  did  teaming  for  some  years.  ]3orn  in 
1787,  he  died  in  1866,  nearly  eighty  years  old. 
His  wife,  Polly  Jones  before  marriage,  was  a 
daughter  of  Vaun  Jones,  of  Portsmouth.  They 
had  five  children  —  Thomas,  John,  Andrew, 
Lydia,  and  Tamson.  With  the  exception  of 
L.ydia,  all  married  and  had  children.  Thomas, 
John,  and  Tamson  have  passed  away. 

Andrew  Varney  attended  the  district 
schools  of  Alton.  On  finishing  his  schooling 
he  took  u])  trading  in  tin,  and  was  in  the  busi- 
ness tor  five  years.  He  then  took  up  farming, 
and  so  long  as  he  engaged  in  active  labor  was 
faithful  to  his  second  choice  of  an  occupation, 
following  it  successfully  until  past  seventy- 
five  years  of  age.  He  retired  in  April,  i8g6, 
when  he  left  his  farm  and  came  to  his  present 
home  near  Alton  village.  Politically,  he 
was  a  Democrat,  but  never  allowed  politics 
to  interfere  with  his  business.  He  served 
three  years  as  Tax  Collector. 

On  July  27,  1845,  Mr.  Varney  married  Miss 
Nancy  Watson,  daughter  of  Winthrop  Watson. 


Three  daughters  weie  jjorn  to  them,  namely: 
Clara  Ann,  Marietta,  and  Clara  lunma.  The 
mother  died  March  14,  1896.  Clara  Ami  is 
also  tleccased.  Marietta  is  the  wife  of  Chester 
A.  Twombley.  Clara  pjinna  taught  scho(d 
until  her  mother's  dealli,  since  which  time  she 
has  kept  house  for  her  father. 


IIARLKS  WESLEY  TASKP:R,  one 
)f  the  first  and  most  prominent  den- 
tists in  Dover,  practises  his  jirofcs- 
sion  in  his  well-equii)ped  and  handsomely  fur- 
nished rooms  in  the  Masonic  Temple,  using 
the  most  improved  dental  implements.  A 
native  of  Strafford  County,  he  was  born  Sej)- 
tember  17,  1845,  in  the  town  of  Rochester, 
where  his  father,  Thomas  J.  Tasker,  was  then 
settled.  Thomas  J.  Tasker,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Madbury,  this  county,  worked  at  the 
carpenter's  trade  in  various  places  during  the 
earlier  years  of  his  manhood.  Afterward  he 
turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
purchasing  a  farm  in  Rochester,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death,  December  4,  1S86,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  In  iiolitics  be 
was  a  Democrat,  but  was  not  active  in  affairs. 
He  married  Miss  Comfort  Bickford,  a  native 
of  Rochester,  who  survived  him  but  two  weeks, 
having  died  December  19,  1886,  in  the 
seventy-fourth  year  of  her  age.  Of  their 
union  seven  sons  were  born,  namely  :  George 
H.,  John  C. ,  Charles  W.,  Enoch  O. ,  Thomas 
].,  Jr.,  I'^Ii  B.,  and  James  V.  George  II. 
and  James  !•".  are  now  deceased.  George  11., 
who  was  the  eldest  son,  served  in  the  late  war 
with  the  I'orty-first  Massachusetts  Infantry 
under  General  Banks,  and  tiled  of  fever  at 
Baton  Rouge,  La. 

Charles  Wesley  Tasker  lived  on  the  home 
farm  during  his  boyhood,  attending  succes- 
sively   the   district    schools    of    Rochester    and 


•44 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Franklin  Academy  in  Dm-er.  When  about 
twenty  years  old,  he  began  business  life  as  a 
clerk  in  a  boot  and  shoe  store  in  this  city, 
continuing  thus  employed  for  three  years. 
Having  saved  some  nione\',  he  then  began 
studying  with  Dr.  Murphy,  a  well-known  den- 
tist; and  a  year  later  he  completed  his  dental 
education  in  Boston.  Thereupon,  returning 
to  Dover,  Dr.  Tasker  opened  an  office  here  in 
A]iril,  i86g.  He  has  since  continued  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  building  up  an 
extensive  and  finely  paying  patronage,  and  ac- 
quiring among  his  regular  customers  some  of 
the  leading  families  of  Dover  and  vicinity. 

On  October  g,  1869^  Dr.  Tasker  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Maria  B.  Newcomb,  a  native  of 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  a  daughter  of  Captain 
Jesse  S.  Newcomb,  who  was  a  sea  captain  for 
mgny  years.  Of  the  three  children  born  to 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Tasker,  two  successively  named 
Grace,  are  deceased.  The  elder  died  in  in- 
fancy', and  the  second  daughter  at  the  age  of 
si.x  years  and  si.x  months.  Madge,  the  third 
child,  is  now  eleven  years  old.  Both  parents 
are  members  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church.  Dr.  Tasker  is  a  consistent  Republi- 
can; but  he  has  never  been  an  aspirant  for 
official  hcjnors,  the  duties  of  his  profession 
denKindinf?  his  entire  time  and  attention. 


'RANK  N.  MERRILL,  a  popular  and 
highly  respected  citizen  of  Gilmanton, 
which  he  has  served  in  many  positions 
of  trust,  was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  October 
27,  185 1,  son  of  George  N.  and  Mary 
(Sleeper)  Merrill.  George  N.  Merrill  is  a 
native  of  Brewster,  Me.,  where  he  learned  the 
trade  of  a  shoemaker,  and  was  engaged  in  that 
occupation  until  his  majority.  On  coming  of 
age,  he  went  to  Massachusetts,  where  he  se- 
cured work  as  an  artist.      He   has   now  a  lucra- 


tive business  in  that  line  in  Boston.  His 
wife,  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  -Sleeper,  of 
Alton,  N.  H.,  has  borne  him  three  children  — 
P'lora,  I{tta,  and  Frank  N.  I''lora  married 
Frank  II.  Vittum,  of  Lake[)ort,  and  has  three 
children.  ICtta,  who  married  Ciiarles  McCril- 
lis,  and  resides  in  Rochester,  N.  11.,  has  one 
child. 

Frank  N.  Merrill  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Boston  for  a  time.  At  the  age  of 
ten  years  he  came  to  Gilmanton  with  his  par- 
ents, and  lived  there  until  he  was  twenty-one. 
He  then  went  to  New  York  City,  and  was  en- 
gaged as  a  salesman.  Being  ambitious  to  bet- 
ter himself,  he  attended  the  evening  high 
school  in  that  city  for  a  time.  After  living 
in  New  York  four  years,  he  came  back  to  Gil- 
manton, bought  a  moderate-sized  farm,  and 
applied  himself  to  its  management,  with  the 
hope  that  the  outdoor  life  would  benefit  his 
health.  He  subsequently  secured  a  position 
as  teacher  in  Alton,  N.  H.,  his  mother's 
native  town,  and  there  taught  at  intervals  for 
twenty  yc'ars.  He  is  now  the  instructor  in  the 
district  school  of  his  own  neighborhood.  Al- 
though so  much  of  his  time  has  been  given  to 
teaching,  he  has  continued  to  carry  on  his 
farm. 

In  January,  1875,  Mr.  Merrill  married  Clara 
E.  Page,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Page,  of  Gil- 
manton. After  completing  her  education  in 
Gilmanton  Academy,  she  followed  school  teach- 
ing for  a  few  years.  She  has  two  daughters  — 
F"lorence  B.  and  Ethel  M.  In  politics  Mr. 
Merrill  is  a  Republican.  In  1895  he  was 
elected  Ta.\  Collc'.tor,  and  is  now  serving  his 
second  year  in  that  capacity.  He  was  Select- 
man for  one  year  and  Supervisor  for  several 
years.  For  the  past  four  years  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  School  Board,  of  which  he  is 
now  Chairman.  He  was  elected  to  these 
offices  by   large  majorities,    in  some   instances 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'47 


by  an  almost  iinaninious  vote,  showing  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people  of  Ciilmanton  in  his 
ability  and  integrity.  He  is  affiliated  with 
Highland  Lodge,  No.  93,  I.  O.  ().  I'".  ;  and 
witli  Crystal  Lake  (iiange,  of  Gilnianton. 
lie  is  a  member  of  the  Lake  Street  Church  in 
New  York  City. 


/  3)H()RGh:  P.  MORGAN,  M.  D.,  a  lead- 
V  f5 1  ing  representative  of  the  younger 
practitioners  of  Strafford  County,  is 
actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  Dover.  He  was  born  June  22,  1861, 
at  New  Gloucester,  Cumberland  County,  Me., 
being  one  of  a  family  of  three  children,  two 
sons  and  a  daughter,  of  Elisha  M.  and  Rosella 
C.  (Tucker)  Morgan.  His  father  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation ;  and  he  was  reared  on  the 
parental  homestead,  where  he  assisted  in  the 
labors  incidental  to  farm  life.  After  attend- 
ing the  district  school  until  eighteen  years  of 
age,  the  future  Doctor  continued  his  studies  at 
the  VVestbrook  Seminary  and  Female  College, 
Deering,  Me.,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
18S2.  The  following  five  years  were  spent  as 
a  teacher  in  the  public  schools.  In  the  latter 
part  of  that  period  he  began  to  read  medicine 
with  J.  I.  Sturgis,  of  New  Gloucester.  Subse- 
quently, entering  Bowdoin  College,  he  was 
graduated  from  the  medical  department  of  that 
institution  in  18SS. 

After  receiving  his  diploma  Dr.  Morgan 
practised  for  a  year  in  the  Maine  General  Hos- 
pital, where  as  house  surgeon  he  obtained 
much  practical  knowledge.  In  1889  the  Doc- 
tor came  to  Dover,  where  his  professional 
career  has  been  cjuite  successful.  During  his 
residence  in  this  cit)-  Dr.  Morgan  has  iden- 
tified himself  with  numerous  societies.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Maine  Medical  Society,  the 
Strafford   District   Medical   Society,   the  New 


Hampshire  Surgical  Club,  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Medical  Society,  and  the  Dover  Medical 
-Society.  He  is  also  a  Mason,  Inning  alfil  ia- 
tion  witii  Moses  I'anl  Lodge,  ]5elknap  Chap- 
ter, Ori)lian  Council,  St.  I'aul  Commandery, 
and  Dover  Consistory  of  Scottish  Rite,  thirty- 
second  degree  Masons.  In  politics  the  Doctor 
afifi  Hates  with  the  Repujjlican  party.  Dr. 
Morgan  was  united  in  marriage  December  22, 
1892,  with  Miss  Madge  K.  I'llliott,  who  was 
born  in  Dover,  Me.,  daughter  of  Dr.  .S.  W. 
and  Sarah  (Holman)  Elliott. 


KLWYN  liANCROI'T  ri':AHODV, 
who  was  known  for  many  years  as 
one  of  the  most  ])ul)l ic-spiriteil  citi- 
zens of  Tilton,  N.IL,  was  l)orn  January  15, 
1839,  son  of  Noah  and  Isabella  Walker  (Rich- 
ards) Peabody.  His  great-grandfather,  Samuel 
Peabody,  who  was  born  September  1,  1741, 
and  was  a  resident  of  Andover,  Mass.,  married 
Elizabeth  Wilkins,  of  Amherst.  He  died 
August  6,  1814,  and  his  wife,  Jul\-  iS,  1836. 
Most  of  their  chiltlren  WL-re  ijorn  in  Andover. 
Their  son  John,  born  July  15,  1775,  was  a 
millwright,  carpenter,  and  cabinet-maker,  and 
lived  in  New  Boston.  He  married  Mary  Holt, 
and  died  Jime  i,  1832.  Of  his  children 
John,  Samuel,  and  Sargon  were  farmers, 
Jacob  was  a  brickmaker,  James  and  William 
were  blacksmiths,  I'lzekiel  and  Noah  hatters, 
and  Joseph  a  merchant. 

Noah  Peabody,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Holt) 
Peabody,  was  born  September  4,  iSio.  He 
married  Isabella  Walker  Richards,  December 
g,  1834,  and  in  1S42  removed  from  Sutton, 
N.H.,  to  Sanbornton  Bridge  (now  Tilton), 
where  he  opened  a  iiatter's  siioj^.  He  after- 
ward engaged  in  mercantile  business,  in  which 
he  continued  for  eighteen  years  with  moderate 
success.     Desiring    a    change,    he   closed    out 


.48 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


aiu!  cntcrctl  tlic  counting-room  of  Alexander 
H.  'I'ilton,  became  familiar  with  the  manu- 
facture of  woollen  gooiis,  and  took  the  position 
of  finisher.  He  remained  there  for  many 
years,  and  finally  was  given  the  principal 
care  of  the  large  business  of  the  Tilton 
Mills.  lie  was  a  member  of  the  Congre- 
gational church,  and  highly  esteemed  as  a 
citizen  and  Christian.  He  died  September 
II,  1876,  leaving  the  following  children: 
Sehvyn  15ancroft,  the  date  of  whose  birth  is 
given  above;  James  Van  Ness,  born  October 
13,  1841  ;  and  Georgianna  Isabel  le,  born 
November  15,  1843,  who  married  David  F. 
Cheney,  formerly  of  Franklin,  N.H.,  now  of 
Lawrence,  Mass.  The  second  son  succeeded 
his  father  as  a  finisher  in  the  Tilton  Mills. 
He  married  Susan  Mary  Rand,  January  i, 
1865,  and  resides  in  Northfield.  Their  only 
child  was  born  February  25,  1871,  and  named 
Leon  Bancroft. 

Sehvyn  B.  Peabody,  the  eldest  son  and  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Sanbornton  Bridge  when  three  years 
of  age.  He  prepared  for  college  at  the  New 
Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  and  Female 
College,  and  during  this  course  of  study  he 
began  to  look  upon  the  medical  profession  as 
the  one  of  his  choice.  At  its  close  he  entered 
the  office  of  Dr.  Lyford  at  the  "Bridge";  but 
after  remaining  there  a  short  time  he  went  to 
Lawrence,  Mass.,  where  Dr.  Sayfcrth  became 
his  preceptor.  He  subsequently  taught  school 
at  Sanbornton  Bridge,  now  called  Tilton, 
N.H.,  also  at  Northfield,  and  at  Bellaire, 
(Jhio.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Southern  Re- 
bellion he  enlisted  in  the  Fortieth  Massachu- 
setts Volunteer  Regiment,  in  which  he  served 
until  the  end  of  the  war,  taking  part  in  many 
engagements,  among  them  notably  the  siege  of 
Suffolk;  Baltimore  Cross-roads,  Va.  ;  siege 
of     Fort      Wagner,     S.C.  ;      Ten     Mile      Run 


and  Barber's  Ford,  1^'la.  ;  Drewry's  Bluff, 
Petersburg  Heights,  and  the  siege  of  Peters- 
burg, Bermuda  Hundred,  Fair  Oaks,  and  the 
ca]:)ture  of  Richmond.  He  was  wounded 
before  Petersburg.  Fioni  his  knowledge  of 
medicine  he  became  very  efficient  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  the  army,  and  was  on  de- 
tached duty  a  portion  of  the  time.  Pfe  was  in 
the  Dispensary  of  Jarvis  Hospital,  Baltimore, 
and  in  the  office  of  Provost  Marshal  at  Gov- 
ernor's Lsland. 

On  his  return  to  the  North  Mr.  Peabody 
entered  the  drug  store  of  Burleigh  Brothers,  of 
Boston,  where  he  received  a  serious  injury  by 
falling  through  an  open  hatchway,  from  which 
he  was  a  long  time  recovering.  In  iS6g,  his 
health  having  been  somewhat  delicate  since 
the  accident,  he  went  into  Tilton's  Woollen 
Mill.  Here  he  learned  the  business  in  all  its 
branches;  and  shortly  after  the  death  of  the 
proprietor,  in  1878,  he  was  invited  to  become 
associated  with  the  widow  of  Mr.  Tilton  in  its 
management.  In  1886  Mr.  Peabody  became 
the  sole  .proprietor,  and  it  was  at  his  mill  that 
the  celebrated  Tilton  tweeds  were  made.  In 
addition  to  these  tweeds  he  also  introduced 
certain  styles  of  cassimeres,  which  have 
become  staple  in  the  general  market.  In  the 
year  1880  he  built  a  fine  residence  for  himself 
adjoining  the  old  Tilton  place,  on  a  gentle 
slope  overlooking  the  mill  in  which  he  won 
his  large  financial  success. 

On  February  7,  1867,  he  married  Elizabeth 
S.,  daughter  of  Darius  M.  and  P21izabeth  Rich- 
ards, of  New  Bedford,  Mass.  They  had  three 
children:  Leon  Bancroft,  born  December  17, 
1867,  who  died  March  22,  186S;  an  infant 
daughter  born  June  7,  iS6g;  and  Isabella 
Weston,  born  December  18,  1871.  Mr.' Pea- 
body died  June  25,   1889. 

Before  his  death  he  had  united  with  Pills- 
bury  Brothers,  and  was  arranging  to  more  than 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKAMKW 


'49 


double  the'ir  manufacturing  capacity.  His 
individual  enterprises  were  always  pushed 
with  vim  and  energy,  and  great  results  were 
effected  in  short  periods  of  time.  He  erected 
some  thirty  neat  commodious  tenements,  giv- 
ing excellent  accommodation  to  his  own  oper- 
atives as  well  as  providing  homes  for  others. 
I^'ew  men  were  more  liberal  than  he  in  con- 
tributing toward  improvements  of  a  public 
character,  and  his  private  charities  were  more 
numerous  and  more  extensive  than  those  of 
many  a  richer  man.  No  sufferer  or  suffering 
came  to  his  knowledge  without  tender  of 
relief.  Courteous  and  pleasant  in  his  bearing 
and  address,  and  generous  to  a  fault,  he  was 
at  all  times  animated  by  noble  and  generous 
instincts.  His  death  was  an  inestimable  loss 
to  his  town. 

In  politics  a  Democrat,  he  represented  his 
town  in  the  legislature,  served  as  Town  Clerk, 
and  was  on  the  Board  of  Education.  He  was 
a  Director  of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Doric  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  Tilton,  of  which  he  was  Past  Master; 
also  of  St.  Omer  Chapter  of  Franklin,  Pythago- 
rean Council  of  Laconia,  and  Mount  Horeb 
Commandery  of  Concord.  That  he  was  well 
beloved  by  his  fellow-members  was  testified  to 
by  A.  S.  Ballantyne,  who  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1889,  delivered  a  eulogy  to  his  mem- 
ory at  the  Lodge  of  Sorrow,  in  which  he  paid 
a  glowing  tribute  to  him  as  a  business  man, 
friend,  and  citizen.  He  was  an  attendant  of 
the  Congregational  church,  where  he  shared 
largely  the  financial  responsibilities  of  the 
society.  A  devoted  husband  and  father,  in 
business  he  was  one  of  the  most  honest  and 
considerate  of  men;  and  in  every  relation  in 
life  his  influence  was  for  good.  His  memory 
is  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  have  been 
made  better  and  happier  by  their  contact  with 
his  genial  and  inspiring  personality. 


AJOR  JOSKPII  S.  ABBOTT,  a 
representative  business  man  of 
Dover,  and  one  of  its  most  promi- 
nent and  popular  citizens,  was  born  March  12, 
I1S30,  in  Saccarappa,  Cumberland  County, 
Me.,  where  his  father,  the  late  Moses  Abbott, 
was  then  engaged  in  general  agriculture. 
Moses  Abbott,  who  was  born  and  reared  in 
Shapleigh,  York  County,  Me.,  lived  in  differ- 
ent places,  being  employed  in  farming  a  por- 
tion of  the  time,  ant!  for  some  )'ears  in  ship- 
yards. In  1855  he  located  in  Dover,  where  he 
afterward  resided  until  his  death,  when  about 
fifty-eight  years  old.  He  married  Miss  Lottie 
Sanborn,  of  Waterboro,  Me.,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  namely:  Ursula, 
Charles,  Moses,  Abby,  and  Lottie,  who  are  de- 
ceased; Joseph  S.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
and  Sarah  and  Anna,  who  arc  living. 

Joseph  S.  Abbott  was  educated  in  tlie 
schools  of  Waterboro  and  Kennebunk,  Me., 
remaining  an  inmate  of  the  parental  househoiil 
until  early  manhood,  when  he  began  his  active 
business  career.  Coming  to  Dover  in  Sep- 
tember, 1849,  he  secured  a  position  in  an  oil- 
cloth carpet  mill,  in  which  he  labored  faith- 
fully for  seven  years  and  eight  months, 
receiving  at  first  but  scant  remuneration. 
Putting  into  practice  the  lessons  of  economy  he 
had  learned  in  childhood,  Mr.  Abbott  saved  a 
goodly  portion  of  his  wages.  After  leaving 
the  mill  he  purchased  a  pair  of  horses  antl  a 
wagon,  and  established  his  jjresent  teaming 
business.  From  the  beginning  he  met  with 
prosperity,  and  was  each  successive  season 
obliged  to  add  to  his  equipments.  He  has 
now  plenty  of  work  in  this  city  alone  for 
twenty-two  horses,  his  ice  business  alone, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  in  the 
place,  requiring  several  teams.  Some  years 
ago,  with  characteristic  forethought,  he  pur- 
chased a  large  granite  quarry  in  Durham,  this 


'5° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


i-uuiily,  and  has  since  ()[)cratcd  it  most  succ;jss- 
tiiUy,  keeping  ten  men  busily  employed  in  the 
quarry  and  about  the  same  number  engaged 
in  hauling  the  stone.  Me  has  furnished  the 
foundation  stone  for  the  City  Hall,  the 
Masonic  Temple,  and  other  prominent  build- 
ings of  Dover,  including  several  of  its  large 
business  houses  and  blocks.  In  1865,  near  the 
end  of  the  Civil  War,  Mr.  Abbott,  who  was  a 
Sergeant  in  the  Strafford  Guards,  was  sent  with 
his  company  to  Fort  Constitution,  where  he 
remained  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 
Afterward,  continuing  a  member  of  the  State 
militia,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major; 
but  he  was  subsequently  obliged  to  resign  on 
account  of  his  rapidly  increasing  business. 
Major  Abbott  subsequently  accepted  a  com- 
mission in  the  Patriarch  Militants,  and  for 
four  years  served  as  Colonel  of  the  regiment. 
On  May  14,  1891,  the  organization  manifested 
its  esteem  for  him  by  presenting  him  with  a 
valuable  watch  and  chain,  which  he  prizes 
highly. 

Major  Abbott  married  Miss  Delia  Brownell, 
daughter  of  William  and  Lydia  Brownell,  of 
this  city.  Of  their  seven  children,  five  are 
deceased.  The  survivors  are:  Belle,  the  wife 
of  William  K.  Vickery,  living  in  Lewiston, 
Me.  ;  and  Samuel  B.,  who  is  engaged  in  busi- 
ness with  his  father.  In  his  political  affilia- 
tions Major  Abbott  is  a  Republican,  and  he 
has  been  active  in  local  affairs.  For  six- 
teen years  he  was  connected  with  the  police 
force,  serving  in  the  various  grades  from 
private  to  city  marshal.  He  has  often  been 
urged  to  accept  other  important  positions  in 
the  city  government,  but  he  has  declined  all 
nominations  for  the  same.  He  is  a  member 
in  high  standing  of  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  the  encampment,  I.  O.  O.  F. ; 
of  Olive  Branch  Lodge,  No.  6,  K.  of  P.  ;  of 
Wanalancet   Tribe,    No.    7,  I.  O.  R.  M.  ;    and 


of  Sawyer  Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  is  not  a  mem- 
ber of  any  church,  but  he  ctintributes  gener- 
ously to  the  supjiort  of  religious  worship. 


rwTo 


EORGE  H.  HAWLEY,  M.D.,  now 
\pl  the  only  practising  physician  in 
Barnstead,  was  born  in  Bath,  Me., 
P'ebruary  26,  1858,  son  of  George  and  Eliza- 
beth (F"arrin)  Hawley.  George  Hawley,  who 
was  for  many  years  engaged  in/the  ship-build- 
ing business  at  Bath,  but  has  lived  retired 
since  1893,  is  now  in  his  seventy-third  year. 
Active  in  local  affairs,  he  has  been  a  promi- 
nent man.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  is  a 
daughter  of  Lazarus  Farrin,  a  large  and  suc- 
cessful farmer  in  West  Bath.  She  bore  him 
eight  children;  namely,  Clara,  James  W., 
Emma,  George  H.,  Greenleaf,  Edward,  John, 
and  Annie.  Annie  died  in  infancy;  Clara  is 
the  wife  of  Fred  Klippel,  a  clothing  dealer  of 
Bath,  Me.;  James  W. ,  who  is  married,  and 
makes  bis  home  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  is  a 
sea  captain;  Emma  is  the  wife  of  Charles  G. 
Pratt,  who  was  formerly  in  the  dry-goods  busi- 
ness in  Woonsocket,  R.I.;  Greenleaf  is  a  sea 
captain,  and  lives  in  New  York  City;  Edward, 
who  died  in  1895,  received  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Medicine  from  Bowdoin  Medical  Col- 
lege, and  was  a  practising  physician  in  Chi- 
cago, 111.  ;  John  follows  the  wood  and  lumber 
business  in  Barnstead,  N.H. 

George  H.  Hawley  first  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Bath,  Me.  Afterward  he  took  a 
course  at  the  Bowdoin  Medical  School,  Bruns- 
wick, Me.,  and  there  received  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Milton  Mills,  N.H.,  where 
he  remained  for  a  year.  From  there,  in  1878, 
he  came  as  a  stranger  to  Barnsteail,  which 
then    had   other  physicians.      Since    then    his 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RKVIKW 


«S' 


skill  and  fidelity  to  duty  have  won  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people,  and  iiis  geniality,  ready 
wit,  and  sympathy,  their  friendship;  and  he 
has  succeetled  in  buildini;'  up  a  lucrative  prac- 
tice. In  the  brief  leisure  which  the  demands 
of  his  profession  have  left,  Dr.  Hawley  is  oc- 
casionally heard  playing  the  violin,  banjo,  or 
piano,  which  are  his  favorite  musical  instru- 
ments. He  is  a  member  of  the  Barnstead 
orchestra.  In  political  affiliation  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  in  1SS5  and  1S86  he  repre- 
sented Barnstead  in  the  New  Hampshire 
legislature.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic 
order,  and  is  a  member  of  Corinthian  Lodge 
in  Pittsfield,  and  St.  Paul  Commandery, 
K.   T.,   of  Dover. 

In  December,  1880,  Dr.  Hawley  and  Miss 
Carrie  E.  Young  were  united  in  mar-riage. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  George  Young,  who 
died  in  Georgia  during  the  war  of  the  Rebell- 
ion, going  out  with  the  Second  Massachusetts 
Heavy  Artillery.  By  her  mother,  Sarah  A. 
(Bickford)  Young,  she  was  a  descendant  of 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  this  town.  Mrs. 
Hawley  attended  the  Salem  Normal  School, 
after  which  she  studied  instrumental  music  in 
Concord,  N.II.,  and  then  gave  piano  lessons 
until  some  time  after  her  marriage.  For  a 
number  of  years  she  was  the  organist  of  the 
Congregational  church  in  Centre  Barnstead. 
She  died  April  7,   1S97. 


(JONATHAN  JKNKINS  is  well  known 
in  the  town  of  Madbury,  Strafford 
C(Huity,  as  one  of  its  most  able  and 
prosperous  agriculturists.  He  was  born  Octo- 
ber 2,  1824,  on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides, 
son  of  Ephraim  Jenkins,  and  the  grandson  of 
the  late  Jonathan  Jenkins.  The  latter,  who 
bought  the  most  of  this  property  many  years 
ago,  spent  the  remainder  of  his   life  upon   it, 


dying  in  1830,  aged  scventy-si.\  years.  His 
wile,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mercy  Varney, 
survived  him  fifteen  years,  dying  in  1845,  aged 
eighty-nine  years.  Their  bodies  were  inlerretl 
in  the  family  cemetery  on  an  adjoining  farm, 
which  was  occupied  many  years  by  ancestors 
of  the  family,  and  is  still   held  in  the  name. 

Iqihraim  Jenkins,  who  was  a  farmer,  spent 
all  his  active  years  on  the  homestead,  a  large 
part  of  which  he  assisted  in  redeeming  from 
the  wilderness.  He  toiled  with  unremitting 
diligence,  and  in  course  of  time  fields  of  grain 
took  the  places  previously  covered  with  trees. 
Here  he  and  his  good  wife  passed  their  declin- 
ing years.  He  died  April  23,  1857,  aged 
seventy-seven  years;  and  she,  June  5,  1859, 
aged  seventy-two.  They  were  the  parents  of 
seven  children;  namely,  Caroline,  Mary  A., 
Hannah  J.,  Sarah,  Elizabeth,  Jonathan,  and 
Ephraim.  Of  these,  Jonathan  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. Mary  Ann,  who  had  survived  her  hus- 
band, the  late  Isaac  M.  Nute,  of  Dover,  dieil 
January  6,   1897. 

Jonathan  Jenkins  acquired  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools  and  at  the  Durham 
Academy.  Having  received  from  his  parents 
a  practical  training  in  agriculture,  he  became 
a  farmer  from  choice.  After  the  death  of  his 
father  he  and  his  brother  Ephraim  owned  the 
farm  together  for  a  time,  managing  it  in  part- 
nership. In  1863  he  bought  the  interest  of 
Ephraim  in  the  homestead  property,  and  has 
since  been  successfully  engaged  as  a  general 
farmer,  lumberman,  and  stock-raiser.  The 
farm,  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
of  land,  has  been  much  improved  by  Mr. 
Jenkins.  It  is  equipped  with  the  neetled 
machinery  and  implements.  Its  buildings  are 
in  good  repair,  and  the  estate  gives  every- 
where unmistakable  indications  of  the  skill 
antl  industry  of  its  proprietor. 

Mr.   Jenkins  has  been   twice   married.      By 


'52 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


his  first  marriage,  whicli  was  contracted  De- 
cember 22,  1859,  he  was  wedded  to  Miss 
Martha  Emery.  She  died  September  17, 
1874,  having  borne  him  four  children.  Of 
the.se,  Melvin  \V.  died  January  20,  1864;  and 
Ehiicr  C. ,  on  September  7,  1874.  Horace  W. 
and  Herbert  T.  are  still  living.  His  second 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Miss  Ellen  F. 
Jenness,  died  January  25,  1895,  leaving  no 
issue.  In  politics  Mr.  Jenkins  is  a  sound  Re- 
publican, and  he  has  taken  an  active  interest 
in  public  matters.  Besides  serving  as  Select- 
man of  the  town  in  1879  and  1880,  he  repre- 
sented Madbury  very  acceptably  in  the  State 
legislature  in  1881. 


ALTER    JOSEPH     EDGERLY,    an 

enterprising  and  successful  young 
business  man  of  Gilmanton,  was 
born  here  September  23,  1868,  son  of  George 
W.  and  Angeline  V.  (Smith)  Edgerly.  The 
father  owned  a  large  farm,  and  was  engaged  in 
carrying  it  on  until  his  death.  At  one  time 
he  made  a  specialty  of  stock-raising,  and 
owned  some  of  the  fastest  horses  in  the  State. 
His  wife,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Augustus 
Smith,  a  shoemaker,  had  two  sons  —  Frank 
and  Walter  J.  Frank  died  at  the  age  of  two 
years.  The  father  died  in  1873.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Free  Baptist  church. 

When  his  father  died  Walter  Joseph  Edgerly 
was  but  five  years  old.  After  finishing  his 
education,  which  was  acquired  in  the  district 
school,  with  a  few  hundred  dollars  as  capital 
he  opened  a  grocery  store  in  Gilmanton. 
Managing  wisely,  business  increased;  and  he 
was  encouraged  to  extend  his  operations  by 
purchasing  grain  in  carload  lots.  This  vent- 
ure proved  so  successful  that  it  now  demands 
more  attention  than  the  grocery  business.  In 
1894   he  opened   a    livery   business,    with    E. 


Marsh  as  partner.  In  April,  1895,  he  took 
Mr.  Marsh  into  partnership  in  the  grocery 
business.  Another  enterprise  conducted  by 
him  is  a  cider-mill,  fitted  up  with  the  latest 
improved  machinery,  and  capable  of  giving 
between  thirty  and  thirty-five  hundred  gallons 
per  day.  He  was  also  instrumental  in  the 
formation  of  the  Granite  State  Soap  and  Fer- 
tilizing Company,  incorporated  in  this  State 
in  October,  1896,  chiefly  for  the  manufacture 
of  washing  powder.  According  to  testimo- 
nials already  received  from  merchants  who 
have  handled  it,  this  article  promises  to  be 
come  very  popular.  Since  he  attained  his  legal 
majority,  Mr.  Edgerly  has  been  accepted  as 
bondsman  on  different  occasions  for  prominent 
town  ofificials.  With  all  his  business  he  finds 
time  to  interest  himself  in  his  mother's  farm, 
which  contains  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
acres,  and  in  1895  yielded  a  thousand  bushels 
of  potatoes.  Her  home  is  filled  with  boarders 
during  the  summer  months  of  the  year. 

In  1894  Mr.  Edgerly  married  Miss  Anna 
Cogswell,  a  graduate  of  Gilmanton  Academy, 
and  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell, 
Pension  Agent  for  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. In  1893  Mr.  Edgerly  was  appointed 
Postmaster  of  Gilmanton  by  President  Cleve- 
land. Although  actively  interested  in  poli- 
tics, he  is  not  an  office-seeker.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Crystal  Lake  Grange,  No.   10 1. 


/STeORGE  S.  CAVERNO,  an  extensive 
V  fs  I  and  energetic  farmer,  dairy  man,  and 
stock-raiser  of  Durham,  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Strafford,  this  county,  July  i, 
1842.  His  father,  George  W.  Caverno,  was 
a  lifelong  resident  of  Strafford,  where  he  was 
numbered  among  its  most  esteemed  citizens. 
The  Caverno  family,  which  is  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent,  has  been  distinguished   for   integrity, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


«S3 


industry,  and  thrift.  Its  first  representative 
in  this  part  of  New  England  was  one  Arthur 
Caverno,  who  located  on  the  old  family  home- 
stead in  Strafford  between  the  years  1735  and 
1740.  This  property  descended  in  direct  line 
to  George  W.  Caverno.  The  latter  married 
Mary  Hayes,  ami  by  her  became  the  father  of 
George  S.  and  Jonathan  Caverno. 

George  S.  Caverno  completed  his  education 
in  the  academies  of  Strafford  and  New  Hamp- 
ton. When  seventeen  years  old,  being  still  a 
stuilent,  he  engaged  in  teaching,  and  subse- 
quently followed  it  for  five  or  more  years.  In 
1867,  striking  out  for  himself  in  an  entirely 
new  direction,  Mr.  Caverno  went  West,  as  far 
as  Junction  River,  Kansas,  where  he  succeeded 
in  establishing  a  good  business  in  stock  deal- 
ing, in  which  he  continued  until  1874.  Re- 
turning then  to  the  place  of  his  birth,  he  had 
charge  of  the  old  home  farm  for  some  years. 
In  1886  he  came  to  Durham;  and,  purchasing 
the  one  hundreil  and  twenty-eight  acres  of  land 
contained  in  his  present  farm,  he  at  once 
settled  on  it,  and  has  since  been  counted 
among  the  foremost  agriculturists  of  the  com- 
munity. His  farm  is  well  furnished  and 
stocked;  and  he  carries  on  general  husbandry, 
dairying,  and  stock-growing,  with  much  profit. 

Mr.  Caverno  was  united  in  marriage  Janu- 
ary 30,  1866,  with  Miss  Ida  S.  Hanson,  a 
daughter  of  Horatio  G.  and  Irene  Hanson,  of 
Dover.  The  only  child  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Caverno  died  in  youth.  During  his  brief  resi- 
dence in  this  locality  Mr.  Caverno  has  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  best  interests  of  the 
place.  He  is  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  has 
served  as  Selectman  of  Durham,  having  been 
elected  on  the  Republican  ticket,  which  he 
invariably  supports  from  principle.  He  is  not 
a  member  of  any  religious  organization,  but 
contributes  generously  toward  the  support  of 
public  worship. 


'^^^)|ALDO  CHASK  VARNEY,  mer- 
XXpV^  chant  in  Alton,  was  born  in  tliat 
town,  July  29,  1871,  son  of  Allen 
and  ICsthcr  (Chase)  Varney.  His  great- 
grandfather, Thomas  Varney,  came  to  Alton 
from  Rochester,  N.II.,  and  was  a  tailor  by 
trade.  The  children  of  Thomas  were:  I'ris- 
cilla,  Ira,  Paul,  Martha,  Joshua  A.,  and  Jona- 
than. Of  these  children,  Martha,  born  Octo- 
ber ig,  1800,  was  married  to  Dr.  Thomas 
Shannon,  of  Moultonboro,  N.II.  Dr.  Shan- 
non, who  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege and  a  successful  physician  of  high  stand- 
ing, died  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 
Mrs.  Shannon  still  survives  him,  being  at  the 
present  time  nincty-si.v  years  of  age,  remark- 
ably well  preserved,  with  her  memory  still 
good  and  mind  very  clear.  Quite  active  for 
one  of  her  age,  she  attended  camp-meeting  in 
the  summer  of  1891  ;  and  at  the  centennial 
celebration  of  Alton  in  1896  she  was  a  promi- 
nent figure.  Paul  Varney,  the  grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  married  I'olly 
Chamberlain,  daughter  of  Captain  Jacob 
Chamberlain.  They  had  five  children  — 
Allen,  Paul,  Lavona,  Emma,  and  Andrew. 
Of  these  children  Allen  married  for  his  first 
wife  a  Miss  Perkins.  His  second  wife  was 
I^sther  (Chase)  Varney,  daughter  of  Greenleaf 
Chase.  By  the  second  marriage  he  had  two 
children  —  Frank  A.  and  Waldo  C.  l-"rank 
has  married  Carrie  A.  Lang. 

Waldo  Chase  Varney,  tiie  subject  of  this 
sketch,  attended  the  public  schools  in  Alton, 
and  later  Phillips  E.xeter  Academy  for  a  period 
of  three  years.  After  returning  to  his  home 
he  entered  the  employ  of  John  Collins,  a  shoe 
manufacturer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  firm 
Demerritt  &  Varney  Brothers,  who  started  in 
business  December  10,  1S96.  They  keep  a 
large  stock  of  general  merchandise  in  a  store 
remodelled    especially  for    them,    with   ample 


'54 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


accommodation;  and  their  outlook  is  very 
favorable.  Mr.  Varney  has  been  Town  Clerk 
for  two  years.  He  has  also  been  one  of  the 
foremost  workers  in  the  interest  of  the  new 
town  library,  is  at  present  one  of  its  Trustees, 
and  also  acts  as  librarian  at  certain  times, 
without  remuneration.  In  politics  Mr.  Var- 
nc)-  is  a  Republican,  and  he  has  constantly 
voted  with  his  party.  lie  is  the  Secretary  of 
the  Republican  Club  of  Alton.  Of  a  genial 
character  and  public-spirited  to  a  high  degree, 
he  is  one  of  Alton's  most  popular  young  men. 


RRY  HILLS  STACKPOLE,  M.D., 
skilful  physician  of  Dover,  was  born 
in  his  present  home,  August  30, 
1852.  His  father,  the  venerable  Dr.  Paul  A. 
Stackpole,  who  has  been  numbered  among  the 
leading  citizens  of  Dover  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  married  Miss  Elizabeth  G.  Hills,  of 
Haverhill,  who  died  in  early  life,  leaving 
three  children.  A  more  extended  account 
of  the  life  of  Dr.  Paul  A.  Stackpole,  to  be 
found  on  another  page,  will  have  interest  for 
many  readers. 

Having  received  his  preliminary  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  cit}', 
Harry  H.  Stackpole  completed  a  special 
course  of  study  at  the  Dover  High  School 
when  seventeen  years  of  age.  With  a  view  of 
becoming  familiar  with  the  drug  trade,  he 
afterward  became  a  clerk  in  the  drug  store  of 
William  H.  Vickery.  A  few  years  later  he 
went  to  Charlestown,  Mass.  Subsequently, 
from  1872  to  1876,  he  was  Assistant  Post- 
master of  Everett,  Mass.,  where  he  also  con- 
ducted a  drug  store.  Following  this  he  suc- 
ceeded Toppan  &  Co.  in  their  express  business 
between  Dover  and  Boston,  and  managed  it  for 
a  brief  period.  In  1876  he  was  special  cor- 
respondent for  the  Globe  Associated   Press  at 


the  Centennial  ICxposition  in  Philadel[)hia. 
Disposing  of  his  express  interest  to  Jackson  & 
Co.  in  the  latter  part  of  1877,  he  established 
himself  in  the  drug  trade  in  East  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  and  carried  it  on  for  several  years. 
For  some  time  after  this  he  was  engaged  in 
managing  business  for  other  druggists  in  and 
around  Boston.  In  July,  1886,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  medical  department  of  Dart- 
mouth College,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
the  fall  of  1887.  Having  received  his  degree, 
Dr.  Stackpole  returned  to  his  home  in  Dover 
to  enter  ujion  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  has  since  made  this  his  abiding-place.  In 
1889  he  went  abroad  and  further  qualified  him- 
self for  his  profession  by  courses  of  study  and 
clinical  experience  in  the  principal  hospitals 
of  Vienna,  Berlin,  Paris,  and  London.  Since 
his  return  in  the  fall  of  1890  the  Doctor  has 
continued  his  professional  duties  with  renewed 
zeal,  and  built  up  a  good  practice,  in  a  large 
measure  relieving  his  father  from  his  severe 
labors. 

While  an  uncompromising  Democrat  and 
active  and  influential  in  local  affairs.  Dr. 
Stackpole  has  never  been  an  aspirant  for  polit- 
ical honors.  He  is  a  member  of  Putnam 
Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  East  Cambridge, 
Mass.  ;  of  New  England  Lodge,  No.  4,  and 
N.  E.  Encampment,  No.  34,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of 
the  same  place;  and  of  Prescott  Camp,  No.  7, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Charlestown,  Mass.  In  1878 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Lizzie  A.  Mc- 
Daniel,  daughter  of  Dr.  David  and  Almira  C. 
McDaniel.  They  have  one  child,  Charlotte 
Elizabeth,  born  in  October,   1878. 


ILLIAM    TRUE    CASS,    the    Presi- 
dent of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank 
and  Treasurer  of   the   lona   .Savings 
Bank  of  Tilton,  was  born   in  Andover,  N.  H., 


BARD     B.    PLUMMER. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'57 


I"'cliiiiary  7,  1826,  son  of  Iknjamin  and  Sarah 
(True)  Cass.  His  great-grandfather  was 
Nason  Cass.  The  grandfather,  Chandler  Cass, 
a  native  of  J'.pping,  was  a  prosperous  fanner 
and  carpenter  of  Andover  for  the  greater  part 
of  his  life.  lien  jam  in  Cass,  father  of  William 
T.,  was  born  in  Andover  in  1789.  He  grew 
to  manhood  as  a  farmer;  and  in  1833  he 
settled  in  Plymouth,  N.H.,  where  he  tilled  the 
soil  until  1853.  He  then  removed  to  that  part 
of  Sanbornton  that  is  now  the  town  of  Tilton; 
and,  purchasing  a  good  farm,  he  occupied  it 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  died  in  1S66.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  His  wife,  Sarah, 
who  was  a  daughter  of  William  True,  of  An- 
dover, reared  four  of  her  children,  namely: 
Hannah,  who  married  Jason  C.  Draper,  of 
Plymouth;  Penjaniin  F. ,  a  resident  of  Tilton; 
William  T.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
Sarah  H.,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Reuben  J?.  Locke, 
of  Tilton.  The  parents  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

William  True  Cass  began  his  education  in 
the  public  schools,  and  his  studies  were  com- 
pleted at  Holmes  Academy  in  Plymouth. 
Upon  reaching  manhood  he  adopted  agriculture 
with  the  intention  of  following  it  through  life, 
and  was  engaged  in  that  occupation  for  some 
time.  He  subsequently  decided  to  accept  the 
position  of  Cashier  of  the  Citizens'  Bank  oi 
Tilton,  and  relinquished  farming  to  enter  upon 
his  new  duties  in  January,  1856.  This  bank 
was  reorganized,  and  became  the  Citizens' 
National  Bank  in  1865;  and  he  continued  as 
its  Cashier  until  elected  President  in  1889. 
The  lona  Savings  Bank  was  chartered  in  1870, 
with  Mr.  Cass  as  Treasurer,  which  office  he 
still  holds.  In  politics  he  was  originally  a 
Democrat,  but  since  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  War  he  has  been  a  Republican.  He 
served  as  Moderator  at  town  meetings  in  San- 
bornton for  three  years  and  in  Tilton  for  five 


years,    and  he  was  Town   'I'reasurer  of  Tilton 
for  two  years. 

On  September  18,  1851,  Mr.  Cass  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  l']mcr\'  Locke, 
born  in  1830,  daughter  of  Samuel  B.  Locke,  of 
Concord.  Of  their  four  children,  two  lived  to 
maturit)',  namely  —  Mary  Addie  and  Arthur  T. 
Mary  Addie,  born  March  5,  1863,  is  the  wife 
of  Abel  W.  Reynolds,  of  Somcrville,  Mass. 
Arthur  T.  Cass,  who  was  born  April  9,  1865, 
fitted  for  college  at  the  New  Hampshire  Con- 
ference Seminary,  but  did  not  take  a  collegiate 
course,  preferring  to  enter  the  banking  busi- 
ness at  once.  He  has  practically  grown  uj)  in 
that  business,  as  he  began  to  make  entries 
when  fourteen  years  old;  and  he  succeeded  his 
father  as  Cashier  of  the  Citizens'  National 
bank  in  1889.  On  May  16,  1894,  he  wedded 
Mary  W.  Packard,  daughter  of  Liberty  D. 
Packard,  M. D.,  of  South  Boston,  Mass.,  and 
has  one  son  — Kingman  Packard,  born  April  i, 
1895.  Arthur  T.  Cass  is  connected  with 
Doric  Lodge,  No.  78,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  in 
politics  acts  with  the  Reiniblican  party.  The 
entire  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
FLpiscopal  church ;  and  William  T.  Cass  was 
formerly  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
and  has  been  a  class  leader  for  forty  years. 
Mr.  Cass  has  also  been  a  Trustee  of  New 
Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  and  l''emale 
College  for  over  twenty-five  years,  and  was 
Treasurer  of  the  institution  for  seventeen 
years. 


<^»*» 


-j^ARD  B.  PLUMMER,  a  prominent 
resident  of  Milton,  N.  II.,  and  ex- 
Sheriff  of  Strafford  County,  was 
born  in  the  house  he  now  owns  and  occupies, 
June  18,  1846,  son  of  ImiocIi  W.  and  Orinila 
(Ayers)  Plummer.  The  Plummer  homestead 
was  cleared  by  his  great-grandfather.  Bard 
Plummer,  Sr.,  who  came  here  from  Rochester, 


IS8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


N.ll.  Hard  I'luninier,  Jr.,  grandfather  of 
]5arcl  B. ,  next  cultivated  the  farm:  and  after 
his  death  ills  son,  ImiocIi  VV.,  inherited  the 
property. 

Enoch  W.  rhnnmer  was  an  able  farmer  and 
one  of  the  leading  residents  of  Milton  in  his 
day,  serving  as  Representative  to  the  legis- 
lature. In  his  latter  years  he  supported  the  Re- 
publican party  in  politics.  Me  was  a  Congre- 
gational ist  in  religion,  and  served  as  a  Deacon 
of  that  church  for  forty  years.  For  several 
years  he  held  a  Colonel's  commission  in  the 
old  State  militia.  He  died  in  1896,  aged 
eighty-one  years.  He  and  his  wife,  Orinda 
Ayers,  who  is  a  native  of  Wakefield,  N.  H., 
became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  four  of 
whom  are  living,  namely:  Mary  B.,  wife  of 
S.  VV.  VVallingford;  Sarah,  wife  of  the  Rev. 
F.  Haley;  P'anny  W.,  wife  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Twom- 
bly,  of  Milton;  and  Bard  B.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Bard  B.  Plummer,  after  leaving  the  common 
schools,  attended  the  Wakefield  Academy  and 
the  Maine  State  College.  When  his  educa- 
tion was  completed  he  returned  to  the  home- 
stead, and  he  has  since  given  his  attention  to 
general  farming.  He  owns  five  hundred  acres 
of  excellent  land,  which  is  desirably  located; 
and  he  makes  it  a  point  to  avail  himself  of 
modern  improvements  in  the  practice  of  agri- 
culture. As  an  active  supporter  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  he  has  figured  conspicuously  in 
public  affairs.  For  five  years  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  School  Board.  He  was  High 
Sheriff  of  Strafford  County  from  1892  to  1894, 
during  which  time  he  had  charge  of  the  county 
jail  in  Dover,  and  was  appointed  Deputy 
Sheriff  by  his  successor,  James  E.  Hayes. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Nute  High  School  of  Milton. 

Mr.  Plummer  married  Eliza  D.  Wentworth, 
daughter   of    John   J.    Wentworth,    of  Jamaica 


I'lain,  Mass.  They  have  four  children, 
namely:  Lucia  C;  Fanny  W. ;  Hard  1?.,  who 
is  attending  Durham  College;   and  Orinda. 

In  Masonry  Mr.  Plummer  is  well  advanced, 
being  a  Past  Master  of  Unity  Lodge,  I"".  & 
A.  M.,  of  Union,  N.H.,  of  which  he  was  Sec- 
retary for  nineteen  years;  a  member  of  Colum- 
bia Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of  Farming- 
ton,  N.  H.;  and  of  St.  Paul  Commandory, 
Knights  Templar,  of  Dover.  He  is  also  Past 
Dictator  of  Love  Lodge,  Knights  of  Honor,  of 
Union.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  and  succeeded  his  father  as  a 
Deacon. 


REN  NASON  ROBERTS,  Supervisor 
of  Roads,  Meredith,  was  born  in  this 
town,  April  16,  1838,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Nancy  C.  (Wiggin)  Roberts.  His  grand- 
father, Leavitt  Roberts,  who  was  probably  a 
native  of  Meredith,  passed  the  active  period  of 
his  life  in  this  town,  occupied  in  general 
farming. 

Thomas  Roberts  was  born  in  Meredith, 
September  11,  1812.  After  leaving  school 
he  went  to  Ouincy,  Mass.,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  stone  quarries  for  several  sum- 
mers. He  then  worked  as  a  farm  assistant 
until  after  his  marriage,  when  he  bought  a 
piece  of  agricultural  property  in  Meredith, 
was  engaged  in  its  cultivation  for  the  rest  of 
his  life,  and  died  December  3,  1S86.  He 
voted  with  the  Democratic  party,  but  was  not 
active  in  political  affairs.  His  wife,  Nancy, 
was  a  daughter  of  Winthrop  Wiggin,  who  was 
a  prosperous  farmer  and  a  lifelong  resident  of 
Meredith.  Winthrop  Wiggin,  a  well-known 
man,  and  conversant  with  the  current  topics  of 
the  day,  was  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He 
married  Hannah  Cate,  and  had  a  family  of 
five  children  —  Betsey,  Nancy  C,  Ann, 
George,    and    Smith.      Mrs.    Thomas    Roberts 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'59 


became  the  mother  of  four  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Oren  N. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
George  Smith  Roberts,  who  resides  in  Chi- 
cago; libcn  r'isk,  a  resident  of  Meclford, 
Mass.  ;  and  I'rank,  who  lives  in  Meredith. 
Both  jiarents  were  Second  Adventists. 

(Iren  Na.son  Roberts  acquired  a  public- 
school  education,  and  then  went  to  ]>righton, 
Mass.,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  butch- 
ering business.  After  remaining  there  eight 
years,  he  spent  the  succeeding  si.\  years  in 
Medford,  Dan\'ers,  and  15oston,  Mass.  Upon 
his  return  to  Meredith  he  became  associated 
with  his  brother  George,  and  Simeon  Wad- 
leigh,  in  the  manufacture  of  ploughs,  under 
the  firm  name  of  the  Wadlcigh  Plough  Com- 
pany, a  connection  that  lasted  four  years.  In 
1S74  he  bought  his  present  farm  of  si.xty 
acres,  which  he  has  since  cultivated.  For 
several  years  past  he  has  been  Supervisor  of 
Roads.  He  was  supervisor  of  the  check  list 
fur  two  years,  and  served  with  ability  for  the 
same  length  of  time  as  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Selectmen.      In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

On  May  29,  1864,  Mr.  Roberts  wedded 
Julia  Ann  Smith,  daughter  of  Clark  Smith,  of 
Brighton,  Mass.,  and  now  has  five  children. 
These  are:  Fred  S.,  a  resident  of  Laconia; 
lunma  N.,  the  wife  of  Wilbur  \V.  Ballard,  of 
Meredith;  Charles  N.,  of  this  town;  Harry 
F.,  who  resides  in  Allston,  Mass.  ;  and  Bertie 
C.  Mr.  Roberts  is  connected  with  Winnejie- 
saukee  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  He 
and  Mrs.  Roberts  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  for  several  years  he  has  acted  as 
the  clerk  of  the  society. 


fAMES    CORSON,    a  practical    and    i.ro- 
gressive  agriculturist  of   East   Roches- 
ter,   was  born    February    15,    1S45,    in 
Ward  One  of  this  township,  son  of  Michael  E. 


Corson,  and  grandson  of  Joseph  Corson,  who 
was  the  founder  of  the  family  in  this  locality. 
Michael  E.  Corson  was  born  in  Rochester  in 
i.So<S,  and  here  spent  his  fourscore  years  of  life, 
dying  in  18.S.S.  lie  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion, and  did  his  siiare  in  clearing  the  land. 
He  married  Mary  Butler,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Berwick,  Me.  She  bore  him  four 
children,  namely:  John,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.; 
Hiram,  of  Rollinsford,  this  county;  James, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  ;  and  Nalumi,  of 
Rochester,  N.  H. 

James  Corson  was  reared  to  man's  estate  on 
the  home  farm,  in  the  winter  season  being  a 
regular  attendant  of  the  district  school.  He 
labored  on  the  farm  during  seed  time  and 
harvest  throughout  his  boyhood.  On  reaching 
man's  estate  he  embarked  in  business  on  his 
own  account,  establishing  himself  as  a  general 
farmer  and  lumberman.  I'rom  time  to  time 
he  made  judicious  investments  in  land,  and  is 
now  the  possessor  of  eight  hundred  acres, 
lying  in  Strafford  County.  He  is  engaged 
to  some  extent  in  stock-raising,  having  now 
about  forty  head  of  cattle;  and  he  makes  a 
specialty  of  hay,  of  which  he  cuts  about  one 
hundred  tons  annually.  In  politics  he  is  an 
active  supporter  of  tlie  Republican  party,  witii 
which  he  has  always  been  identified.  P'or  two 
years  he  served  as  Selectman,  and  for  a  num- 
ber of  terms  he  was  Surveyor  of  Rochester. 

Mr.  Corson  was  married  March  3,  1S77, 
to  Mary  E.  Curtis,  daughter  of  Cyrus  K.  Cur- 
tis, of  Rochester.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carson  have 
seven  children,  five  of  whom  are  living. 
These  are:  FVeeman,  born  Januar)-  3,  1878,  a 
student  at  Dartmouth  College;  lulna,  l)orn 
May  31,  1880;  Grace,  born  August  15,  1886; 
Nellie  W.,  born  April  2,  188S;  and  IkMtha 
L. ,  born  January  24,  1893.  Woodbury  died 
October  6,  1 885,  and  Lilla  May  died  Decem- 
ber 2,    1896.      Mr.    Corson  and  family  attend 


i6o 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


tlic  ]5a])tisl  church  at  East  Roclicstcr,  and  con- 
tril)iitc  lihcrall)'  toward  its  suppoit. 


/  ^TkORGE  ANDREW  lillLHRICK, 
\  f5)  I  the  proprietor  of  tlic  I'hilbrick 
House,  East  Tiltoii,  was  born  in  this 
town,  December  17,  1850,  son  of  Andrew  and 
Ruth  II.  (Philbrick)  Philbrick.  The  Phil- 
bricks  are  descendants  of  Thomas  and  Eliza- 
betli  Piiillirick,  natives  of  Lancashire,  Eng- 
land, who  emigrated  with  their  children  to 
Naumkeag  (Salem,  Mass).  This  family  after- 
ward moved  to  Watertown,  and  finally  settled 
in  Hampton,  N.H.,  where  the  will  of  Thomas 
Philbrick  was  probated  August  8,  1667. 
James,  son  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  Phil- 
brick, married  Ann  Roberts,  of  Dover,  N.H. 
He  was  drowned  in  the  Hampton  River. 
James  Philbrick  (second),  who  was  a  mariner, 
wedded  Hannah  Perlsine,  of  Hampton. 
Nathan  Philbrick,  born  August  19,  1697,  mar- 
ried Dorcas,  daughter  of  James  Johnson,  and 
died  April  23,  1794,  being  then  ninety-seven 
years  old. 

Benjamin  Philbrick,  the  great-grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  native  of 
Hampton,  and  one  of  seven  brothers  who 
settled  in  this  section.  He  resided  here  for 
the  rest  of  his  life,  and  died  January  23,  1808. 
On  December  15,  1757,  he  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Shubael  Page,  of  Hampton;  and 
she  died  July  19,  183 1,  aged  ninety-seven 
years.  Josiah  Philbrick,  the  grandfather,  also 
a  native  of  Hampton,  born  March  12,  1777, 
was  a  fisherman  previous  to  settling  in  San- 
bornton,  where  he  followed  the  trade  of  a 
blacksmith  in  connection  with  farming  for  the 
rest  of  his  active  period,  and  died  January  18, 
1868.  He  wedded  Mary  Elkins,  who  was  born 
in  Rye,  N.H.,  June  25,  17S1,  and  died  De- 
cember 13,   1867. 


Andrew  Philbrick,  George  A.  Philbricks' 
father,  born  in  Hampton,  August  27,  1803, 
was  eleven  years  old  when  his  parents  settled 
in  Sanbornton.  He  succeeded  to  the  owner- 
ship of  the  homestead,  now  the  property  of  his 
son,  and  included  within  the  township  of  Til- 
ton.  He  carried  on  farming  during  the  active 
period  of  his  life,  and  was  respected  as  an 
honorable  man  and  a  useful  citizen.  Fond  of 
reading,  he  was  well  informed  on  all  the  ques- 
tions of  his  day;  but  he  never  aspired  to  polit- 
ical prominence.  On  November  15,  1832,  he 
married  his  cousin,  Ruth  H.  I^hilbrick,  who 
was  born  April  13,  1807,  daughter  of  Reuben 
Philbrick,  of  Sanbornton.  By  her  he  became 
the  father  of  seven  children  —  Rebecca  L., 
Charles  R.,  Sarah  Ann,  Oliver  D. ,  Nelson 
A.,  HuldaJ.,  and  George  A.  Rebecca  L.  is 
now  the  widow  of  Charles  Henry  Jaques,  late 
of  East  Tilton;  Charles  R.  resides  in  Buda, 
111.  ;  and  Oliver  D.  is  a  resident  of  East  Til- 
ton.  Andrew  Philbrick  died  in  April,  1887, 
and  his  wife  on  December  11,  1876.  Both 
were  active  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

George  Andrew  Philbrick  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools.  He  has  always 
resided  at  the  homestead,  which  came  into  his 
possession  after  his  father's  death.  The  estate 
contains  ninety-five  acres  of  land,  about 
twenty-five  of  which  he  cultivates,  raising 
general  farm  products.  He  keeps  seven  cows, 
two  horses,  and  a  small  flock  of  sheep.  The 
Philbrick  House,  which  he  erected  in  1882,  is 
situated  about  one  mile  from  the  railroad 
station  and  the  post-office.  The  main  build- 
ing is  thirty-eight  feet  square;  and  the  ell  is 
thirty-eight  by  twenty,  with  an  addition 
twenty-four  by  twenty  feet.  Pleasantly 
located,  overlooking  VVinnisquam  Eake,  which 
is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  surrounded  by 
wooded    hills,    the    house   accommodates    forty 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


i6i 


■quests.  The  locality  is  healthy,  as  well  as 
picturesque,  and  affords  a  pleasant  and  agree- 
able retreat  during  the  heated  term. 

Mr.  I'hilbrick  married  Anna  M.  Nelson, 
daughter  of  Hiram  Nelson,  formerly  of  San- 
bornton.  In  polities  he  supports  the  Reinih- 
lican  party,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Winniscjuam  Grange. 


/^TkORGE  \V.  PARKER,  proprietor  of 
VpT  ^  hack,  livery,  sale,  and  feed  stable  in 
Dover,  Strafford  County,  N.  H.,  is 
carrying  on  a  substantial  business,  and  is  i)ne 
of  the  best  known  men  in  his  line  in  the  city. 
He  was  born  April  24,  1S47,  in  Compton, 
Province  of  Quebec,  a  son  of  Daniel  P.  and 
Cynthia  I.  Parker.  He  was  brought  up  on  a 
farm,  and  during  his  younger  days  assisted  his 
parents  in  the  daily  routine  of  an  agricultural 
life,  the  chores  about  the  house  naturally  falling 
to  his  share;  and  during  the  winter  seasons  he 
was  constant  in  his  attendance  at  the  district 
school.  When  eighteen  years  old  Mr.  Parker 
started  in  life  for  himself,  and  has  since  been 
a  self-supporting  member  of  society.  Going 
first  to  Dowell,  Mass.,  he  worked  for  two  years 
with  K.  T.  Brighani,  one  of  the  leading  pho- 
tographers of  that  city.  Coming  subsequently 
to  Dover,  he  was  engaged  in  similar  work  in  a 
studio  here  for  five  years.  He  then  entered  an 
entirely  new  field  of  labor,  opening  a  baker)', 
which  he  managed  about  three  years,  at  the 
end  of  that  time  becoming  the  proprietor  of  a 
meat  market,  which  he  conducted  seven  years. 
He  then  disposed  of  his  shop,  and  innxhased 
his  present  business,  in  which  he  is  meeting 
with  undisputed  success,  having  a  well  stocked 
and  thiiroughly  equipped  stable  in  a  most  favor- 
able location. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,   1S69,  Mr.   Par- 
ker married  Miss  Mary  Hall,  a  native  of  Gar- 


land, Me.  ;  and  of  their  union  one  child  has 
been  born  Pessie  1.  Parker.  Politically, 
Mr.  Parker  is  identilied  with  the  Republican 
part)',  in  which  he  is  an  active  worker;  and 
he  is  now  serving  his  third  term  as  Deputy 
Sheriff  of  .Strafford  County.  He  belongs  to 
various  secret  organizations,  being  a  member 
of  Strafford  Lodge,  No.  29,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Dover;  of  Olive  Branch  Lodge,  No.  C),  K.  of 
P.,  of  this  city,  of  which  lie  is  Past  Chancel- 
lor; and  niembcr  of  tlie  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
Hampshire.  Mr.  Parker  is  not  identified  with 
any  church,  but  contributes  toward  the  main- 
tenance of  the  First  Congregational  Chuich, 
of   which    his   wife  and  dau"hter  are  mcmliers. 


PRAIIAM  L.  MORRISON,  who.se 
widow  resides  in  Laconia,  was  the 
last  of  the  old  stage-drivers  of  the 
VVinnepesaukee  \alley.  He  was  born  Decem- 
ber 4,  1 818,  in  Sanhornton,  N.II.,  son  of 
Abraham  and  Hannah  (Lane)  Morrison.  His 
parents  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  the  sur- 
vivors are  Daniels  T.  and  Mrs.  Juditii  Pogg, 
of  Methuen,  Mass.  ;  and  Samuel  W.,  of  San- 
hornton. In  1S42  Mr.  Morrison  came  to 
Laconia,  and  became  the  driver  of  the  stage 
running  between  here  and  Holderness,  mnv 
Ashland.  In  the  great  fire  of  184^  the 
stable  on  Gove  Place  was  burned,  and  with  it 
the  stage  and  fittings.  He  next  became  the 
])roprietor  of  the  I'armcr  Hotel,  which  was  on 
the  route  of  several  stage  lines,  including  that 
running  to  Concord,  and  conducted  it  for 
eleven  years.  Beginning  in  1856,  he  had 
charge  of  the  Willard  House  for  thirteen  years, 
and  then  disposed  of  it  to  George  H.  P^verett. 
After  that  he  end)arkeil  in  li\'ery-kceping  on 
Gove  Place,  where  he  was  in  business  up  to 
about  1S86,  when  he  sold  out  and  retired. 
In   his   early   life    Mr.     Morrison    had    a    stage 


l62 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


line  running  to  Centre  Harbor;  and  until 
the  introduction  of  the  railway  in  1848  he 
and  the  late  John  Little,  also  of  Laconia, 
made  the  trips  alternately.  In  his  later  years 
Mr.  Morrison  was  in  poor  health.  Soon  after 
a  visit  to  Brockton,  Mass.,  to  spend  Thanks- 
giving, he  was  taken  sick  with  his  last  illness, 
and  thereafter  gradually  failed  until  his  death 
by  a  paralytic  shock,  on  March  11,  1896. 
Mr.  Morrison  was  a  loyal  Republican.  In  the 
Presidential  campaign  of  1S40  he  cast  his 
vote  for  William  Henry  Harrison.  In  1861 
and  1S62  he  represented  the  town  of  Gilford 
in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature.  He  was 
a  charter  member  of  Mount  Belknap  Lodge, 
No.  20,  K.  of  P.  When  able  he  attended  ser- 
vice at  the  Free  Baptist  Church  of  Laconia, 
and  was  several  times  elected  a  member  of  its 
Financial  Committee.  In  his  life  he  con- 
formed to  the  principles  of  the  Golden  Rule. 

Mr.  Morrison  was  twice  married,  on  the 
first  occasion  to  Susan  Whipple,  of  Sanborn- 
ton,  who  died  by  burning,  August  6,  1868. 
She  bore  him  three  children  —  George  A., 
Curtis,  and  Nellie  Maria.  On  May  17,  1871, 
he  married  Mrs.  Betsy  Elizabeth  Stevens,  a 
daughter  of  James  and  Rebecca  (Wyett)  Howe, 
of  New  Hampton.  Her  father,  a  contractor 
and  builder,  who  also  carried  on  farming  quite 
e.xtensively,  retired  about  ten  years  before  his 
death.  The  greatgrandfather  of  James  Howe 
served  in  the  Continental  army  during  the  war 
of  independence.  Rebecca  (Wyett)  Flovve  was 
a  daughter  of  Deacon  Wyett,  an  old  resident  of 
Campton  ;  and  her  mother  was  a  descendant  of 
John  Rogers,  of  Pilgrim  fame.  Her  first  mar- 
riage was  contracted  with  a  Mr.  Daniel  Wilson, 
of  Holderness,  by  whom  she  had  four  children 
—  Myra,  Hannah,  David,  and  Daniel.  James 
Howe,  by  a  previous  marriage  with  a  Miss 
Nancy  Drake,  of  New  Hampton,  had  four  chil- 
dren—  Lorenzo  G.,  James  M.,  Henry  D.,  and 


Nancy  D.  Fight  children  were  the  fruit  of 
their  second  union;  namely,  Horace  F.,  Jo- 
siah  S. ,  Aaron  M.  (a  physician),  Harriet  S., 
Martha  D.,  William  G.,  George  W.,  and 
Betsy  PLlizabeth.  James  Howe,  born  Febru- 
ary 19,  1786,  died  January  6,  1864,  in  his 
seventy-eighth  year;  and  his  wife,  Rebecca, 
was  born  June  22,  17S7,  and  died  August  6, 
1876,  aged  eighty-nine  years.  She  was  a 
devout  Christian.  Prior  to  her  union  with 
Abraham  L.  Morrison,  Betsy  lilizabeth  Howe 
married  Charles  Stevens,  of  Gilmanton,  who 
was  for  several  years  the  proprietor  of  the 
Mount  Belknap  House  at  Lakeport.  Mrs. 
Morrison  now  lives  with  a  daughter  by  her 
former  marriage,  Mrs.  Nellie  M.  Cox,  who 
was  the  widow  of  Eben  Hoyt,  formerly  of  La- 
conia. Mr.  Hoyt  dealt  e.xtensively  in  pianos 
and  organs  for  several  years  in  Laconia  and 
Manchester.  He  died  March  5,  1894,  aged 
fifty-one.  Mrs.  Co.x,  who  was  educated  at 
New  Hampton  Academy,  possesses  a  rich  con- 
tralto voice  ;  is  a  member  of  the  Oberon  Ladies' 
Quartette  of  Laconia,  with  which  she  has  sung 
for  the  past  seven  years;  and  is  a  member 
of  the  North  Congregational  Church  choir. 
She  is  an  artist  as  well  as  musician,  and  her 
skill  in  i)ainting  is  shown  in  the  works  that 
adorn  the  walls  of  her  home.  Her  present 
husband,  George  Burnham  Co.x,  whom  she 
married  February  10,  1897,  is  a  lawyer  of  La- 
conia. She  is  the  mother  of  two  children : 
Alice  Louise,  who  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years;  and  Louis  E. ,  now  a  boy  of  twelve. 
Mrs.  Cox  has  one  brother,  W.  M.  Stevens,  a 
farmer  in  Belmont. 


(s^^OSEPH  B.  SAWYER,  a  well-known 
citizen  of  Dover,  is  now  living  retired 
from    active    business    pursuits.        His 

birth    occurred    November    20,     1832,     in    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■(^3 


house  he  owns  and  occupies,  it  having  been 
erected  by  his  father,  the  late  Levi  Sawyer,  in 
the  early  part  of  the  present  century. 

Levi  Sawyer  was  born,  bred,  and  siient  the 
major  [jortion  of  his  life  in  Dover,  following 
the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  most  of  the  time. 
He  was  a  man  of  acknowledged  integrity,  lib- 
eral in  his  beliefs,  broad  in  his  charity,  and  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Society  of  I-'riends ; 
and  his  death,  which  took  ]3lace  after  he  had 
attained  a  venerable  age,  was  deeply  deplored 
by  all  who  knew  him.  On  July  7,  1826,  he 
married  Hannah  G.  Pinkham,  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Betty  Green  Pinkham,  whose  union 
was  solemnized  at  Amesbury,  Mass.,  in  17S5. 
She  was  a  lifelong  and  respected  resident  of 
Dover,  a  woman  of  remarkable  mental  ability 
and  an  active  worker  in  the  cause  of  temper- 
ance and  other  reform  movements.  She  was 
also  a  forcible  speaker  and  for  many  years  a 
prominent  preacher  in  the  F"riends'  church. 
She  became  the  mother  of  five  children,  two  of 
whom  died  young.  The  others  were:  Joseph 
11,  the  special  subject  of  this  sketch;  Lydia 
E. ,  who  died  in  1895  ;  and  L.  Newell,  a  con- 
tracting freight  agent  on  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railway,  now  a  resident  of  Chicago,  111. 

Joseph  B.  Sawyer  completed  his  school  life 
at  the  Friends'  Boarding-school  in  Providence, 
R.L,  after  which  he  remained  with  his  parents 
until  attaining  his  majority.  Going  then  to 
Titusville,  Pa.,  he  engaged  in  the  oil  business, 
which  was  then  in  its  infancy.  At  first  he 
worked  for  others;  but  in  a  short  time  he 
allied  himself  with  a  stock  company  which 
leased  land,  and  conducted  some  very  success- 
ful operations.  He  settled  permanently  in 
the  Keystone  State,  making  his  residence  in 
Pittsburg.  Mr.  Sawyer  became  one  of  the 
best  known  oil  men  in  Pennsylvania  and  West 
Virginia,  and  amassed  a  fair  competency.  In 
1888,  on  account  of   ill  health,  he  disposed  of 


his  interests  in  the  oil  regions,  autl  retmning 
to  Dover  purchased  the  home  in  which  his 
childhood  da^s  were  siient,  where  he  is  now 
resting  from  his  labors. 

Mr.  Sawyer  married  November  7,  1894, 
Miss  Abhie  M.  Sturtevant,  of  Springfield, 
Mass.,  who  presides  over  their  pleasant  and 
hospitable  home.  Politically,  Mr.  Sawyer 
sujjports  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party;  and  he  attends  worship  at  the  l-'riends' 
Meeting,  having  never  departed  from  the  faith 
to  which  he  was  bred. 


TTAHARLES  M.  BAILEY,  a  prosjierous 
I    jr'^      hardware       merchant      of     Rochester, 

Vfcif_^^  doing  a  large  business  in  hardware, 
plumbing,  and  steam-fitting,  was  born  April 
20,  1847,  in  Littleton,  N.  II.,  son  of  H.  M. 
and  Harriet  M.  (Burt)  Bailey.  The  father 
was  born  in  1813  in  Peacham,  Vt.,  which  was 
his  jjlace  of  residence  up  to  185 1.  Then  he 
removed  to  Manchester,  N.ll.,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  hardware  business  until  his 
retirement  on  account  of  poor  health  in  1872, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  si.\ty-five  years.  He 
was  a  prominent  Republican  politician,  and, 
though  not  an  ofl^ce-seeker,  served  in  the  Man- 
chester City  Council  for  a  number  of  years. 
His  wife  died  aged  about  thirty-six  years. 

Charles  M.  Bailey  went  with  his  parents  to 
Mancliester  when  four  years  old,  and  there 
chiefly  spent  his  boyhood.  Up  to  fifteen 
years  of  age  he  was  an  attendant  of  the  public 
schools.  He  afterward  was  a  clerk  in  his 
father's  store  until  his  father  went  out  of  busi- 
ness. Then  he  started  for  himself  in  the  hard- 
ware business  at  Pittsfield,  N.  H.,  and  subse- 
quently conducted  a  grain  and  flour  store  there. 
In  1886  he  purchased  his  ])resent  store  in 
Rochester,  and  thereafter,  still  living  in  Pitts- 
field,     managed    all     three    enterprises    until 


■  64 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


1891.  In  that  year  lie  sold  mit  his  I'ittsfield 
stores  and  came  to  Rochester,  taking  posses- 
sion of  a  residence  j^reviously  built  by  him, 
and  which  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city.  Be- 
sides doing  a  general  hardware  business,  he 
gives  special  attention  to  plumbing  and  the 
putting  in  of  steam-heating  apparatus. 

In  1867  Mr.  Bailey  was  joined  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Charlotte  1*'.  Joadro,  of  Manchester, 
N.  H.,  who  was  born  in  Lowell,  Mass.  For- 
merly a  Democrat  in  politics  and  quite  a  prom- 
inent worker  for  the  party,  though  he  would 
accept  no  office,  he  has  recently  become  a 
Republican.  He  is  a  thirty-second  degree 
Mason,  having  membership  in  Corinthian 
Blue  Lodge  of  I'ittsfield,  Temple  Chapter  and 
Palestine  Commandery  of  Rochester,  Edward 
A.  Raymond  Consistory  (Scottish  Rite)  of 
Nashua,  «nd  Aleppo  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic 
Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  of  Bos- 
ton. Though  not  a  church  member,  he  con- 
tributes liberally  toward  the  support  of  church 
work. 


(^AMES  M.  ROWE,  D.D.S.,  a  success- 
ful dentist  of  Barnstead  for  many  years, 
was  born  in  HoJderness,  N.H.,  January 
18,  1834.  His  parents,  John  and  Susan 
Rowe,  had  seven  children,  of  whom  four  are 
living;  namely,  George,  Elizabeth,  Hannah, 
and  Marion.  With  a  fair  education  he  studied 
dentistry  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  with  Dr.  A.  Trowe, 
after  which  he  took  up  practice  in  Rochester, 
N.  H.  A  year  of  work  there  caused  his  health 
to  give  way;  and  he  came  to  Ibrnstead,  and 
resided  here  for  a  number  of  years.  Then  his 
strength  returned,  and  he  went  to  Concord  and 
resumed  professional  work.  Soon  after,  again 
obliged  to  abandon  city  work  on  account  of  the 
confinement  incident  thereto,  he  returned  to 
Barnstead  and  took  up  his  work  in  a  way  that 
permitted  of  his  being  more  or  less  in  the  open 


air.  After  a  while  his  dental  practice  covered 
a  circuit  of  twenty  miles  about  Barnstead. 
Outside  his  profession  he  took  especial  interest 
in  educational  work,  and  he  was  prominent  as 
a  member  of  the  Advent  church. 

On  November  11,  1857,  Dr.  Rowe  married 
Miss  Emma  S.  Clark,  of  Ipswich,  Mass.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  linoch  Clark,  who  was  born  in 
Barnstead,  son  of  Enoch,  Sr. ,  a  large  land- 
owner in  Barnstead.  Mr.  Clark,  a  carpenter 
by  trade,  removed  to  Newburyport,  Mass., 
where  he  was  a  building  contractor.  Before 
leaving  Barnstead,  he  served  as  Town  Treas- 
urer and  Selectman,  and  also  represented  the 
town  in  the  legislature  for  two  years  and  in  an 
e.xtra  session.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 
He  married  Sabrina  Thurlow,  a  descendant  of 
Lord  Thurlow,  of  England.  She  was  born  in 
1799,  and  died  January  8,  1889.  Her  ances- 
tor. Lord  Thurlow,  on  November  19,  1664,  in 
the  sixteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II., 
was  granted  a  coat  of  arms  representing 
Jacob's  staff  fi.xed  horizontally  on  a  field.  The 
first  of  the  family  in  America  was  Thomas 
Thurlow,  who  came  over  in  1633,  and  settled 
finally  in  Newburyport,  before  its  incorpora- 
tion as  a  town.  His  son,  Thomas,  was  the 
father  of  Stephen  Thurlow,  a  sea  captain,  who 
married  Eunice  Thurlow.  Stephen  and  Eu- 
nice were  the  parents  of  Sabrina  Thurlow,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Enoch  Clark.  Besides 
Mrs.  Rowe,  Mr.  Clark  had  three  other  chil- 
dren—  Sarah  Ann,  Rufus,  and  Harriett. 
Sarah  Ann  married  William  B.  Clark,  Rufus 
married  iMiiily  Ilodgdon,  and  Harriett  is  the 
wife  of  George  H.  Cilley. 

Dr.  James  M.  Rowe  and  his  wife  had  nine 
children;  namely,  Eugene  A.,  Edward  W., 
Arthur  J.,  Frank  H.,  Walter  C. ,  Florence  E., 
Forrest  C,  Charles  F. ,  and  Freddie.  Edward 
is  practising  dentistry  in  Manchester,  and 
Faigene  and  Frank  are  following  the  same  pro- 


BYRON     W,    BROWN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


.G7 


fession  in  Concord.  Arthur  was  in  trade  a 
few  years,  and  during  that  time  served  as  I'ost- 
niaster  of  South  Barnstead.  lie  is  now,  with 
his  brother  Walter,  attending  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, taking  a  medical  course  in  the  same 
class,  h'lorence,  Forrest,  and  Charles  are  at 
home.  Dr.  Rowe  died  in  Harnstoad,  June  18, 
1896. 

■ <■••*» • 

f^YRON  WEEKS  BROWN,  a  retired 
lumber  manufacturer  of  East  Tilton, 
and  an  ex-member  of  the  New 
Ilamiishire  legislature,  was  born  in  Went- 
worth,  N.  H.,  October  23,  1833,  son  of  Josiah 
P.  and  Nancy  M.  (Brown)  Brown.  His  great- 
giandfather,  Benjamin  Brown,  who  was  born 
August  28,  1 736,  and  resided  in  North  Hamp- 
ton, N.H.,  died  March  12,  1799.  Benjamin's 
wife,  Mary  Brown,  who  was  born  January  19, 
•739i  clied  in  1823.  Benjamin  Brown  (sec- 
ond), grandfather  of  Byron  W.,  was  born  in 
North  Hampton,  July  21,  1771.  In  his 
younger  days  he  followed  the  sea.  Afterward 
he  settled  on  a  farm  of  sixty-two  and  a  half 
acres  in  Sanbornton,  N,H.,  spent  the  rest  of 
his  active  period  in  tilling  the  soil,  and  died 
May  12,  1848.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Philbrook,  who  died  July  27, 
1853,  aged  eighty-three  years.  Of  their  five 
children,  Josiah  P.  was  the  eldest. 

Josiah  P.  Brown  was  born  in  North  Hamp- 
ton, December  24,  1797.  An  infant  when  his 
parents  moved  to  this  locality,  he  was  reared 
and  educated  here.  After  reaching  his  major- 
ity he  followed  the  sea  in  the  coasting  trade 
for  two  or  three  summers,  spending  the 
winters  employed  upon  farms  or  in  the  lumber 
camps.  In  1S24  he  moved  to  Wentworth, 
where  he  bought  sixty  acres  of  wild  land,  and 
converted  it  into  a  good  farm.  He  also  en- 
gaged extensively  in  lumbering,  which  was  at 
that  time  in   its   infancy,  and  followed   it  for 


the  rest  of  his  active  |)eriod.  His  active  and 
industrious  life  closed  March  2J,  1877.  in 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  he  served  tiie 
town  with  ability  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen.  His  wife,  Nancy,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Theodore  Brown,  of  Northfield, 
N.Il.,  had  by  him  fourteen  children,  of  wiiom 
thirteen  reached  maturity.  Of  these,  seven 
are  living,  namely:  Bradbury  T.,  of  Tilton; 
Sarah  Jane,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Josiah  D. 
Cross,  a  native  of  Springfield,  N.  H.  ;  Doriiula 
A.,  who  first  married  M.  T.  Noyes,  anil  is  now 
the  widow  of  J.  Henry  Webster;  Hannah  K. , 
who.  successively  married  Moses  P.  Chase  and 
Horatio  C.  Blood,  of  Wentworth;  Byron  W., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Asa  A.  and 
Alphonso,  who  are  both  residing  in  Went- 
worth. The  others  were:  Benjamin  F.,  Jo- 
seph, John  G.,  Alonzo,  Marshall  ].,  Mary  A., 
and  Martha  A.  Mary  was  the  wife  of  Lyman 
A.  Conant,  and  Martha  was  the  wife  of  Gilbert 
Waldron.  The  parents  were  members  of  the 
Free  Baptist  church. 

Byron  Weeks  Brown  attended  the  district 
school  in  Wentworth.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  hired  a  farm,  which  he  carrietl  on  for  two 
years.  For  the  succeeding  four  years  he  was 
unable  to  labor  on  account  of  a  lingering  ill- 
ness. Upon  his  recovery  in  1859  he  went  to 
Tilton,  where  he  was  employed  in  his 
brother's  saw-mill  for  two  and  a  half  years. 
He  next  went  to  Watertown,  Mass.,  as  hun- 
ber  inspector  at  the  United  States  Arsenal. 
After  holding  that  position  for  two  years  he 
returned  to  Tilton,  and  resumed  work  with  his 
brother.  On  January  i,  1865,  he  bought  the 
entire  establishment,  comprising  a  saw-mill 
and  a  grist-mill.  The  management  of  these 
received  his  exclusive  attention  until  1873, 
when  he  started  a  saw-mill  in  Wentworth.  In 
1882  he  sold  a  half-interest  in  the  Wentwortii 
mill  to  his   brother,  Asa  A.    Brown;   in    1886 


1 68 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ho  disposed  of  his  Tilton  enterprise  to  the 
1'.  C.  Cheney  Pulp  Company;  and  two  years 
hilcr  he  sold  his  remaining  interest  in  the 
Wentworth  mill  to  his  brother.  At  one  time 
he  employed  as  many  as  seventy-five  men  and 
ninety-six  horses  and  oxen  in  cutting  and 
hauling  logs,  and  during  the  summer  season 
his  regular  mill  force  was  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  men.  He  is  now  living  in  retirement 
upon  a  small  farm,  where  he  raises  sufficient 
produce  for  his  own  use. 

On  July  6,  1863,  Mr.  Brown  was  joined  in 
marriage  with  Lucinda  True  Johnson,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Johnson,  of  Sanbornton.  In  1S73 
and  1874  Mr.  Brown  represented  this  town 
in  the  legislature  as  a  Democrat.  During 
his  first  term  he  served  upon  the  Committees 
on  Election  and  Woman  Suffrage,  and  during 
his  second  term  he  was  a  member  of  the  Fi- 
nancial Committee.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Brown 
attend  the  l'"ree  Baptist  church. 


MASA  PRAY,  a  well-to-do  farmer  of 
Rochester,  was  born  April  23,  1838, 
in  a  house  located  but  a  few  rods 
from  the  one  in  which  he  now  resides,  son  of 
the  late  Ezra  PI.  Pray.  His  grandfather, 
Pelatiah  Pray,  was  for  many  years  engaged  in 
school  teaching  in  Berwick,  York  County, 
Me.,  where  he  was  well  known  to  more  than 
one  generation  of  children. 

Ezra  H.  Pray,  who  was  born  and  reared  in 
Berwick,  worked  as  a  farm  hand  in  his  early 
life.  Subsecjuently  he  came  from  Berwick  to 
Rochester,  purchased  a  tract  of  timber  land 
here,  on  it  cleared  a  homestead,  and  thereafter 
was  occupied  in  its  cultivation  until  his  death 
in  1 866.  In  the  winter  seasons,  when  there 
was  but  little  to  do  on  the  farm  besides  at- 
tending to  the  stock,  he  engaged  in  lumbering 
and  butchering.      While  he  never  manifested 


a  desire  for  public  office,  he  was  a  zealous 
supporter  of  the  Whig  party.  He  married 
Miss  Hannah  Tibbetts,  of  Rochester;  and 
they  reared  five  children.  These  were:  13ud- 
ley,  now  a  resident  of  South  l^oston,  Mass.; 
Charles,  who  taught  school  in  ]5uffalo,  N.Y., 
and  was  afterward  engaged  in  surveying  for  a 
new  railway  at  St.  Anthony's  F"alls,  Minne- 
sota, and  died  at  Buffalo  in  1852  ;  Ezra,  who  was 
for  some  time  a  practising  jihysician  in  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  served  four  years  in  the  United 
States  Navy,  after  which  he  studied  dentistry, 
and  now  resides  on  the  old  homestead  ;  Amasa, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Lydia,  the 
widow  of  Dr.  George  N.  Thompson,  late  of 
Boston. 

Amasa  Pray  completed  his  schooling  at 
West  Lebanon,  N.H.  He  afterward  assisted 
in  the  work  of  the  farm,  remaining  with  his 
parents  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  Re- 
bellion. Then,  in  [jrompt  response  to  the  call 
for  volunteers,  he  enlisted  in  Company  F, 
Fourth  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry. 
Going -at  once  to  the  front,  he  was  an  active 
participant  in  the  engagement  at  Fort  Sumter, 
and  was  also  at  those  of  Morris  Island,  Port 
Royal,  Jacksonville,  and  St.  Augustine.  In 
the  fall  of  1864,  having  been  honorably  dis- 
charged from  the  service  at  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  enlistment,  Mr.  Pray  returned  to 
the  old  homestead,  where  he  remained  until 
his  marriage,  when  he  established  his  present 
home.  He  has  forty-eight  acres  of  land  de- 
voted to  general  agriculture,  although  he 
makes  somewhat  a  specialty  of  dairying,  man- 
ufacturing about  sixty  pounds  of  butter  per 
week.  He  also  does  some  teaming  and  other 
work  for  the  town  of  Rochester. 

On  September  18,  1865,  Mr.  Pray  married 
Miss  Laura,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Trickey, 
of  this  town.  They  have  had  five  children,  as 
follows:   Emma,  now  the  wife  of  Will  Varney, 


BIOGRAI^HICAL    REVIEW 


169 


of  East  Rochester;  Mary  J.,  who  died  in  15os- 
ton,  September  29,  1893,  aged  twenty-three 
years;  Ciiarles  K.,  who  lives  at  home;  George 
A.,  of  Rochester;  and  Iviwiii,  a  resident  of 
Lynn,  Mass.  Mr.  I'ray  has  never  had  any  in- 
clination to  hold  public  office,  but  he  has  been 
a  faithful  ailherent  of  the  Republican  part)'. 
He  has  been  a  Mason  of  Humane  Lodge,  No. 
21,  of  this  town,  since  1865;  and  he  is  a 
comrade  of  Sampson  Post,  No.  22,  G.  A.  R. 


LMER  J.  LORD,  an  enterprising  wheel- 
wright and  lumber  manufacturer,  antl 
the  only  undertaker  in  Gilmanton, 
was  born  in  Barnstead,  N.fL,  March  22,  1862. 
His  grandfather,  John  Lord,  came  to  this 
country  from  England,  in  company  with  his 
brother  Benjamin.  Benjamin,  who  settled  in 
New  York  City,  engaged  in  the  real  estate 
business,  became  a  wealthy  broker,  and  died 
about  the  year  1870,  leaving  a  large  amount 
of  property  to  his  relatives.  John  Lord  settled 
in  Maine,  and  died  a  comparatively  young  man. 
Jacob  Lord,  the  father  of  I[lmer  J.,  after 
spending  his  earlier  years  in  Berwick,  Me., 
moved  from  there  to  Barnstead,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  wheelwright  until  1861. 
In  that  year  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteers, for  service  in  the  Civil  War.  In  the 
army  he  contracted  a  disease  which  incapaci- 
tated him  for  service.  He  died  soon  after  his 
return  home,  and  his  remains  were  interred  in 
Berwick.  He  married  Martha  Stanley,  of 
Shapleigh,  Me.,  whose  tleath  occurred  shortly 
after  the  birth  of  Elmer  J.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  She  left  two  other  children  —  Martha 
and  Sarah.  Martha  is  now  the  wife  of  Hiram 
Young,  of  Beverly,  Mass.  ;  and  Sarah  married 
Willmirth  Merrill,  who  died  in  Gloucester, 
Mass.,  October  25,  1896. 


I'llmci  J.  Lord  was  educated  in  public  and 
I)rivate  schools  of  Barnstead  ami  at  the  I'itts- 
fiekl  Academy.  When  his  stutlies  were  com- 
pleted, he  entered  .Sanderson's  dry-goods  store 
in  rittsfield  as  a  clerk,  ami  remained  there 
two  years.  lie  then  engaged  in  carriage 
building,  and  later  became  an  undertaker,  a 
business  that  he  followed  in  Rochester,  N.H., 
for  two  years.  In  September,  1886,  on 
account  of  failing  health,  he  moved  to  Gil- 
manton Iron  Works,  antl  resumed  the  carriage- 
building  and  undertaker's  business  in  this 
town.  He  has  lately  associated  himself  with 
J.  P.  Hussey,  in  the  lumber  manufacturing 
business.  This  firm  operate  a  saw-mill,  and 
sujjply  a  large  amount  of  lumber  for  building 
jnirposes  in  Gilmanton  and  other  towns.  Mr. 
Lord  began  the  study  of  undertaking  with 
Professor  Clarke,  of  Springfield,  Ohio.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  New  luigland  Association 
of  Undertakers,  and  by  attending  its  lectures 
in  Boston  he  is  conversant  with  the  most  ad- 
vanced ideas  relative  to  the  business. 

Mr.  Lord  wedded  Mary  Grant,  daughter  of 
William  T.  Grant,  of  Epsom,  N.  II.  lie  is  a 
charter  member  and  an  officer  of  Highland 
Lodge,  No.  93,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Gilmanton; 
and  he  has  been  Treasurer  and  Lecturer  of 
Crystal  Lake  Grange,  No.  loi.  Justly  re- 
garded as  one  of  Gilmanton's  most  enterpris- 
ing young  business  men,  he  has  attained 
prosperity  solely  through  his  own  efforts.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  l'"ree  liaptist  Cluuch  n( 
Pittsfield. 


YRUS  L.  JICNNESS,  an  enterprising 
and  successful  business  man  of  Straf- 
ford County,  resides  in  the  city  of 
Dover,  where  he  has  an  extensive  trade  in 
hardware  and  agricultural  implements  of  all 
kinds,  his  large  store  containing  a  complete 
stock  of  everything   in  his  line.      Mr.  Jenness 


lyo 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


was  bom  March  lo,  1S4S,  in  the  neighboring 
town  of  Rochester,  a  son  of  Cyrus  and  Mercy 
(McDuffee)  Jenness,  esteemed  members  of  the 
farming  community  of  that  place.  He  re- 
mained with  his  i)arents  until  attaining  ma- 
turity, attending  the  district  schools  in  his 
younger  days,  and  doing  his  full  share  of  the 
farm  labors.  Then  starting  in  life  on  his 
own  account,  with  no  other  endowments  than 
a  stout  heart,  willing  hands,  an  active  brain, 
and  a  determined  purpose  to  reach  the  goal  of 
success,  Mr.  Jenness  came  to  Dover  to  seek  a 
situation.  At  once  finding  employment  as  a 
clerk  in  a  hardware  store,  he  remained  there 
eleven  years,  giving  his  undivided  time  and 
attention  to  his  employer's  interests,  and  ob- 
taining a  practical  insight  into  the  business. 
Then,  having  by  prudence,  thrift,  and  econ- 
omy saved  some  money,  he  established  his 
present  business,  which  he  has  since  carried 
on  with  a  success  exceeding  his  expectations; 
and  he  is  now  numbered  among  the  leading 
merchants  in  his  line  in  this  section  of  the 
county. 

On  November  12,  1872,  Mr.  Jenness  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  E. 
Holmes,  daughter  of  Horace  and  Alary  J.  (Col- 
bath)  Holmes,  of  Dover.  Mr.  Jenness  has 
never  taken  any  active  part  in  political  affairs, 
either  local  or  national,  but  is  a  firm  sup- 
porter of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Wechohamet 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of  Dover;  and  both  he 
and  his  wife  are  esteemed  members  of  the 
Free  Baptist  church. 


fs^Y-^^ES  E.  CHILD,  an  energetic  and 
progressive  farmer  of  Farmington, 
Strafford  County,  was  born  March  i, 
1857,  in  Milton,  this  county,  son  of  James  S. 
and  Mary  J.   (Goodwin)  Child.      He  comes  of 


good  old  Massachusetts  stock.  His  grand- 
father, James  Child,  who  was  a  lifelong  resi- 
dent of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  and  one  of  its 
most  worthy  citizens,  served  in  the  War  of 
1812.  James  S.  Child  was  born  and  bred  in 
Cambridge,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter  and  builder.  When  a  young  man  he 
came  to  this  section  of  New  Hampshire,  and, 
securing  work  at  his  trade  in  the  growing  town 
of  Milton,  afterward  resided  in  that  place 
throughout  the  remainder  of  his  active  period. 
The  closing  days  of  his  life  were  passed  in 
Farmington,  where  he  died  February  17, 
1896,  aged  seventy-si.x  years.  By  his  wife, 
who  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Me.,  he  became 
the  father  of  seven  children,  of  whom  the  sur- 
vivors named  are:  Lizzie,  the  wife  of  Charles 
E.  Drew,  of  this  town;  James  E.,  the  subject 
of  this  biography;  Daniel  S.  and  George  F., 
both  of  Lynn,  Mass. 

James  E.  Child  laid  a  substantial  founda- 
tion for  his  future  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  high  school  of  Farmington.  On 
leavingthe  latter  he  took  a  thorough  course  at 
the  New  Hampton  Institute,  and  subsequently 
completed  his  studies  at  the  academy  in 
Worcester,  Mass.  Continuing  his  residence 
in  the  latter  city,  he  was  there  engaged  in  the 
shoe  business  for  a  couple  of  years,  and  then 
spent  a  few  months  in  the  busy  city  of  Chi- 
cago. In  18S0  he  returned  to  Worcester;  but, 
not  desiring  to  locate  there  permanently,  he 
soon  removed  to  this  town  in  order  to  carry 
out  his  design  of  becoming  a  farmer.  In  the 
following  year,  taking  advantage  of  a  fine  op- 
portunity, he  purchased  the  Jones  farm,  on 
Meeting-house  Hill,  a  most  excellent  loca- 
tion. Here  he  has  since  been  prosperously 
engaged  in  general  agriculture  and  dairying. 
His  estate  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  in  the 
neighborhood,  its  finely  tilled  lands,  comfort- 
able and  well-filled  buildings,  and  sleek  dairy 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


171 


bespeaking    the     iiulustry     and     tliiift     of    its 
owner. 

Mr.  Child  was  married  May  2,  18S2,  to 
Miss  Ruth  A.  King,  ilaughtcr  of  Sylvester 
King,  of  Springfield,  Me.  In  politics  Mr. 
Child  is  a  strong  Prohibitionist  and  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  party.  He  takes  an  active 
interest  in  local  affairs,  and  for  some  years 
served  as  Constable  and  Road  Surveyor.  He 
belongs  to  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  11,  K.  of  P. 
Both  he  and  his  estimable  wife  attend  the 
Baptist  church,  toward  the  support  of  which 
they  contribute. 


UWARD  FRANK  WIGGIN,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Reservoir  Stock  Farm, 
Meredith,  was  born  where  he  now 
resides,  September  8,  1S48,  son  of  Benjamin 
F.  and  Abigail  (Wadleigh)  Wiggin.  His 
great-grandfather,  Chase  Wiggin,  came  from 
Stratham,  N.H.,  to  Meredith  when  this  town 
was  mostly  in  a  wild  state.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  wife  was  Mary  Brackett.  Joshua 
Wiggin,  the  grandfather,  was  born  in  tliis 
town.  When  a  young  man  he  learned  the 
tratle  of  a  carpenter,  and  thereafter  followed 
it,  in  addition  to  farming,  throughout  the 
active  period  of  his  life.  He  married  Lucinda 
Pease,  and  reared  two  sons;  namely,  Benjamin 
F.  and  Charles  Pease. 

Benjamin  F.  Wiggin  was  born  in  Meredith, 
December  28,  1820.  He  attended  the  dis- 
trict school,  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
with  his  father.  After  his  marriage  he 
bought  fifty  acres  of  land,  which  is  now  a  part 
of  Reservoir  Stock  Farm,  and  for  many  years 
was  one  of  the  stirring  and  successful  farmers 
of  the  town.  He  also  worked  at  his  trade, 
and  is  widely  known  as  an  able  and  skilful 
mechanic.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and 
in  1872  and  1873  he  represented    Meredith    in 


the  legislature.  His  wife,  Abigail,  whom  he 
married  October  23,  i  S44,  is  a  daughter  of 
Stephen  Wadleigh,  of  Meredith.  She  is  the 
mother  of  two  children,  namely:  Stephen  \V., 
who  resides  in  Worcester,  Mass.  ;  and  lulward 
F. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Benjamin  F.  Wiggin  are  still  living,  and 
enjoy  good  health.  They  are  members  of  tiie 
Baptist  church. 

Edward  Frank  Wiggin  began  his  education 
in  the  pul)Iic  schools  of  Mereditii,  and  com- 
pleted his  studies  at  a  business  college  in 
Manchester.  His  first  employment  was  in  a 
grist-mill  in  Laconia.  After  working  here  as 
an  assistant  for  a  year  and  a  half,  he  operated 
the  mill  for  the  same  length  of  time  upon  his 
own  account.  Returning  after  this  to  the 
homestead,  he  began  to  e.xert  that  energy  and 
progressive  tendency  which  have  since  charac- 
terized his  efforts  as  an  agriculturist.  He  has 
purchased  large  tracts  of  adjoining  land  ;  and 
the  Reservoir  Stock  Farm  now  consists  of  five 
hundred  acres,  seventy-five  of  which  are  re- 
served for  tillage  purposes.  Besides  the  other 
usual  crops,  he  cuts  from  seventy-five  to  one 
hundred  tons  of  hay  annually,  and  raises  and 
packs  a  large  quantity  of  sweet  corn.  He 
keeps  fifty  head  of  thoroughbred  short -horned 
cattle,  which  are  considei'ed  to  be  the  only 
genuine  herd  of  that  breed  in  this  neighbor- 
hood ;  and  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  he  has 
supplied  a  large  number  of  regular  customers 
in  Laconia  with  butter,  of  whicii  he  jiroduces 
annually  twenty-five  hundred  pounds.  He 
also  keeps  forty  sheep,  from  fifteen  to  twent)- 
Berkshire  hogs,  eight  horses,  and  a  llock  of 
full-blooded  Plymouth  Rock  hens.  In  1895 
he  was  awarded  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
in  premiums  for  stock  exhibits  at  tiie  New 
England  and  Worcester  County  (Massachu- 
setts) Fairs.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat, 
and  he  has  rendered  able  service  to  the  town 


172 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


as  a  member  of   the  School   Board  and    in   the 
capacity  of  Selectman. 

On  October  24,  1877,  Mr.  Wij^gin  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Carrie  E.  Canney, 
daughter  of  Franklin  and  Laura  (Russell) 
Canney,  the  former  of  whom  is  a  native  of 
Centre  Harbor,  N.  H.,  and  is  now  a  miller  in 
Meredith.  Franklin  and  Laura  (Russell) 
Canney  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters  — 
Carrie  E.  and  Abbie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wiggin 
have  three  children;  namely,  Florence  M., 
Hollis  L.,  and  Ethel  F.  Mr.  Wiggin  is  a 
member  of  VVinnepesaukee  Lodge,  L  O.  O.  F., 
of  Laconia;  and  he  is  Master  of  VVinnepe- 
saukee Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 


OHN  H.  NEAL,  M.D.,  a  well-known 
physician  of  Rochester,  N.H.,  was 
born  in  Parsonsfield,  York  County, 
Me.,  March  20,  1S62,  son  of  John  and  Sarah 
Jane  (Lord)  Neal.  His  father  was  a  prosper- 
ous farmer  and  lifelong  resident  of  Parsons- 
field,  and  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years. 
He  took  a  leading  part  in  local  affairs  and 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen 
for  ten  years.  His  wife,  Sarah,  was  born  in 
Effingham,  N.H.  She  is  still  living,  and  re- 
sides with  her  son  in  Rochester. 

John  H.  Neal  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  Parsonsfield  Seminary,  and  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  began  teaching  school.  He 
taught  district  schools  in  Maine  and  New 
Hampshire  at  intervals,  while  attending  medi- 
cal lectures  at  the  Maine  Medical  School  in 
Brunswick.  He  then  pursued  a  two  years' 
course  at  the  Long  Island  College  Hospital, 
Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1886.  He  was  an  apt  student,  and  was 
chosen  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  his  class.  Locating  for  practice  in  San- 
ford,    Me.,    he   remained   there   until   January, 


1895,  at  which  time  he  came  to  Rochester. 
Since  establishing  himself  in  this  city  he  has 
succeeded  in  building  up  a  lucrative  practice. 
In  politics  he  was  formerly  a  Democrat,  but 
some  years  ago  became  a  Republican.  While 
residing  in  Sanford,  Me.,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Health  and  President  of  the 
Building  and  Loan  Association,  a  position 
which  he  resigned  when  he  moved  to  Roches- 
ter. He  is  at  the  present  time  serving  as  Sec- 
retary of  the  Board  of  Health  in  this  city,  and 
also  as  Overseer  of  the  Poor. 

On  November  28,  188S,  Dr.  Neal  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lulu  E.  Clark,  a  na- 
tive of  Sanford;  and  he  has  one  son,  Cecil  M. 
Dr.  Neal  is  a  member  of  Preble  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M.;  White  Rose  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  of 
Sanford ;  and  is  a  charter  member  of  Pales- 
tine Commandery,  K.  T.,  of  this  city. 


'CrJ)/TLBUR 
XasX/        prospe 


WESTON  BALLARD,  a 
irosperous  general  farmer  and  the 
proprietor  of  the  Ballard  House, 
Meredith,  was  born  where  he  now  resides, 
March  13,  i86o,  son  of  Llewelyn  and  Sophia 
(Maloon)  Ballard.  Llewelyn  Ballard,  a  native 
of  Belfast,  Me.,  was  reared  and  educated  in 
his  native  town.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
went  to  Boston,  where  he  learned  the  ma- 
chinist's trade.  Some  years  later  he  went  to 
California,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  sent  a 
sum  of  money  to  his  family.  That  was  the 
last  communication  they  ever  received  from 
him,  and  he  has  not  been  heard  from  since. 
His  wife,  Sophia,  a  native  of  Boston,  was  a 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Maloon,  of  Deerfield, 
N.H.  Her  father  resided  in  his  native  town 
until  the  death  of  his  wife's  father,  when  he 
came  to  Meredith,  and  took  charge  of  the 
homestead  which  then  fell  to  her  possession. 
Nathaniel  Maloon   married   Betsey   Wadleigh, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


173 


whose  father,  Josiah  Wadleigh,  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  in  Meredith.  Josiah  Wadleigh 
reclaimed  from  the  wilderness  the  farm  which 
is  now  owned  by  his  great-grandson,  Willnir 
W.  Ballard;  and  a  part  of  the  present  resi- 
dence was  built  with  timbers  which  he  hewed 
by  hand,  as  there  was  no  saw-mill  in  this 
vicinity  at  that  time.  Llewelyn  and  Sophia 
Ballard  had  another  son,  Charles  Hartwell, 
now  a  resident  of  Boston.  After  the  death  of 
hor  mother,  Mrs.  Llewelyn  Ballard  kept  house 
for  her  father  while  he  lived;  and  she  died  in 
Meredith  in  1885,  aged  forty-nine  years. 

Wilbur  Weston  Ballard  was  educated  in  this 
town,  and  grew  to  manhood  upon  the  farm  he 
now  occupies.  When  twenty-one  years  old  he 
went  to  New  York  State,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  a  hotel  for  two  years.  Then,  re- 
turning home,  he  cared  for  his  mother  during 
her  last  illness.  After  her  death  he  went  to 
Boston,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  street  car 
conductor  by  the  West  End  Railway  Company 
for  a  time.  After  this  he  again  returned  to 
Meredith,  where  he  has  since  devoted  his  at- 
tention to  general  farming.  He  owns  sixty 
acres  of  excellent  land,  half  of  which  is  set 
apart  for  tillage  purposes;  and  he  cuts  about 
fifteen  tons  of  hay  annually.  In  1891  he 
began  to  entertain  summer  boarders.  The 
Ballard  House,  which  has  ample  accommoda- 
tions for  thirty-five  guests,  is  situated  upon 
high  ground  overlooking  Waukewan  Lake, 
with  a  distant  view  of  the  Sandwich  and 
White  Mountains. 

On  RLarch  16,  1889,  Mr.  Ballard  was  joined 
ill  marriage  with  Emma  N.  Roberts,  daughter 
of  Oren  Roberts.  He  now  has  two  children, 
namely:  Frank  L.,  born  May  8,  1891;  and 
Alice  J.,  born  April  22,  1893.  In  politics 
Mr.  Ballard  is  a  Republican.  He  is  con- 
nected with  Chocorua  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.; 
Belknap   Lodge,  I.    O.    O.    F. ;   and  Winnepe- 


saukce  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  lie 
attends  the  Baptist  church,  of  wliich  Mrs.  Bal- 
lard is  a  member. 


M 


ANII'LL  BROWN  EATON,  a  prom- 
inent farmer  and  a  well-known  resi- 
dent of  Mercditii,  was  born  in  Gil- 
ford, N.H.,  October  23,  1820,  son  of  I'^lisha 
and  Betsey  (Brown)  Eaton.  His  great-grand- 
father, John  Eaton,  wJici  was  born  either  in 
Salisbury  or  Seabrook,  N.H.,  in  1750,  was  a 
tailor  by  trade,  but  devoted  the  greater  part  of 
his  active  period  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
John  Eaton  married  -Sarah  Freiicli,  and  his 
children  were:  l^lisha;  John;  Joseph;  and 
Jonathan;  Nancy,  who  married  John  Mathews; 
Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  Theodore 
Clark;  Sarah,  who  became  Mrs.  Stamels; 
Betsey,  who  married  Andrew  Flanders; 
Aniasa;  Jacob;  and  Samuel  S.  Elisha  Eaton 
(first),  the  grandfather,  was  born  in  I'iltsfield, 
N.  H.,  in  1768.  He  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing, but  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years. 
He  married  Betsey  Sherburne,  and  Elisha  was 
the  only  child  of  that  union. 

Elisha  Eaton  (second),  Daniel  B.  ]'^aton"s 
father,  born  in  Pittsfield,  December  26,  1794, 
was  left  fatherless  at  the  age  of  four  months. 
He  was  brought  up  by  his  paternal  grandpar- 
ents, and  he  occupied  the  old  homestead  prop- 
erty until  he  was  seventy  years  old.  His  last 
years  were  passed  with  his  daughter  in  Alton, 
N.H.  In  politics  he  was  a  Jacksonian  Dem- 
ocrat. His  wife,  Betsey,  a  daughter  of 
Ephraim  Brown,  of  Gilford,  N.  IL,  became  the 
mother  of  ten  children,  as  follows:  Daniel  B., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Sarah  Jane,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years;  Miriam 
B.,  who  niariied  Isaiah  C.  Morrill,  of  Gilford: 
Reuhamah  G.,  who  married  Isaac  Morrill; 
Emeline  T.,  who  married   Calvin    Rollins,  of 


'74 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Alton,  and  is  now  deceased;  John  D.,  of 
Salom,  Mass.  ;  Mary,  also  deceased,  who  be- 
came tlic  wile  (if  Henry  Duffee,  of  Alton; 
Martin  \'.  H. ,  now  of  Moultonboro,  N.ll.; 
Joseph  W'.,  who  resides  in  Salem,  Mass.  ;  and 
Laura  A.,  the  wife  of  William  Downs,  also  of 
Salem.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  I'^isha  Eaton  were  at- 
tendants at  the  l'"ree  Hai'itist  church. 

The  education  of  Daniel  Brown  Eaton, 
begun  in  the  common  schools,  was  completed 
in  the  common  and  high  schools  of  Gilford 
(now  Laconia).  He  resided  at  the  homestead 
until  1 866,  and  taught  for  several  winter 
terms.  He  then  bought  his  present  farm  in 
Meredith,  and  has  since  resided  here.  His 
property  contains  one  hundred  and  ten  acres 
of  land,  twenty-five  of  which  are  undei  culti- 
vation. He  raises  corn,  oats,  potatoes,  and 
beans,  and  cuts  thirteen  tons  of  hay.  He  has 
kept  from  twelve  to  fourteen  head  of  cattle. 
Having  a  natural  aptitude  for  mechanical 
work,  he  has  fitted  up  a  blacksmith's  shop 
upon  his  premises  for  the  benefit  of  the  neigh- 
boring farmers.  A  practical  surveyor,  he  has 
been  employed  in  that  capacity  in  four  differ- 
ent counties.  It  was  he  who  performed  the  en- 
gineering work  needed  by  the  Enterprise 
Linen  and  Fibre  Company's  mill  in  Mere- 
dith. He  is  familiar  with  astronomy  and 
natural  philosophy.  He  has  transacted  a  great 
deal  of  business  before  the  Probate  Court,  and 
is  now  holding  his  tenth  commission  as  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  served  Gilford  as 
Treasurer,  Selectman,  legislative  Representa- 
tive, and  superintendent  of  schools,  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  School  Committee  of 
Meredith. 

Mr.  Eaton  has  been  twice  married.  On 
August  9,  1849,  he  wedded  Susan  L.  Smith, 
daughter  of  Joseph  P.  Smith,  of  Gilford.  Of 
this  marriage  there  were  born  si.\  children  — • 
Mary  S.,  Julia  A.,  Sarah   J.,  John    S.,  Daniel 


}{.,  and  Joseph  S.  Mary  S.  married  the  Rev. 
C.  W.  Taylor,  a  Methodist  preacher;  Sarah  J. 
died  at  the  age  of  tjiirty-seven  years;  John  S. 
died  in  1876,  aged  eighteen  years;  Daniel  I'^ 
is  Treasurer  of  the  Meredith  Savings  l^ank; 
and  Joseph  S.  is  an  overseer  in  Mason's  Ma- 
chine Works,  Taunton,  Mass.  Mr.  I^aton's 
first  wife  died  in  1876.  She  was  a  member  of 
the  Free  Baptist  church.  On  October  12, 
1882,  he  married  Mrs.  limily  A.  (Whidden) 
Corliss,  daughter  of  Mark  Whidden,  of  Ports- 
mouth, N.  H.  In  politics  Mr.  Eaton  is  a 
Republican.  He  is  deeply  interested  in  tiie 
temperance  cause,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Free  Baptist  church. 


ALTER  F.  GAGE,  a  farmer  of 
much  enterprise  and  ability,  ac- 
tively engaged  in  his  chosen  voca- 
tion in  the  town  of  Dover,  Strafford  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  October  9,  1848,  on  the  home- 
stead where  he  now  resides.  This  farm  was 
bought'  by  his  paternal  grandfather,  James 
Gage,  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century, 
he  having  been  a  farmer  and  wheelwright. 

Daniel  Gage,  son  of  James  and  father  of 
Walter  F. ,  was  born,  reared,  and  has  passed 
his  entire  life  on  this  homestead,  the  date  of 
his  birth  being  January  8,  1827.  Succeeding 
to  the  ownership  of  the  paternal  acres,  he 
labored  with  unceasing  industry,  making  many 
and  substantial  improvements  on  the  place, 
and  now,  having  rounded  out  threescore  years 
and  ten,  is  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  many 
days  of  toil.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was 
Sarah  J.  Ilersom.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daniel  Gage 
have  two  children,  namely:  Walter  F. ,  the 
special  subject  of  this  brief  personal  sketch; 
and  Daniel,  also  a  farmer,  residing  in  Dover. 
Walter  F.  Gage  acquired  his  education  in 
the  public  schools,  and  during  the  days  of  his 


■ 

^^^^^1 

^"'^1 

1 

1 

^0^ 

v.'^V 

^^^H 

^^H 

p^%_^ 

iB 

H 

m  .^hii^l^^^l 

It 

^H 

^^^^^^^^H^^^^^H 

B^^^^     ^^^^^^1 

^^^H  v^u^« 

fI^^I 

^^^HRi^l 

I  &pi  «^  rl^^P 

1^^ 

yfl 

^^^^^^K<^     '^IKI 

WEr              ^^^1 

^^H 

I^H 

^^^^^-' 

nP^J^I 

^^ 

^H 

^K^^^K 

^^■m 

HH 

^H 

^^^^Mj^Vi^^ 

^ 

^ 

■ 

IL. 

3 

MR.    AND    MRS.    WALTER     F.    GAGE,   with    daughter.    CORA    B.. 
AND    SON.    EVERETT    W. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'77 


later  boyhood  and  youth  he  assisted  his  father 
in  tiie  labors  of  the  home  farm.  Here  obtain- 
ing a  practical  knowledge  of  everything  per- 
taining to  agriculture,  he  chose  that  pursuit 
as  his  life  occupation.  When  but  twenty 
years  of  age  he  purchased  of  his  father  an  in- 
terest in  the  farming  business,  and  of  this  he 
has  now  the  complete  charge.  He  has  addetl 
to  the  home  farm  three  other  farms  located  in 
Somersworth,  Rochester,  and  Dover,  the  farm 
now  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
situated  in  the  three  towns  mentioned.  Mr. 
Gage  carries  on  general  husbandry  and  dairy- 
ing, and  in  connection  with  the  latter  has  run 
a  milk  route  for  more  than  twenty  years.  He 
keeps  about  twenty  cows,  finding  this  part  of 
his  business  profitable  and  sure,  as  milk  known 
to  be  pure  and  unadulterated  is  always  in  de- 
mand. 

On  February  14,  1877,  Mr.  Gage  married 
Miss  Amanda  J.  Sterling,  daughter  of  Ephraim 
A.  and  Susan  (Ham)  Sterling,  of  Dover. 
They  have  two  children  —  Cora  15.  and  Everett 
W.  A  man  of  foresight  and  good  judgment 
in  affairs,  Mr.  Gage  occupies  a  secure  position 
in  the  consideration  and  respect  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  He  is  ever  interested  in  local  im- 
provements, giving  his  hearty  support  to  all 
enterprises  calculated  to  benefit  the  town  or 
city,  and  for  four  years  served  as  an  official  of 
the  municipal  government,  having  been  Coun- 
cilman two  years  and  Alderman  two  years, 
representing  Ward  One.  Mr.  Gage  belongs 
to  one  fraternal  order,  the  Knights  of  Pythias; 
and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church. 


/^TeORGE  WRIGHT  BARTLETT,  who 
\  |v5F  conducts  a  prosperous  [ilumbing  anil 
steam-fitting  business  in  Meredith, 
was  born  at  Centre  Harbor,  N.H.,  January  2, 
1857.     His  parents  were  James  and  Elizabeth 


(Davis)  Bartlett,  natives  of  Centre  Harlior. 
(I'or  an  account  of  his  ancestry  see  the  sketch 
of  James  D.  ]?artlett,  which  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  work.) 

James  Bartlett  was  reared  a  farmer,  and 
after  his  marriage  he  began  to  cultivate  a  farm 
which  his  fatiier  had  given  him.  After  fol- 
lowing agricultural  pursuits  for  some  years,  he 
moved  to  Meredith,  and  kept  a  general  store 
for  two  or  three  years.  Then,  returning  to 
his  farm,  he  remained  there  until  1S68.  In 
that  year  he  bought  another  piece  of  agricult- 
ural property  in  Campton,  N.H.,  and  resided 
there  for  eight  years.  Returning  once  more 
to  Centre  Harbor,  he  remained  for  a  year,  and 
then  took  up  his  residence  in  Meredith,  where 
his  last  days  were  passed,  and  where  he  died 
in  1891.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
and  served  upon  the  Board  of  Selectmen  in 
his  native  town.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  whose 
father,  Nathan  Davis,  was  also  a  native  of 
Centre  Harbor,  became  the  mother  of  five 
children  —  Sarah,  Mirrila,  Maria,  Frank  A., 
and  George  W.  Sarah  is  the  wife  of  Melthno 
C.  Clarke,  of  Centre  Harbor;  Mirrila  married 
Charles  Webster,  and  is  no  longer  living. 
Maria  is  the  wife  of  Ira  Wilkinson;  and 
Frank  A.  is  residing  in  Meredith.  The 
mother,  now  seventy-eight  years  old,  is  living 
with  George  W.  Bartlett. 

George  W.  IJartlett  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  On  reaching  his  majorit)'  he 
came  to  Meredith,  where  for  one  and  a  half 
years  he  was  employed  at  John  A.  Lang's 
piano  case  factory.  The  next  twelve  years 
were  spent  in  the  employment  of  the  Meredith 
Shook  and  Lumber  Company.  In  February, 
1894,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Meredith 
Electric  Light  Company,  of  which  he  is  now 
the  superintendent.  In  1895  he  established 
himself  in  business  as  a  steam-fitter.  Later 
he  put   in  a  stock  of   stoves  and  ranges,  and 


178 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


started  in  tlie  plunihinp;  business.  He  has 
already  built  up  a  profitable  trade,  and  em- 
ploys from  two  to  four  men. 

In  politics  Mr.  Hartlett  is  a  Prohibitionist. 
lie  is  a  member  of  Belknap  Lodge,  No.  14, 
I.  O.  O.  V.  ;  of  Meredith  Lodge,  No.  50, 
Knights  of  Pythias;  of  the  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men;  and  of  the  Good  Templars  and  the 
Patrons  of  Husbandry. 


-r^ESLIE  W.  RICKER,  who  has  charge 
|JT  of  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad  sta- 
-*■ —  ^  tion  at  New  Durham,  Strafford 
County,  was  born  in  this  town,  July  27,  i860, 
son  of  Ira  S.  and  Mary  E.  (Hall)  Ricker. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Dover,  N.H.;  and 
his  grandfather,  John  Ricker,  was  also  born  in 
that  town.  Ira  S.  Ricker  was  in  the  employ 
of  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad  Company  for 
thirty-five  years,  for  twenty-nine  of  which  he 
acted  as  station  agent  in  New  Durham,  hold- 
ing that  position  until  1S86.  In  politics  he 
supported  the  Democratic  party,  and  his  pub- 
lic services  were  of  much  benefit  to  the  town. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen 
four  years,  a  part  of  which  time  he  acted  as 
Chairman,  was  Tax  Collector  six  years,  served 
upon  the  School  Board,  was  Postmaster  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  represented  the  town  in 
the  legislature  in  1892  and  1893.  He  wedded 
Mary  E.  Hall,  of  Barrington,  N.  H.,  and  they 
reared  six  children,  namely:  Charles  H. ;  Ira 
0.;  Mary  H.;  Daniel  IL;  Leslie  W.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Jeanette  A.,  the 
last  named  being  the  wife  of  F.  E.  lulgerley, 
of  Farmington,  N.  H.  Ira  S.  Ricker  died 
September  18,   1896. 

Leslie  VV.  Ricker  acquired  a  common- 
school  education,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  Boston  &  Maine 
Company  as   brakeman   on   a   passenger  train. 


He  continued  in  that  employment  for  about 
seven  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  be- 
came agent  for  the  Lawrence  Express  Comjiany 
at  Dover,  N.H.  In  1886  he  succeeded  his 
father  as  station  agent  at  New  Durham,  which 
position  he  has  since  retained;  and  he  also 
acts  as  special  police  officer  at  the  station. 
Mr.  Ricker  is  independent  in  politics.  In 
1888  he  was  elected  Town  Clerk,  a  position 
which  he  still  holds;  and  he  was  a  member  of 
the  School  Board  three  years. 

He  married  Wendello  Tash,  of  New  Dur- 
ham, and  has  two  children — ^  Marion  L.  and 
Raymond.  The  family  attend  the  Baptist 
church. 


7~>1IARLES  HODGDON  DOW,  one  of 
I  Sr'^      Barnstead's  best  known  residents,  was 

vj£_,^  born  in  this  town,  July  19,  1822, 
son  of  Timothy  and  Mary  (Hodgdoii)  Dow. 
In  1797  his  grandfather,  Simon  Dow,  moved 
with  his  family  from  Durham,  N.H.,  to  North 
Barnstead,  and  there  settled  upon  two  hundred 
acres  of- partially  cleared  land.  Simon  Dow's 
children  were:  Jeremiah,  Timothy,  John  O., 
Betsey,  Hannah,  and  Margaret.  Jeremiah 
settled  in  Massachusetts;  John  O.  died  in 
Barnstead;  Betsey  married  William  Walker; 
Hannah  wedded  a  Mr.  Hill;  and  Margaret  be- 
came the  wife  of  James  Murray,  and  moved  to 
a  Western  State. 

Timothy  Dow  succeeded  to  the  part  of  the 
homestead  originally  settled  by  his  father, 
and  became  a  very  prosperous  farmer.  He 
was  active  in  political  affairs,  served  as  a  Se- 
lectman for  a  number  of  terms,  was  Moderator 
at  town  meetings  for  twenty  years,  and  repre- 
sented Barnstead  in  the  legislature  for  two 
terms.  Prominently  identified  with  the  State 
militia  for  twenty-four  years,  he  rose  in  it  to 
the  rank  of  Major-general.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat.      He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'79 


four  years.  His  wife,  Mary,  was  a  daughter 
of  Charles  Hoclgilon,  who  owned  a  large  farm, 
and  was  one  of  the  jirosperous  residents  of 
Harnstead  in  his  day.  She  became  the  mother 
of  three  children — Charles  H.,  Panielia,  and 
John.  Famelia  married  Jacob  Locke,  of  North 
Barnstead ;  and  John  occupies  the  homestead. 

Having  acquired  a  common-school  educa- 
tion, Charles  Hodgdon  Dow  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade.  When  twenty-two  years  old  he 
went  to  Roxbury,  Mass.,  and  was  there  em- 
ployed at  brickmaking  for  four  years.  He 
then  entered  into  partnership  witii  Joseph  A. 
Walker  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing 
brick.  Withdrawing  from  that  firm  a  year 
later,  he  was  engaged  in  the  same  business 
alone  for  eight  years.  Returning  then  to 
his  native  State,  he  bought  the  York  farm  in 
North  Barnstead.  He  also  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  starch  in  New  York  State, 
being  associated  in  that  enterprise  with 
Robert  S.  Webster  for  four  years.  During 
his  five  years'  connection  with  starcli  making, 
he  was  absent  in  New  York  State  during  the 
winter  season.  Since  his  retirement  from  that 
business  he  has  carried  on  general  farming  on 
quite  an  extensive  scale,  devoting  his  spare 
time  to  shoemaking. 

Mr.  Dow  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  in  maidenhood  Susan  M.  Drew,  who 
died  in  Roxbury,  Mass.,  in  1S49,  was  the 
niotiier  of  one  son  and  one  daughter.  Tiie 
latter  died  in  infancy.  On  August  13,  1S54, 
he  wedded  I^ydia  A.  .Shackford,  daughter  of 
Seth  and  Harriet  (Hill)  Shackford,  of  Barn- 
stead.  Mrs.  Dow  is  a  descendant  of  William 
Shackford,  an  Englishman,  the  first  ancestor 
of  the  family  in  America.  The  records  of 
Dover,  N.H.,  show  that  he  was  a  tax-payer  of 
that  town  in  1660.  He  married  Deborah 
Trickey,  of  Dover.  His  son.  Captain  Samuel 
Shackford,  who  was  a  highly  respected   citizen 


of  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  married  twice.  Captain 
Shackford's  son,  William,  by  his  first  wife,  in- 
herited tlie  greater  portion  of  his  father's  es- 
tate, and  died  in  1773.  William  .Shackford 
is  mentioned  in  Colonial  iiistory  as  having 
advanced  money  toward  defraying  the  exjicnses 
of  the  invasion  of  Canada.  He  was  twice 
married;  and  iiis  son.  Captain  .Samuel  .Siiack- 
ford,  who  was  a  prominent  resident  of  New- 
ington,  N.H.,  during  the  Revolutionary  War, 
was  Mrs.  Dow"s  great-grandfather.  Captain 
Samuel  Shackford's  first  wife  had  twelve  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Josiah,  the  tentli-liorn,  was 
Mrs.  Dow's  grandfather.  Josiah  Shackford 
married  Lydia  Dennett;  and,  of  his  five  chil- 
dren by  her,  Seth,  the  fifth-born,  was  Mrs. 
Dow's  father.  Seth  Shackford  was  for  forty 
years  an  insurance  agent  and  a  well-known 
farmer.  He  was  elected  to  nearly  every  office 
within  the  gift  of  his  fellow-towr.smen,  in- 
chuling  that  of  County  Commissioner,  and  for 
two  terms  that  of  legislative  Representative. 
He  was  a  member  of  tiie  h'ree  Baptist  church. 
His  death  happened  in  1888,  in  his  seventy- 
eighth  year,  and  that  of  liis  wife  on  I'ebruary 
29,   1864. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dow  have  had  five  cliildren  — 
Seth,  B.  Frank,  George,  Hattie  M.,  and 
Addie.  George  is  a  photographer,  and  re- 
sides in  the  West;  Hattie  M.  is  the  wife  of 
J.  H.  Thompson,  and  resides  in  P'armington, 
N.H.;  Addie  married  Charles  Leigliton,  and 
lives  in  Haverhill,  Mass.  15.  Frank,  who 
was  for  two  years  a  book-keeper  in  Boston  for 
William  II.  Dow,  is  now  engaged  in  ]ihotog- 
raphy  and  assists  his  father  upon  the  farm. 
He  was  recently  re-elected  to  the  Board  of 
Education,  on  which  he  had  jireviously  served 
for  three  years;  and  he  is  a  chartei-  memiier  of 
Crescent  Lake  Grange,  No.  164.  In  politics 
Charles  II.  Dow  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  been 
Town  Treasurer  for  two  years,  and  a   Repre- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


sentative    to    the    legislature     for     the     same 

length    of    time.       While    a    member    of    the 

legislature  he  served  upon  the  Committee  on 

the  Insane  Asylums.      He  is  a  Deacon  of  the 

First   Congregational   Church,    and    Mrs.  Dow 

is  a  member. 

<  < » * » — — 

'OHN  H.  NEALLKY,  a  keen  and  en- 
terprising business  man  of  Strafford 
County,  and  one  of  the  leading  mer- 
chants of  the  city  of  Dover,  was  born  August 
4,  1S53,  in  South  Berwick,  Me.,  the  son  of 
Benjamin  Mason  and  Abbie  (Pray)  Nealley. 
He  received  his  business  education  at  I^ryant 
&  Stratton's  Commercial  College  in  Portland, 
Me  ,  whither  he  went  after  leaving  the  public 
schools  of  Biddeford.  On  arriving  at  man's 
estate  he  entered  the  mercantile  circle  by  be- 
coming a  clerk  in  a  wholesale  and  retail  gro- 
cery and  grain  store  in  Saco,  Me.,  in  which 
he  was  employed  for  two  years.  In  1871  he 
came  to  Dover,  entering  the  dry-goods  estab- 
lishment of  his  brother,  the  Hon.  B.  F. 
Nealley,  for  whom  he  clerked  several  years. 
In  1893  Mr.  Nealley  purchased  the  entire 
business  of  his  brother,  and  is  now  proprietor 
of  the  store  in  which  he  was  so  long  an  em- 
ployee. In  this,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
extensive  establishments  of  the  kind  in  this 
section  of  Strafford  County,  Mr.  Nealley 
carries  a  complete  stock  of  dry  and  fancy 
goods,  including  the  latest  novelties  in  his 
line.  He  spares  neither  time  nor  expense 
ill  endeavoring  to  please  his  patrons,  and  has 
tiiereby  secured  a  large  and  lucrative  trade  in 
this  city  and  the  surrounding  towns. 

On  September  12,  1877,  Mr.  Nealley  mar- 
ried Miss  Emma  C.  Cushing,  a  daughter  of 
the  late  Thomas  H.  Cushing,  of  Dover.  Po- 
litically, Mr.  Nealley  affiliates  with  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  has  been  often  solicited 
to  accept  responsible  positions  in  the  town  or 


county  government,  but  has  general  1)-  declined 
because  of  the  engrossing  demands  of  his  busi- 
ness. He  served,  however,  in  the  State  legis- 
lature in  1889  and  1890  as  Representative 
from  Ward  Three.  Mr.  Nealley  is  a  member 
of  Strafford  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Dover;  of 
St.  Paul  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  hav- 
ing held  office  in  the  last-named  bod)-  for 
twenty  years;  and  a  member  of  the  Order  of 
Elks  of  this  city.  He  attends  and  supports 
the  First  Parish  Congregational  Church,  of 
which  his  wife  is  a  member. 


G,vf>  lELVILLE  COX  SPAULDING, 
M.D.,  an  able  physician  and  sur- 
geon of  Til  ton,  and  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War,  was  born  in  Chelsea,  Vt.,  May 
4,  1842.  His  parents  were  the  Rev.  Russell 
H.  and  Lucinda  (Leavitt)  Spaulding,  both  of 
whom  were  natives  of  Vermont.  His  grand- 
father, Reuben  Spaulding,  was  a  pioneer  in 
Sharon,  Vt.,  where  he  erected  a  log  house  and 
cleared  a  farm.  The  grandfather  subsequently 
sold  his  property  there,  and  moved  to  Canaan, 
Vt.,  where  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  life. 
Russell  H.  Spaulding,  Dr.  Spaulding's  father, 
was  born  April  25,  1804;  and  his  boyhood 
was  spent  upon  a  farm.  He  became  a  Meth- 
odist minister,  and  began  preaching  on  the 
Ashburnham  (Mass.)  Circuit.  He  was  later 
appointed  Presiding  Elder  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Conference,  and  resided  for  a  time  at 
Haverhill  Corner,  N.H.  Being  compelled  by 
a  severe  throat  affection  to  give  up  his  charge, 
he  bought  a  farm  in  Barnard,  Vt.,  where  he 
tilled  the  soil  and  preached  occasionally. 
Upon  his  recovery  he  resumed  his  pastoral 
labors,  but  a  short  time  later  he  was  forced  to 
retire  from  the  pulpit  by  a  return  of  the 
disease;  and  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Rochester, 
N.H.      Si.x  years  later  he   sold   this   property, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


bought  another  farm  in  the  same  town,  and 
occuiiicd  it  for  the  same  length  of  lime. 
Tlicn,  lia\-ing  sohi  his  last  purchase,  he  moved 
to  L'nion  Village,  Vt.  After  residing  tliere 
for  a  year,  he  removetl  to  Pittsfield,  Vt., 
where  he  died  in  1859.  Politically,  he  was  a 
Democrat.  His  wife,  Lucinda  Leavitt,  was  a 
daughter  of  Nehemiah  Leavitt,  and  a  native 
of  Royal  ton,  Vt.,  born  September  25,  1806. 
Her  father  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  who 
moved  from  that  State  to  Vermont,  and  pur- 
chased the  township  of  Royalton.  In  the 
early  days  of  that  section  the  Indians  made 
their  way  up  White  River,  and  burned  tiic 
town,  which  was  about  four  miles  distant  from 
the  Broad  Ikook,  on  which  Nehemiah  lived. 
He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  the  most 
prominent  man  in  Royalton  in  his  day.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Polly  Worm- 
wood. The  Rev.  Russell  and  Lucinda 
(Leavitt)  Spaulding  were  the  parents  of  si.x 
children,  four  of  whom  reached  maturity, 
namely:  Harriet,  now  the  wife  of  Oliver  Win- 
ship;  Justin  II.,  who  is  no  longer  living; 
Melville  C,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
James  R.,  who  resides  in  Boston.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  VVinship  are  also  residents  of  Boston, 
but  at  present  are  staying  in  San  Francisco, 
Cal.,  for  the  benefit  of  their  health. 

Melville  Co.x  Spaulding  attended  the 
Wesleyan  Academy  at  Canaan,  N.IL,  and  a 
school  in  Pittsfield,  Vt.  He  read  medicine 
with  Dr.  Brigham  of  the  last-named  town,  and 
also  gave  some  attention  to  music.  He  was 
able  to  play  any  brass  instrument  in  1861, 
when  he  entered  the  military  service  as  a 
B-flat  cornet  player  in  the  band  connected  with 
the  F"ourth  Vermont  Regiment.  He  did  this 
partly  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  knowl- 
edge of  surgery,  as  the  army  offered  superior 
advantages  in  that  direction.  The  band  was 
ordered  home  a  year  later,  after  which  he  at- 


tended lectures  in  the  medical  de])artmcnt  of 
the  L'niversity  of  Vermont,  graduating  there- 
from in  iS'65.  .Siiortly  after  he  began  |)rac- 
tice  in  Burke,  Vt.,  where  he  resided  for  eight 
years.  After  a  winter  spent  in  attending 
lectures  and  visiting  hospitals  in  Boston,  he 
practised  in  Bethel,  \'t.,  fur  four  years;  in 
Wilmot,  N.IL,  for  six  years;  and  in  Ashland, 
N.H.,  meeting  with  much  success,  for  tliir- 
teen  years.  In  the  spring  of  1896  he  came  to 
Tilton.  Here  he  has  charge  of  the  hospital 
at  the  Soldiers'  Home  in  addition  to  a  gund 
general  practice. 

On  June  II,  1S63,  Dr.  Spaulding  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Charlotte 
Lamb,  daughter  of  Isaac  Landi,  of  Stock- 
bridge,  Vt.  Of  their  five  ciiildren,  four  at- 
tained maturity.  These  are:  Josephine,  now 
the  wife  of  Fred  K.  Goodhue,  of  Wilmot, 
N.H.  ;  Grace  L.,  who  died  some  time  ago; 
Roy  II.  and  Harry  IL,  now  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing, and  who  reside  in  Ashland.  Dr. 
Spaulding  owns  a  good  residence,  with  four 
acres  of  land,  in  Ashland.  He  is  connected 
with  Mount  Prospect  Lodge,  I-".  &  A.  M.  ; 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  P'ellows  of 
Ashland;  and  he  is  Surgeon  of  O.  W.  Keyes 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  that  town.  While  residing 
in  Bethel  he  was  leader  of  the  band.  He 
still  retains  his  interest  in  music.  In  polities 
he  is  a  Republican.  Both  he  and  Mrs. 
Spauliling  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
I'-piscopal  churcli. 


Y^TFRBERT  J.  JONES,  an  enterprising 
f^l  merchant  and  one  of  the  most  jiopu- 
-li®  V  ^  lar  young  men  of  Alton,  was  born 
in  this  town,  September  12,  i860,  son  of  Jere- 
miah and  Ellen  M.  (.Sawyer)  Jones.  I'-or 
three  generations  representatives  of  the  Jones 
family    have    been    prosperous     merchants     in 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Alton.  The  business  was  established  by 
James  Jones,  grandfather  of  Herbert  J. 
James  Jones,  who  was  liorn  in  Farmington, 
N.H.,  Sejitember  6,  1794,  and  came  to  this 
town  when  it  was  struggling  into  existence, 
started  a  small  country  store,  which  was  the 
main  source  of  supplies  for  the  settlers.  This 
was  the  foundation  of  the  present  business. 
Grandfather  Jones  lived  to  be  over  sixty  years 
old.  He  was  twice  married.  The  maiden 
name  of  his  first  wife,  whom  he  wedded  in 
March,  1821,  was  Polly  McDuffee.  She  died 
December  23,  1848;  and  on  April  7,  1850,  he 
wedded  for  his  second  wife  Sally  R.  Clough. 
He  was  the  father  of  four  children,  all  by  his 
first  wife;  namely,  Jonathan,  Eleanor,  Jere- 
miah, and  Lois.  Jonathan  travelled  consider- 
ably, but  always  maintained  his  residence  in 
Alton,  and  was  buried  here;  Eleanor  is  now 
the  widow  of  Charles  P.  Emerson,  formerly  a 
merchant  in  Alton  Ray;  Lois,  the  youngest, 
married  Seymour  Brown,  and  moved  to 
Winona,  Wis.,  where  she  died,  leaving  one 
son,  who  is  now  practising  law. 

Jeremiah  Jones,  who  was  born  in  Farming- 
ton,  came  with  his  parents  to  Alton  when  he 
was  ten  years  old.  He  acquired  a  good  prac- 
tical education,  and  at  an  early  age  began  to 
assist  in  carrying  on  the  business.  For  some 
years  previous  to  the  death  of  his  father  he 
conducted  the  store.  The  store,  then  being 
rapidly  outgrown  by  its  business,  was  kept  in 
a  building  which  was  also  the  family  resi- 
dence. In  1855  Jeremiah  Jones  erected  the 
present  spacious  quarters.  Since  then,  under 
his  able  management  and  owing  to  the  in- 
creased population  of  the  town,  the  business 
has  developed  to  one  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. Some  time  ago  he  was  obliged  to  add  a 
storehouse  to  the  building.  He  was  for  many 
years  closely  identified  with  local  public 
affairs,    serving    as    Town     Treasurer,     Post- 


master, and  County  Commissioner;  and  the 
zeal  and  ability  he  displayed  in  these  offices 
were  heartily  commended  by  his  fellow-towns- 
men. .  His  wife,  Ellen  M.,  is  a  native  of 
Alton.  Her  father,  the  late  Daniel  Sawyer, 
was  one  of  the  stirring  men  of  his  day,  served 
as  a  Selectman  and  in  other  town  offices,  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council,  and 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  many  years.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Jones  have  reared  two 
sons  —  Herbert  J.  and  Percy  S.  Percy  S., 
who  was  educated  at  the  New  Hampton, 
Academy,  and  is  now  connected  with  his 
father's  business,  is  a  musician  of  more  than 
ordinary  merit  and  the  organist  of  the  Free 
Baptist  church.  Some  time  ago  he  was  Town 
Clerk,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  that  office 
in  a  manner  that  gave  much  promise  for  his 
future  career. 

After  attending  the  P"ranklin  Academy  at 
Dover,  N.H.,  for  a  time,  Herbert  J.  Jones 
graduated  from  the  academy  in  New  Hampton, 
and  then  took  a  commercial  course.  Subse- 
quently "he  went  to  Des  Moines,  la.,  and  there 
for  two  years  was  receiving  clerk  for  the 
Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany. He  was  then  collector  for  the  White 
Line  Transfer  Company  for  a  year.  In  1884 
he  returned  to  Alton,  where  he  has  since  been 
in  partnership  with  his  father.  It  is  stated 
that  Messrs.  Jones  carry  a  larger  stock  of  gen- 
eral merchandise  than  any  other  concern  in 
this  section,  staple  goods,  such  as  sugar, 
grain,  and  oil,  being  purchased  by  the  carload. 
The  enterprising  spirit  of  Herbert  J.  Jones 
has  carried  him  into  other  fields  of  business 
speculation.  He  is  the  largest  resident  stock- 
holder of  the  Alton  Water  Works,  and  for  the 
past  three  years  he  has  been  a  Director  of  the 
New  England  Retail  Grocery  Publishing  Com- 
pany. When  the  Alton  Five  Cent  Savings 
Bank  went  into  insolvency,  he  was  appointed 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■83 


assignee  by  the  Court.  For  some  time  lie 
has  l)een  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  aiul  a  Notary 
Tublic. 

On  October  5,  18S7,  Mr.  Jones  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Jennie  Dodge,  daughter  of 
James  and  Bet.sy  (Tallant)  Dodge,  of  Pem- 
broke, N.II.  Edna  D.,  their  only  child,  born 
April  I,  18S9,  died  October  5,  1891.  Mr. 
Jones  is  Master  of  the  Exchequer  of  Cochcco 
Lodge,  No.  28,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  one 
of  that  party's  most  efficient  leaders  in  Alton. 
A  delegate  to  the  Democratic  National  Con- 
vention of  i8g6,  he  proved  that  he  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  by  bolting  the  Chi- 
cago platform  and  the  candidacy  of  William 
Jennings  Bryan.  He  was  elected  Selectman 
of  Alton  in  1894,  re-elected  in  1894,  1895, 
1S96,  and  1897;  and  he  was  Chairman  of  the 
Board  for  two  years.  In  both  administrations 
of  President  Cleveland  he  was  Postmaster  of 
Alton. 


/2)eORGE  D.  McDUFFEE,  an  enter- 
\  |o)T  prising  and  energetic  member  of  the 
farming  community  of  Dover,  was 
born  January  19,  1867,  on  the  homestead 
where  he  has  since  lived,  son  of  James  Y. 
McDuffee.  James  McDuffee,  born  in  Roches- 
ter, this  county,  May  28,  1827,  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Sal  ley  (Hayes)  McDuffee.  He  was 
reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  which  he  fol- 
lowed in  his  native  town  until  1849.  He 
then  came  to  Dover,  and  here  purchased  the 
homestead  on  which  he  now  resides.  While 
a  capable  business  man,  he  takes  an  earnest 
interest  in  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  his 
adopted  town,  and  is  ever  willing  to  contrib- 
ute of  his  time  and  means  to  further  its  inter- 
ests. He  has  been  Councilman  besides  serv- 
ing in  various  minor  offices.      Sincere   in   his 


religious  convictions,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
I'"ree  IJaptist  church.  He  married  Abigail  !•". 
Jenness.  ami  they  Ijecaine  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  namely:  John  E.  ;  Carrie  1^.  ; 
Stephen  J.;  George  D.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Abbie  M.;  and  two  children  that 
died    in    infancy. 

George  D.  McDuffee  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Dover,  attending  first  the 
district  school  anil  afterward  Franklin  Acad- 
emy, and  graduating  from  the  latter  with  the 
class  of  1885.  Since  that  time  Mr.  McDuffee 
has  been  engaged  with  his  father  in  farming 
and  dairying.  The  farm  of  seventy-five  acres, 
with  its  improvements  and  appointments, 
gives  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  good  judg- 
ment with  which  it  is  managed.  Mr.  Mc- 
Duffee has  made  a  close  study  of  the  different 
branches  of  agriculture,  which  he  carries  on 
after  the  most  approved  modern  methods.  In 
politics  Mr.  McDuffee  is  a  stanch  adherent  ol 
the  Republican  party.  He  has  served  accept- 
ably on  the  School  Board  for  the  past  four 
years.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  Patrons  of 
Husbanilry,  and  a  memi)er  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  He  was  married  January  19, 
1 888,  to  Miss  Nellie  M.  Furber,  a  daughter 
of  Charles  and  Hannah  (Hatch)  Furber,  of 
Milton. 


— t^  »  »  > 


inX  UDLEY  B.  WALDRON,  a  thriving 
l^rH  agriculturist  of  Rochester,  was  born 
r-^>Ly  on  the  farm  which  he  now  owns  and 
occupies,  October  8,  1838,  .son  of  James 
Waldron.  His  paternal  grandfather,  also 
named  James  Waldron,  was  of  English  de- 
scent, and  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  afterward  locating  in  the  town  of 
Dover,  N.H.,  of  which  he  was  a  pioneer. 
James  Waldron,  Jr.,  the  father  of  Duilley  15., 
born  in  Dover,  came  to  Rochester  when  a  lad. 
He    assisted    in    clearing    the    tract     of    land 


i84 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


which  his  father  bought  on  coming  here. 
Succeeding  to  the  property  afterward,  he  car- 
ried on  general  farming  and  lumbering  until 
Jiis  death,  which  occurretl  in  May,  1S73.  He 
was  an  earnest,  faithful  laborer,  caring  but 
little  for  ijublic  life,  and  though  an  earnest 
sujiporter  of  the  Democratic  party  never  held 
office.  His  first  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Mary  Page,  died  about  ten  years  after 
their  marriage,  leaving  no  children.  His 
second  wife,  Hannah  (Roberts)  Waldron, 
lived  less  than  a  year  after  the  union;  and 
their  only  child,  James,  met  his  death  by_ac- 
cident  in  a  machine  shop  of  Muscatine,  la. 
He  subsequently  married  Abigail  Burnham,  of 
Milton,  and  they  reared  three  children; 
namely,  Sarah,  Mary,  and  Dudley  B. 

Dudley  B.  Waldron  received  his  education 
in  the  Rochester  and  Lebanon  schools,  which 
he  attended  in  the  winter  season  until  he  was 
twenty  years  old.  Since  coming  into  posses- 
sion of  the  homestead,  on  which  he  has  always 
resided,  Mr.  Waldron  has  been  engaged  in  all 
the  different  branches  of  agriculture.  At  one 
time  he  had  a  large  and  choice  dairy,  and  car- 
ried on  an  extensive  milk  business.  He  is 
still  engaged  in  dairying  to  some  extent.  The 
tarm  contains  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  lying 
on  the  "ten-rod  road,"  about  two  and  one-half 
miles  from  Rochester.  Mr.  Waldron  is  a 
stanch  Democrat  in  his  political  affiliations, 
and  has  served  his  fellow-townsmen  in  sundry 
positions  of  trust.  Before  the  incorporation 
of  the  city  he  was  Selectman  and  a  member  of 
the  School  Board.  In  1891  and  1892  he  was 
elected  to  the  City  Council,  and  served  on 
some  of  the  more  important  committees,  in- 
cluding those  of  Public  Instruction,  Printing, 
ant!  the  Revision  of  Ordinances.  He  has 
been  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  over  thirty 
years. 

Mr.  Waldron   has   had   a   very  brief   wedded 


life.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Celia  Hodgdon,  died  in  August,  1875,  about 
three  years  after  the  marriage.  Their  only 
child  lived  but  a  short  time.  Mr.  Waldron 
belongs  to  Motolinia  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  l*". , 
Rochester.  He  is  very  active  and  prominent 
in  grange  work,  having  been  Master  of 
Rochester  Grange  for  two  years  and  the  .Sec- 
retary for  twelve  years.  He  has  also  been 
Secretary  of  the  P^astern  New  Hami)shire 
Pomona  Grange. 


lAZELLAH  L.  CRANE,  a  well- 
:nown  manufacturer  of  knitting 
machines  in  Lakeport,  lielknap 
County,  N.H.,  was  born  here,  April  27,  1858, 
son  of  John  S.  and  Clara  J.  (Smith)  Crane. 

The  Crane  family  has  been  a  representative 
one  throughout  New  England.  Jasper  Crane 
signed  the  "fundamental  agreements"  of  the 
New  Haven  Colony,  June  4,  1639,  and  was  an 
assistant  of  that  colony  ten  years  and  of  the 
united  Connecticut  colony  three  years.  Henry 
Crane  settled  in  that  part  of  Dorchester,  Mass., 
that  is  now  Milton.  His  descendants  are  nu- 
merous. One  of  them,  John  by  name,  born  in 
1658,  settled  in  Taunton,  Mass.  He  was  the 
progenitor  of  the  numerous  families  of  that 
name  in  Norton  and  Canton,  Mass.  Luther 
Crane  was  a  native  of  Canton. 

Luther  Crane,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  by  trade  a  hatter.  Naturally 
ingenious  and  with  a  turn  for  mechanics,  he 
set  up  the  first  cotton  loom  ever  used  in  the 
city  of  Lowell.  He  was  there  employed  as  a 
sjjinner  in  the  Hamilton  Mills.  He  lived  to 
be  eighty-five  years  of  age.  Only  two  of  his 
five  children  survive. 

John  S.  Crane,  the  father  of  Mazellah  L. , 
was  born  in  Ware,  Mass.  He  learned  the 
machinist's  trade  at  Salmon  Falls,  N.H.  :  and 
he    worked    also     in     Lowell     and    Lawrence, 


MAZELLAH    L.    CRANE. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■  S; 


Mass.,  and  IManclicstcr,  N.ll.  Tn  1855  he 
wont  to  Franklin  in  tliis  State,  where  he  had 
his  hrst  e\[ierience  in  connection  witli  Icnit- 
ing  machines.  In  1856  he  became  interested 
in  the  manufacturing  industries  at  I.akeport, 
being  here  first  employed  by  B.  J.  Cole  to 
buikl  knitting  machines  for  Thomas  Apple- 
ton.  Step  by  step  he  became  master  of  the 
trade,  until  in  1873  he  designed  and  per- 
fected a  machine  on  the  same  principle  for 
making  shirts  and  other  underwear.  In  1875 
he  was  Representative  to  the  legislature  from 
Laconia  and  in  1878  from  Gilford.  Since 
1S72  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  knitting  machines. 

Mazellah  L.  Crane,  the  only  child  of  his 
parents,  attended  the  common  schools  and  New 
Hampton  Institute,  after  which  he  learned  the 
machinist's  trade  in  his  father's  factory.  In 
1885  he  became  associated  in  the  business 
with  his  father,  under  the  firm  name  of  Crane 
^Manufacturing  Company,  of  which  he  is  the 
efficient  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  They  are 
men  of  recognized  commercial  ability,  and  are 
on  a  good  financial  basis.  On  February  5, 
1S96,  Mr.  Crane  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Fannie  E.  Taylor,  of  Laconia.  There  are  two 
daughters  by  a  previous  marriage.  Mr.  Crane 
is  a  member  of  Endicott  Rock  Loilge,  No.  20, 
K.  P.,  of  this  town. 


^^•^■» 


;_AMUEL  S.  PARKER,  an  able  and 
successful  lawyer,  actively  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
l""armington,  was  born  May  g,  1855,  in  Wolf- 
boro,  N.  H.,  a  son  of  Harry  S.  and  Hester  A. 
Parker.  He  is  a  direct  descendant  of  one 
William  Parker,  who  settled  in  Portsmouth, 
this  State,  in  i6g8.  William's  son,  also 
named  William,  born  in  Portsmouth,  N.H., 
was  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Judicature, 


Surrogate  Judge  of  Admiralty,  and  for  several 
terms  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Assembly. 

Matthew  Stanley  Parker,  a  son  of  Judge 
Parker,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  locate  in 
Wolfboro,  where  he  was  numbered  among  the 
influential  farmers  of  the  community.  Mat- 
thew's son,  Henry  R.  Parker,  through  whom 
the  line  was  continued,  spent  his  entire  life 
in  Wolfboro,  chieHy  engaged  in  farming. 
Samuel  S.  Parker,  son  of  Henry  R.  and  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  also  s]ient 
his  life  in  the  town  in  which  he  was  born,  va- 
riously employed  as  teacher,  farmer,  and  mer- 
chant. Harry  S.  Parker  removed  frt)m  Wolfboro 
to  Farmington  in  1867,  and  has  since  been 
identified  with  the  town's  agricultural  and 
industrial  interests  as  a  farmer  and  merchant. 
Possessing  much  force  of  character,  he  natu- 
rally occupies  an  influential  position  in  the 
community.  He  has  been  twice  electeil  to  the 
State  legislature  from  Farmington.  PInder 
President  Cleveland's  first  administration  he 
was  appointed  Postmaster  of  this  town,  and 
subsequently  held  the  office  for  four  years. 

Samuel  S.  Parker  began  his  studies  in  the 
common  schools  and  academy  of  Wolfboro. 
From  Wolfboro,  when  a  lad  of  twelve  years, 
he  came  to  Farmington  with  his  parents,  and 
was  subsequently  a  pupil  in  the  l-'armington 
High  School.  Afterward  his  education  was 
continued  at  the  New  Hampton  Literary  and 
Scientific  Institute,  h'roni  i8Sj  until  1887 
he  was  engaged  in  the  shoe  business  at  Haver- 
hill, Mass.  Returning  then  to  Farmington, 
he  entered  the  law  office  of  George  N.  East- 
man. Later  he  pursued  his  law  studies  with 
the  Hon.  J.  G.  Hall  and  Judge  R.  G.  I'ike,  of 
Dover,  N.H.,  both  lawyers  of  eminence.  In 
July,  1890,  Mr.  Parker  was  admitted  to  the 
New  Hampshire  bar.  Ne.xt  month  he  oj^ened 
an  office  in  Farmington,  where  he  has  already 
built  up  a  lucrative   and    extensive    practice. 


i88 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


He  luis  a  sound  kiiowlcilgc  ut  law,  a  decided 
talent  lor  business,  is  iionorable  in  his 
methods,  and  he  stands  well  with  his  brother 
lawyers  and  clients.  He  is  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  Hiram  liarker  estate.  For  the 
past  three  years  he  has  been  President  of  the 
l'id)lic  Library  Association.  A  member  of 
Woodbine  Lodge,  No.  41,  L  O.  O.  F.,  of 
Farmington,  he  works  earnestly  to  advance 
the  interests  of  the  order. 

On  May  10,  1879,  ^^r.  Parker  married  Miss 
Mary  E.  Home,  of  this  town,  a  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Amanda  Home.  Their  pleasant 
home  is  a  favorite  resort  for  their  many 
friends,  to  whom  they  e.xtend  a  generous  hos- 
pitality. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  hold  liberal 
views  regarding  reliiiion,  and  attend  the  Con- 
gregational  church. 


Tt^EV.  LEWIS  MALVERN,  pastor  of 
I  |^~^  the  First  15a]:)tist  Church  of  Laconia, 
i-P  V  ^  N.  H..  was  born  in  Cheltenham, 
Gloucestershire,  England,  June  9,  1846,  his 
parents  being  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Lewis) 
Malvern.  On  the  maternal  side  he  is  a  de- 
scendant of  Sir  John  Lewis,  of  Wales.  One 
of  his  ancestors  served  as  a  captain  under 
Wellington  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  Charles  Malvern, 
was  a  wool  stapler  and  tanner,  and  owned  sev- 
eral large  tan  yards  at  Newent,  England.  He 
married  Mary  Cannon,  of  Newent,  on  October 
I,  1779,  the  ceremony  taking  place  in  St. 
Mary's  Church.  He  lived  to  the  age  of 
seventy-three,  and  died  in  1S21,  leaving  tliree 
children  —  Charles,  John,  and  Thomas.  Both 
grandparents  were  members  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  were  accounted  persons  of  more 
than  ordinary  intelligence. 

Thomas  Malvern,  son  of  Charles  and  Mary 
Malvern,    was   born    in    Newent,    England,    on 


January  9,  1795.  He  received  a  good  educa- 
tion, grailuating  from  Priestly  Academy, 
Newent.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  Tewks- 
bury;  but  from  1840  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  in  1S70,  he  was  located  in  Cheltenham. 
In  all  religious  matters  he  took  a  deeji  inter- 
est, and  was  very  active  as  a  lay  preacher. 
His  wife,  Elizabeth  Lewis,  survived  him  four 
years.     They  had  seven  children. 

Lewis,  the  youngest-born,  was  educated  at 
Cheltenham  Academy  under  Dr.  Henry  Hay- 
men,  who  later  succeeded  Dr.  Temple  as  head 
master  at  Rugby,  and  other  institutions  in  his 
native  city.  Early  in  life  his  inclinations 
were  strongly  on  the  side  of  religious  prin- 
ciples, and  after  leaving  college  he  preached 
as  a  supply  in  different  pulpits.  It  was  dur- 
ing this  interval,  when  he  was  deciding  his 
future  career,  that  an  event  occurred  which 
shaped  his  future  life.  He  received  a  letter 
from  his  absent  brother,  urging  him  to  come 
to  these  shores.  In  doubt  as  to  what  he 
should  do,  he  took  the  letter  to  his  room,  laid 
it  open  before  him  on  his  bed,  and  kneeling 
asked  divine  guidance  as  to  his  future  course. 
As  plainly  as  though  spoken,  he  heard  the 
word  "Go."  Rising,  he  went  downstairs,  in- 
formed his  mother  of  his  intention,  and  asked 
her  consent.  Tearfully  she  gave  her  permis- 
sion, and  in  1871  he  landed  in  America  with 
the  intention  merely  of  making  a  short  visit. 
But  immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  his 
brother's  parish  an  opening  came,  and  after 
considerable  objection  on  his  part  he  was  in- 
duced to  supply  a  pulpit  at  Barrington.  Here 
he  preached  for  three  summers,  and  at  the 
same  time  attended  New  Hampton  Institute. 
He  also  filled  pulpits  at  Ashland  and  at 
Dover. 

He  was  ordained  at  Bristol,  N.H.,  where  he 
held  a  pastorate  for  four  years.  In  1876  he 
took  charge  of  his  present  parish.      The  church 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


189 


nienibership  at  that  time  was  small,  number- 
ing but  one  hundred,  and  the  society  was  finan- 
cially embarrassed  by  a  debt  of  eighteen  hun- 
dred dollars.  In  the  following  October  the 
ciiurch  building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  with  no 
insurance  to  cover  the  loss.  Inspired  with  a 
new  zeal,  the  iseople,  largely  assisted  and  en- 
couraged by  their  pastor,  raised  sufficient 
funds  to  rebuild  the  church,  this  time  free  of 
debt.  The  church  membership  has  increased 
to  nearly  three  hundred  since  Mr.  Malvern's 
acceptance  of  the  call,  and  the  steady  interest 
maintained  in  the  church  is  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  pastor  and  people  are  one  in  spirit. 
Since  Mr.  Malvern  came  to  Laconia  in  1876, 
he  has  received  several  calls  to  other  fields 
of  work.  He  invariably  declined  all  offers 
until  1880,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to  Man- 
chester, N. H.,  where  he  remained  till  1883. 
During  that  year,  preferring  to  share  the  joys 
and  sorrows  of  his  first  people,  he  returned  to 
Laconia,  where  he  remains  at  the  present  time. 
In  1896,  on  account  of  the  business  dep'res- 
sion,  he  voluntarily  reduced  his  salary  from 
fifteen  hundred  dollars  to  twelve  hundred  dol- 
lars; and  this  thoughtful  care  for  his  people 
was  fully  appreciated  by  them. 

Mr.  Malvern  is  well  known  throughout  the 
State  as  an  able  lecturer,  his  fa\'orite  themes 
being  "European  Tours,"  "The  World's 
Fair,"  "Masonry,"  "Our  Country,"  and 
"The  Civil  War."  Mr.  Malvern  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  F. 
&  A.  M.  ;  Helknap  R.  A.  Chapter,  No.  8, 
of  Dover:  Pilgrim  Commandery,  K.  T.,  of 
Laconia;  Atlonirani  Council  of  Manchester; 
Winipiseogee  Lodge,  No.  7,  I.  O.  O.  F. ; 
and  Laconia  lincampment,  No.  9.  He  was 
Grand  Master  of  New  Hampshire,  1884  to 
18S5,  and  was  Past  Grand  Representative  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  at  Denver,  Col.,  in  1886. 
He     was     elected     as     Grand     Representative 


twice,  but  illness  prevented  his  attendance  the 
first  time.  He  is  also  a  member  of  D.  of  Re- 
bekah,  and  Mount  Belknap  Lodge,  No.  20, 
K.  P.,  where  he  has  held  all  the  chairs,  and 
is  P.  C;  also  belongs  to  U.  O.  G.  C. ;  Gran- 
ite Lodge,  No.  3,  A.  O.  U.  W. ;  and  the 
I.  O.  G.  T.  ;  and  is  Honorary  Colonel  in  the 
U.  V.  L^  He  was  elected  to  serve  on  the 
School  Board  for  a  three  years'  term.  He  is 
the  President  of  the  Laconia  Ministers'  Asso- 
ciation, and  for  five  years  jiresided  over  the 
New  Hampshire  yearly  meeting. 

August  13,  1874,  the  Rev.  Lewis  Malvern 
married  Mary  Brindley,  of  Derby,  England. 
They  have  one  daughter,  a  graduate  of  the  La- 
conia High  School  in  1895. 


KA  FAYETTE  WOODMAN,  a  bo.x  manu- 
facturer of  Alton,  was  born  in  this 
■■i*^  town,  August  19,  1824,  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Betsey  (Lougee)  Woodman.  His 
grandfather,  Jeremiah  Woodman,  was  an  early 
settler  in  Alton.  A  fuller  account  of  Jere- 
miah Woodman  and  his  family  is  given  in  the 
biography  of  the  late  Jeremiah  Woodman. 
Samuel  Woodman,  Lafayette  Woodman's 
father,  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm,  and 
for  some  years  assisted  in  its  cultivation.  In 
his  later  years  he  was  engaged  in  ojjerating 
saw-mills,  but  he  eventually  resumed  farming. 
His  last  days  were  passed  near  his  son,  La- 
fayette, and  he  died  April  8,  1864,  aged  sixty- 
nine  years.  He  was  a  Representative  to  the 
legislature,  and  acted  as  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  His  wife,  Betsey,  who  was  a  native 
of  Barnstead,  N.  H.,  became  the  mother  of 
nine  children;  namely,  Jeremiah,  Mary,  Ann, 
Louise,  Lafayette,  Adeline,  Luella,  Simeon, 
and  Fanny.  Mrs.  Samuel  Woodman  died 
March  28,    1881,  aged  eighty-one  years. 

Lafayette  Woodman  attended   school    in    his 


IQO 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


native  town.  When  a  young  man  he  began  to 
work  in  his  father's  mili.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-five  he  and  his  brother  Jeremiah  en- 
tered into  partnership  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
<Ta<^ing  in  the  manufacturing  of  lumber. 
Commencing  with  borrowed  capital,  they  were 
soon  at  the  head  of  a  good  business,  which  en- 
abled them  to  pay  their  debts,  and  they  con- 
tinued together  for  three  years.  Lafayette 
Woodman  then  started  a  box  manufactory 
alone,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  in- 
terval in  which  he  was  associated  with  E.  H. 
York  in  the  shoe  business,  he  has  followed 
that  line  for  thirty  years.-  "At  the  time  of  em- 
barking in  business  for  himself  he  bought  the 
farm  where  he  now  resides.  The  estate  fur- 
nishes him  with  abundant  recreation  as  well 
as  a  pleasant  home. 

Mr.  Woodman  married  Mrs.  Cordelia  M. 
(Jones)  Colbath,  daughter  of  Cyrus  Jones,  a 
carpenter  of  Rochester,  N.  H.  By  her  union 
with  Samuel  Colbath,  her  first  husband,  Mrs. 
Woodman  had  four  children;  namely,  George 
F.,  Samuel  E.,  Charles  H.,  and  a  daughter 
who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years. 
George  F.  is  now  a  railroad  conductor  in  Ari- 
zona ;  and  Samuel  E.  is  a  box  manufacturer  in 
Alton.  Politically,  Mr.  Woodman  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  he  has  served  as  a  Selectman, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention held  in  1876.  He  attends  the  Con- 
gregational church. 


(S^OHN  W.  TIBBETTS,  of  East  Roches- 
^-^  I  ter,  the  genial  proprietor  of  the 
Vcd'  Glendon  House,  and  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  livery  firm  Tibbetts  &  Hayes,  was 
born  January  5,  1S31,  in  Dover,  N.H.,  where 
his  grandfather,  John  Tibbetts,  was  a  pioneer 
settler.  His  father,  Samuel  H.  Tibbetts, 
also  a  native    of    Dover,    born    February    11, 


1807,  was  reared  in  that  town,  and  afterward 
became  one  of  its  foremost  citizens.  Samuel 
was  for  many  years  prosperously  engaged  in 
tilling  the  soil.  He  was  also  a  well-known 
hotel  man,  having  owned  and  conducted  the 
old  Heath  House  on  Washington  Street.  In 
Dover  he  served  in  several  of  the  minor  offices, 
and  he  invariably  supported  the  Democratic 
party.  He  died  in  September,  1858,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-one  years.  His  wife,  Belinda 
(Cross)  Tibbetts,  who  belonged  to  Rochester, 
bore  him  six  children.  Three  are  living. 
These  are:  Hannah,  the  wife  of  Andrew  J. 
Hodgson;  Ira  J.,  a  retired  Methodist  minis- 
ter, living  in  Los  Angeles,  Cal.;  and  John 
W.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

John  W.  Tibbetts  acquired  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  Dover.  He  afterward 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  carpenter's 
trade  in  the  same  city.  For  two  years  there- 
after he  worked  for  Woodbury  S.  Mains,  who 
built  the  first  town  hall  in  that  place.  In 
1850  he  located  in  Rochester,  embarking  in 
business  for  himself  as  a  "boss  carpenter." 
In  addition  to  that  he  engaged  in  lumbering, 
at  which  he  has  since  continued,  doing  now 
quite  an  extensive  business.  Some  time  later 
he  entered  the  livery  business.  In  1879  he 
built  his  present  hotel  at  East  Rochester. 
Both  the  livery  and  hotel  have  proved  ]irofit- 
able.  A  steadfast  Republican,  he  is  always 
loyal  to  the  best  interests  of  his  party.  He 
has  voted  the  party  ticket  since  1852,  when  he 
cast  his  first  Presidential  vote  for  General 
Scott.  He  was  Selectman  for  two  years  im- 
mediately preceding  the  incorporation  of 
Rochester  as  a  city,  and  Councilman  for  the 
following  two  years.  In  1873  and  1875  he 
was  a  Representative  to  the  State  legislature. 

In  May,  1854,  Mr.  Tibbetts  married  Char- 
lotte F.  Chamberlain,  who  died  January  i, 
1857.      In   December,    1857,    he  contracted    a 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


'9' 


second   marriage   with   Miss  Clara  W.    Blais- 

dell,  of  Lebanon,  Me.      They  have  become  the 

parents  of  two  children,  one   of  whom    is   now 

deceased.      The    surviving   child    is    Cora    1^., 

now  the  wife  of  Joseph   O.  Hayes.      Mr.    Tib- 

betts   is  a  Mason   of   high   standing,  belonging 

to   Humane   Lodge,  No.    21,  of   Rochester;   to 

Temple   Chapter,    R.    A.    M.  ;   and   to   Orphan 

Council.      He  has  also  taken  all  the  degrees 

of  the  Odd  Fellows  order,  and   is   one  of  the 

charter    members   of   Cocheco    Lodge    of    East 

Rochester. 

« *  ■ » » 

(UTHER  CALVIN  CRITCHETT,  a 
prominent  farmer  of  Strafford,  was 
born  in  that  town,  July  31,  1835, 
son  of  Reuben  and  Betsey  (Dame)  Critchett. 
The  family  is  of  Welsh  extraction,  Mr. 
Critchett's  great-grandfather  being  a  Welsh- 
man, who  came  to  this  country  as  an  agent  to 
settle  land  disputes.  Richard  P.  Critchett, 
the  grandfather,  born  July  13,  1756,  in 
Somersworth,  N.H.,  where  he  followed  the 
occupation  of  a  farmer,  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  fought  at  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  By  his  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Molly  Cook,  he  became  the  father 
of  twelve  children. 

Reuben  Critchett  was  born  March  18, 
1796,  in  that  part  of  Barrington  now  called 
Strafford,  and  received  a  good  education. 
After  working  out  until  he  reached  his  major- 
ity, he  engaged  in  farming  on  shares  for  a 
number  of  years.  Later  he  went  to  Loudon, 
N.H.,  where  he  remained  for  two  years. 
Then  he  returned  to  Strafford,  and  bought  a 
small  farm  of  twenty-four  acres.  A  few  years 
after  he  bought  a  lot  in  the  village,  and  built 
a  house,  in  which  he  lived  for  three  or  four 
years.  In  March,  1835,  he  removed  to  the 
farm  on  which  his  son  now  resides,  and  there 
made  his  home  until  the  time  of  his  death   in 


1882.  Before  the  Civil  War  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat, but  he  always  refused  to  be  a  candidate 
liir  jniblic  office,  though  frequently  urged  to 
allow  himself  to  be  nominated.  He  and  his 
brother  Samuel  served  in  the  War  of  1S12  at 
Fort  Wasliington,  near  Portsmouth.  His 
wife,  Betsey,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Jonathan 
Dame,  of  Strafford,  bore  him  three  children  — 
Olive  S.,  Asenath  A.,  and  Luther  Calvin 
Critchett.  Both  Reuben  Critchett  and  his 
wife  were  members  of  the  l-'ree  Will  Baiitist 
church. 

Luther  C.  Critchett  received  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools,  and  in  the  acad- 
emy at  Manchester,  N.H.  Then  he  learned 
the  machinist's  trade  in  Manchester.  After- 
ward he  came  back  to  his  native  place,  where 
he  has  resided  since.  He  cultivates  about 
twenty-five  acres  of  land,  hay  being  his  largest 
crop,  and  also  raises  large  quantities  of  veal 
for  market.  Mr.  Critchett's  experience  in  the 
army  during  the  late  war  was  one  of  the  most 
stirring  epochs  of  his  life.  On  the  first  day 
of  October,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G, 
Fifteenth  Regiment  of  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  While  serving  under  the 
mortar  battery  at  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson, 
the  drum  of  one  of  his  ears  was  ruptured  by 
the  detonations  of  the  guns.  On  August  13, 
1863,  he  was  honorably  discharged.  At  one 
time,  without  knowing  it  until  one  hour  after 
the  polls  had  opened,  Mr.  Critchett  was  a 
candidate  for  Selectman  on  the  Republican 
ticket.  Though  the  town  was  then  strongly 
Democratic,  he  came  within  three  or  four 
votes  of  election.  Mr.  Critchett  has  never 
aspired  to  political  honors,  preferring  the 
quiet  of  private  life.  He  has  been  Justice  of 
the  Peace  for  a  considerable  time,  and  a  Con- 
stable for  about  twenty  years.  He  has  shown 
much  public  spirit  throughout  his  life,  has 
quite  a  reputation    for  his   hospitality  to  his 


192 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


many  friends,  and  his  opinion  is  sought  by 
his  fellow-townsmen  on  many  subjects.  On 
January  I,  1865,  he  married  Sarah  J.,  daugh- 
ter of  George  VV.  Caswell,  of  Strafford.  She 
died  March  13,   1892,  leaving  no  children. 


-OHN  EDWIN  CHESLEY,  a  promi- 
nent and  successful  farmer  of  the  town 
of  Rochester,  was  born  December  17, 
1833,  on  the  homestead  where  he  now  re- 
sides, son  of  John  and  Lavinia  (Chamberlain) 
Chesley.  The  Chesley  family  have  long  been 
known  in  Strafford  County  as  among  the  earli- 
est settlers  of  this  part  of  the  State,  and  as 
pioneers  of  Durham.  Shedrick  Chesley,  the 
paternal  grandfather  of  John  E.,  born  and 
reared  in  Durham,  came  from  there  to  Roches- 
ter. 

John  Chesley  settled  on  the  farm  which  his 
son  now  occupies,  and  was  well  known  in  this 
vicinity  as  a  most  practical  and  energetic 
farmer.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but 
took  no  part  in  the  management  of  local 
affairs.  He  married  Miss  Lavinia  Chamber- 
lain, daughter  of  Amos  Chamberlain,  of  Leb- 
anon, Me.  Of  his  si.x  children  by  her,  three 
are  new  living,  namely:  John  Edwin,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Elizabeth,  the  widow 
of  the  late  Larkin  Harrington,  of  Le.xington, 
Mass. ;  and  Albert,  of  Lynn,  Mass.  The 
father  dieil  on  the  old  homestead  in  1876,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-one  years,  and  the  mother  on 
June  4,  1882,  aged  seventy-four  years. 

John  E.  Chesley  acquired  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  Rochester.  He  has  had 
the  charge  of  the  homestead  since  attaining 
his  majority.  The  property  contains  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  finely  located  on  the 
Chesley  Hill  road,  where  he  is  carrying  on 
general  farming  after  the  most  approved  scien- 
tific methods,  making  gardening  a  specialty, 


and  raising  each  year  large  quantities  of  fruit 
and  vegetables  for  the  Rochester  market.  He 
has  greatly  increased  the  value  of  the  estate 
since  it  came  into  his  possession  by  improve- 
ments of  an  excellent  character.  The  house 
which  his  father  built  has  been  replaced  by 
one  of  more  modern  construction.  A  man  of 
his  business  enterprise  necessarily  occupies  a 
somewhat  influential  position  in  the  commun- 
ity, although  he  is  not  active  in  politics.  He 
has  frequently  refused  public  offices  from  his 
party,  his  time  being  occupied  in  farming. 

On  September  3,  1865,  Mr.  Chesley  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Horn,  daughter  of  Jonathan 
Horn,  of  Rochester.  They  have  two  children, 
namely:  Gertrude,  the  wife  of  Ellsworth 
Pearl,  of  this  town;  and  Guy  E. ,  a  student  in 
the  University  Vet.  College  of  Philadelphia, 
Pa.  They  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church,  and  contribute  their  full  share  toward 
its  support. 

I^TARRY    P.    EVANS,    the   only   under- 
r^l       taker  of  Alton,  was  born  here,    Au- 

Ji®  ^ gust  2,   1863,  son   of  Dudley  P.  and 

Martha  C.  (Kimball)  livans.  His  great- 
grandfather, who  was  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers of  Alton,  had  seven  children —- Ziza, 
Daniel,  Nathaniel,  William,  Martha,  Han- 
nah, and  Mercy.  William,  born  in  Alton, 
spent  his  life  in  this  town.  He  and  Sarah, 
his  wife,  had  six  children;  namely,  Hanson, 
Robert,  Sarah  Jane,  Dudley  P.,  Patience,  and 
Ira.  The  last  named  died  when  about  twenty- 
one  years  old,  and  Robert  in  i8go;  Hanson  is 
married  and  lives  on  the  homestead;  Sarah, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Ira  Varney,  resides 
in  Alton.  Patience,  now  deceased,  married 
Daniel  Hayes,  of  Alton,  also  deceased,  and 
had  three  children  —  Charlotte,  Ellen,  and 
Seth,    all   of  whom   are   living. 

Dudley  P.  Evans,  born   in   Alton,    May  20, 


JOHN     S.    GLASS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


'9S 


1830,  received  his  eiliicatit)n  in  a  district  and 
a  private  scliool.  When  but  fourteen  years 
old  he  began  learning  the  undertaicing  and 
wheelwright  business  with  Daniel  and  Ste- 
phen Hayes,  with  whom  he  remained  seven 
years.  He  next  went  to  Dover,  N.H.,  where 
he  worked  in  the  same  line  of  business  a  few 
years.  Then  returning  to  Alton,  he  bought 
out  Hayes  Brothers,  and  conducted  the  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account  until  his  death.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  did  quite  an  exten- 
sive business  in  carriage-making,  and  up  to 
1878  manufactured  all  the  coffins  sold  by  him. 
He  served  as  Superintendent  of  Schools  for 
several  years,  and  was  Deputy  Sheriff  for  ten 
years  in  succession.  At  the  end  of  that  pe- 
riod, no  sheriff  having  been  appointed,  he 
began  to  perform  the  duties  of  that  office,  and 
continued  to  do  so  for  the  ensuing  two  years. 
He  was  then  appointed  to  the  office  for  a  term 
of  four  years.  He  was  in  the  second  year  of 
his  term  when  he  died  November  8,  1892, 
aged  sixty-one  years  and  some  months.  He 
also  held  the  office  of  Town  Clerk  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  sometimes  he  was  Moderator 
at  town  meetings.  He  was  a  member  of  Win- 
nipiseogce  Lodge  of  Masons  and  the  Knights 
of  Honor;  also  an  attendant  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  of  which  his  first  wife  was  a 
member.  Martha  C,  his  first  wife,  was  a 
daughter  of  Nehemiah  Kimball,  a  farmer  and 
lumberman,  who,  with  his  brother,  owned  a 
saw-mill.  Mr.  Kimball,  who  was  born  at 
Chestnut  Hill,  Rochester,  N.H.,  married 
Nancy  Norris,  and  had  a  son  and  two  daugh- 
ters —  Sarah,  Joseph,  and  Martha.  Sarah 
married  Amos  Rollins;  Joseph  married  and 
was  living  in  Massachusetts  at  the  time  of  his 
death;  and  Martha  taught  school  in  Alton  for 
several  terms  prior  to  her  marriage  to  Dudley 
livans.  Martha  and  Dudley  Evans  had  two 
children  —  Harry    P.    and     Mabelle,     both    of 


whom  live  at  home.  Mrs.  Evans  died  on  Au- 
gust 2,  1876.  On  April  7,  1877,  Dudley  P. 
Evans  formed  a  second  union  with  Mary  A.  C. 
Miller,  one  of  the  eight  children  of  Nathaniel 
Miller,  a  farmer  and  teamster  of  Alton. 

Harry  P.  Evans  began  working  with  his 
father  at  an  early  age.  Since  his  father's 
death  he  has  continued  the  business  with  good 
success,  and  has  won  many  friends  in  both  a 
social  and  a  business  way.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Democrat. 


(^^OHN  S.  GLASS,  a  retired  capitalist 
and  real  estate  dealer  of  Dover,  N.  H., 
numbered  among  the  most  successful 
and  substantial  business  men  of  the  city,  tlied 
at  his  residence,  180  Washington  Street, 
April  12,  1897.  He  was  born  May  14,  1822, 
in  Nottingham,  Rockingham  County,  where 
the  family  had  long  been  settled  and  ranked 
among  the  best  in  the  town.  His  father, 
John  Glass,  who  was  a  lifelong  resident  fif 
Nottingham,  being  there  engaged  in  agricult- 
ural pursuits,  died  April  30,  1838,  at  the 
comparatively  early  age  of  forty-four  years. 
His  mother,  in  maidenhood  Abigail  J.  De- 
meritt,  who  was  born  in  Durham,  Strafford 
County,  lived  just  half  a  century. 

After  comi)leting  his  studies  at  the  Roches- 
ter Academy,  John  S.  Glass  remained  on  the 
parental  homestead,  busily  engaged  in  general 
farming  until  1855.  The  following  year  he 
spent  in  Durham  to  recuperate  his  health, 
which  had  became  very  jmor.  He  then  came 
to  Dover,  and  secured  a  situation  as  a  clerk  in 
a  store,  of  which  within  a  year  he  became  the 
proprietor.  At  the  end  of  twelve  months  he 
disposed  of  the  place,  and  began  building 
dwelling-houses  and  stores,  for  many  years 
carrying  on  an  extensive  business  as  a  dealer 
in  real  estate.  He  accjuired  a  good  deal  of 
city    property,    embracing    about    twenty-five 


196 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


tenement  houses,  and  four  large  wooden 
structures  used  for  business  purposes.  He 
possessed  financial  ability  of  a  high  order, 
was  keen  and  far-sighted,  and  quick  to  take 
advantage  of  favorable  opportunities  for  add- 
ing to  his  accumulatio!is,  and  in  all  of  his 
transactions  he  was  honorable  and  upright. 
His  advice  was  often  sought  in  monetary 
affairs. 

Mr.  Glass  was  twice  married.  His  first 
marriage  was  contracted  October  16,  1857, 
with  Mary  J.  Demeritt,  who  died  January  27, 
1875.  On  February  14,  1S77,  he  married 
Miss  Sarah  A.  Ham,  of  Dover,  daughter  of 
the  late  Daniel  Ham.  In  politics  Mr.  Glass 
was  a  pronounced  Republican.  As  Assessor 
for  fifteen  years,  and  a  member  of  the  Common 
Council  for  two  years,  he  was  actively  identi- 
fied with  the  city  government.  He  was  like- 
wise for  seven  or  eight  years  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  For  several  years  he  was  a  Trustee  of 
the  Cocheco  Bank,  and  he  was  Vice-President 
of  the  Cocheco  Savings  and  National  Bank. 
Quiet  and  unassuming,  he  was  highly  es- 
teemed as  a  man  of  sterling  worth. 


kOAH  SIMPSON  WARD,  who  owns 
and  occupies  one  of  the  first  farms 
cleared  in  New  Hampton,  was  born 
where  he  now  resides,  September  8,  1837,  son 
of  Benjamin  and  Sally  P.  (Pease)  Ward.  His 
great-grandfather,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Ward, 
came  to  New  Hampton,  when  that  town  was 
struggling  into  existence,  and  there  cleared 
from  the  wilderness  the  farm  that  has  since  re- 
mained in  the  family's  possession.  When 
Jeremiah  built  his  log  house  he  had  to  guard 
himself  against  wild  animals,  and  there  were 
no  roads  to  the  outer  world  from  the  woods. 
He  became  a  Congregationalist  preacher,  was 
the  first   settled   minister   in   this   town,    and 


continued  his  pastoral  labors  until  old  age 
compelled  him  to  retire.  Upon  the  occasion 
of  his  last  sermon,  he  was  assisted  into  the 
pulpit  by  his  son.  He  was  a  sturdy  pioneer 
as  well  as  a  faithful  and  devout  shepherd. 

Noah  Ward,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  at  the  homestead,  and 
succeeded  to  its  possession.  He  tilled  the 
soil  during  his  active  period,  and  passed  his 
last  days  in  this  town.  He  married  Nancy 
Sanborn,  and  his  family  of  si.x  children  were: 
Benjamin,  Samuel,  Aaron,  Noah,  Sally,  and 
Polly.  Benjamin  Ward,  son  of  Noah  Ward, 
born  April  6,  1806,  inherited  the  homestead, 
and  the  active  period  of  his  life  was  spent  in 
its  cultivation.  His  wife,  Sally,  who  was 
born  November  6,  1806,  and  was  a  daughter  of 
Simeon  Pease,  of  Meredith,  became  the  mother 
of  five  children,  namely:  Simeon  P.,  who 
served  with  Company  I,  Twelfth  Regiment, 
New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  in  the  Civil  War; 
Noah  S.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  John  F. ; 
George;  and  Mary  A.  The  parents  were 
members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church. 

Noah  Simpson  Ward  passed  his  boyhood  in 
attending  the  public  schools  and  assisting  his 
father  on  the  farm.  Since  succeeding  to  its 
ownership  he  has  not  only  given  proof  of  the 
careful  training  he  received,  but  has  shown  a 
spirit  of  enterprise  that  effectually  demon- 
strates his  progressive  tendencies  and  good 
judgment.  His  farm  contains  two  hundred 
acres,  about  thirty  acres  of  which  are  used  for 
general  products,  and  have  a  reputation  for  su- 
perior crops.  Making  a  specialty  of  breeding 
cattle,  he  keeps  from  eighteen  to  twenty  head 
of  fine  stock.  He  has  also  five  horses,  and  he 
produces  from  eight  hundred  to  nine  hundred 
pounds  of  butter  annually.  His  buildings  are 
kept  in  good  repair,  including  the  old  barn 
which  was  built  over  eighty  years  ago,  and  is 
still    in    an    excellent    state    of    preservation. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


197 


Among  a  number  of  interesting  family  relics 
he  has  an  ancient  corner  time-piece,  which  was 
taken  by  his  grandfather  in  exchange  for  a 
yoke  of  oxen. 

On  February  4,  1S65,  Mr.  Ward  married 
Sarah  Woodman,  daughter  of  Noah  Wood- 
man, of  New  Hampton.  She  is  the  mother  of 
two  children  —  Charles  H.  and  Clarence  E. 
Charles  H.  now  resides  in  Rochester,  N.H. 
In  jiolitics  Mr.  Ward  is  a  Democrat,  as  were 
his  father  and  grandfather;  and  he  is  con- 
nected with  Winnepcsaukee  Grange  of  Mere- 
dith. Mrs.  Ward  is  a  member  of  the  Free 
Baptist  church. 


-AMES  NELSON  NICHOLS,  a  resi- 
dent of  Tilton  and  the  superintendent 
of  the  paper-mill  in  Ashland,  was  born 
in  Abbott,  Me.,  December  13,  1844,  son  of 
Elbridge  G.  and  Beulah  H.  (Hodgkins) 
Nichols.  His  paternal  great-grandfather,  a 
sea  captain,  was  lost  while  upon  a  foreign 
voyage.  James  Nichols,  the  grandfather,  who 
passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Bruns- 
wick, Me.,  and  was  a  ship-carpenter  by  trade, 
married  Martha  Clark. 

Elbridge  G.  Nichols,  father  of  James  N., 
was  a  native  of  Brunswick.  When  a  young 
man  he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  bought  a  farm  in  Abbott,  Me., 
where  he  resided  until  i860. 

He  then  moved  to  De.\ter,  and  four  years 
later  to  a  farm  in  Corinna,  Me.  Here  he  con- 
tinued to  till  the  soil  up  to  within  a  few  years 
of  his  death,  when  he  returned  to  Dexter.  He 
died  in  1894,  aged  seventy-five  years.  In  pol- 
itics he  was  a  Democrat.  His  wife,  Beulah, 
who  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Hodgkins,  be- 
came the  mother  of  eight  children,  seven  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity.  The  latter  were: 
James  N.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;   Harriet, 


who  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years;  Melvin 
S.,  who  now  resides  at  the  homestead  in  Dex- 
ter; Franklin  P.  and  Elbridge  G.,  now  resi- 
dents of  Ashland,  N.H.  ;  Willard  A.,  of  Au- 
gusta, Me.;  and  Lizzie  M.,  who  married 
Charles  H.  Haines,  and  is  now  deceased. 
The  father  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

James  Nelson  Nichols  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools,  and  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship at  the  machinist's  and  mill- 
wright's trades.  After  working  as  a  journey- 
man in  different  places,  including  a  period  of 
six  years  spent  in  a  machine  shop  of  Newton, 
Mass.,  he,  in  1872,  became  superintendent  of 
the  paper-mill  in  Ashland.  He  has  efficiently 
filled  that  responsible  position  since  then, 
with  the  exception  of  about  three  years,  which 
his  enfeebled  health  obliged  him  to  employ 
otherwise.  This  interval  he  passed  upon  a 
farm  which  he  bought  in  189 1,  and  where  he 
fully  regained  his  health  in  1894.  The  farm 
contains  eighty-five  acres,  twenty  of  which  are 
under  cultivation.  Here,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  hired  man,  he  makes  annually  a  consider- 
able quanity  of  butter  of  a  superior  quality, 
keeping  a  herd  of  thorough-bred  Jersey  cows, 
a  small  flock  of  sheep  and  two  horses. 

Mr.  Nichols  married  Lizzie  M.  Paine, 
daughter  of  Josiah  Paine,  of  Abbott,  Mc. 
Both  he  and  Mrs.  Nichols  arc  members  of  the 
Congregational  church.  Mr.  Nichols  was  for 
five  years  superintendent  of  the  Free  Baptist 
Sunday-school  in  Ashland.  He  is  connected 
with  Harmony  Grange  of  Sanbornton.  In  pol- 
itics he  acts  with  the  Republican  party. 


B 

March 


AVID  HAYES,  of  Rochester,  an  ex- 
tensive dealer  in  coal,  wood,  hay, 
and  ice,  was  born   in  Alton,  N.  H., 

7,     1824,    son    of    Joseph    and     Betsy 


198 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


(Ikcwstcr)  Hayes,  the  father  a  native  of 
Alton,  and  the  mother  of  Wolfboro,  N.  H. 
Joseph  Hayes  followed  farming,  was  a  pros- 
perous and  enterprising  citizen,  and  the  father 
of  eight  children.  In  his  political  views  he 
was  a  Whig  of  the  old  school.  He  lived  to  be 
about  seventy-five  years  old  ;  and  his  wife,  who 
came  of  a  prominent  family  and  was  a  sister  of 
John  Brewster,  the  founder  of  Wolfeboro  Col- 
lege, was  about  seventy-si.x  years  of  age  at 
her  death. 

David  Hayes  spent  the  early  years  of  his 
life  on  the  homestead.  He  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  aiid  at  Strafford 
and  Gilmanton  Academies,  graduating  from 
the  latter  institution  when  about  twenty  years 
of  age.  The  following  year  he  spent  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, working  at  farming  in  the  summer 
and  teaching  a  country  school  in  the  winter. 
Returning  to  Alton  then,  he  continued  to  fol- 
low his  plan  of  summer  farming  and  winter 
teaching  for  about  ten  years,  teaching  two 
terms  of  school  each  winter.  The  next  five 
years  were  spent  in  Farmington,  where  he  had 
a  position  as  cutter  in  the  shoe  shop.  After 
that  he  came  to  Rochester  and  followed  the 
same  business  for  about  twenty  years.  On 
leaving  the  shoe  business,  he  started  in  the 
grain  and  grocery  business;  then  went  into  the 
coal  and  wood  business,  and  three  or  four  years 
later  added  ice  and  hay  to  his  stock.  He  now 
has  a  large  and  profitable  trade. 

On  Christmas  Day,  185 1,  Mr.  Hayes  mar- 
ried Miss  Susan  Pollard,  of  Somersworth, 
N.H.  She  died  in  May,  1859,  leaving  three 
children.  These  were:  Fannie,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three;  Alonzo,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  a  mercantile  business  in  Leroy, 
Minn.  ;  and  Charles  F.,  who  has  a  successful 
real  estate  business  in  Chicago,  III.  In  1861 
Mr.  Hayes  formed  a  second  union  with  Miss 
Abbie  B.  Gibbs,  of  Essex,  Mass.      In  national 


affairs  he  sujsports  the  Rei)uljlicaii  part)',  but 
is  independent  in  local  matters.  He  was  Ta.\ 
Collector  for  one  year,  antl  he  served  two 
years  on  the  School  Board.  In  Ihmiane 
Lodge,  No.  21,  F.  &  A.  M.,  he  is  a  Past 
Master.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church. 


AMES  D.  MEADER,  a  successful 
farmer  and  horse  dealer  of  Durham, 
Strafford  County,  was  born  on  the  home 
farm,  December  31,  1852,  son  of  Stephen  and 
Mary  J.  (Pinkham)  Meader.  The  founder  of 
the  family  in  this  country  was  his  great-grand- 
father Stephen.  John  Meader  was  his  grand- 
father. Stephen  Meader  (second)  was  also 
born  on  the  old  homestead,  and  resided  here 
his  entire  life.  During  his  active  years  he 
was  engaged  in  farming.  In  politics  he  was  a 
loyal  Republican,  and  he  served  the  town 
acceptably  in  the  ofifice  of  Selectman.  His 
wife,  Mary  J.,  born  in  Durham,  December  31, 
1823,  bore  him  four  children.  These  were: 
Mary  Augusta,  the  wife  of  Cyrus  Rand  ;  Jacob 
T.,  who  died  in  1869;  James  D.,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch;  and  Ida  I.,  who  married  Will- 
iam J.  Martin,  of  New  Market.  Mr.  Meader 
was  a  highly  respected  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  He  died  October  22,  1890,  in  the 
seventy-first  year  of  his  age,  leaving  an  un- 
blemished record. 

James  D.  Meader  supplemented  his  common- 
school  education  by  a  course  of  study  in  the 
village  academy  of  Northwood,  N.H.  His 
fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres,  lo- 
cated on  the  Durham  Point  Road,  four  miles 
north  of  Durham,  speaks  well  for  his  thrift 
and  energy.  He  carries  on  general  farming, 
and  also  deals  advantageously  in  horses.  In 
politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Republican 
party.  In  1870  Mr.  Meader  was  married  to 
Emma    A.    Perkins,    of    New    Market,     N.H. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


199 


Tlicy  have  fdur  childicn—  iMcdcrick  P.,  Alice 
M.,  IManche  Iv,  and  Julia  V..  Frederick  P. 
resides  in  Rochester,  N.M.,  where  he  is  the 
manager  and  proprietor  of  a  fine  music  store. 
Alice  M.,  who  was  graduated  from  New  Mar- 
ket High  School,  is  also  a  resident  of  that 
tiiwn.  Blanche  E.  is  also  a  graduate  from 
the  same  institution,  and  Julia  K.  is  now  pur- 
suing a  course  of  study  there.  Mr.  Meadcr  is 
a  member  of  Rising  Star  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. 
of  New  Market. 


<^»^» 


,ANIEL     H.     MOULTON,    a     large 
farmer  of  Gilmantoii,  and  a  descend- 


B 

i — l-ifjV  ant  of  one  of  the  founders  of  Moul- 
tonboro,  was  born  in  Ellsworth,  N.H.,  De- 
cember 4,  1S50,  son  of  Chase  P.  and  Sarah 
(Pillsbury)  Moulton.  The  Moulton  family  is 
of  English  origin.  Eldmund  M.  Moulton, 
grandfather  of  Daniel  H.,  settled  in  Ells- 
worth when  a  young  man,  and  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  He  was  an  industrious 
man,  a  worthy  citizen,  and  an  active  religious 
worker.  His  last  days  were  spent  in  Camp- 
tnn,  N.H.,  and  he  died  in  1H57.  His  chil- 
dren were:  Daniel,  Gideon,  Martha,  Iktscy, 
Edmund,  Jonathan,  Lucretia,  Iknjamin,  Lu- 
cinda,  and  Chase  P.  Daniel,  Gideon,  Joseph, 
and  Lucinda  are  no  longer  living.  ]]enjamin 
resides  in  Minnesota;  Jonathan  lives  in  Wood- 
stock, N.H.  ;  and  all  the  survivors  have  reared 
families. 

Chase  P.  Moulton  was  born  in  I^llsworth, 
and  resided  there  until  he  was  thirty  years 
old.  He  then  moved  to  Campton,  where  he 
remained  eight  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
he  settled  upon  his  present  farm  in  Thornton, 
N.H.  He  is  a  prosperous  farmer.  For  two 
years  he  represented  the  town  in  the  legis- 
lature. His  wife,  Sarah,  is  a  daughter  of 
Caleb  Pillsbury,  a  prominent  agriculturist  of 
Bridgewater,  N.H.,  in  his  day.      The  Pillsbury 


family  have  notable  annual  reunions.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Chase  P.  Moulton  have  had  five  children, 
four  of  whom  are  living,  namely:  Arthur  C, 
who  resides  with  his  parents  at  the  home- 
stead; Clara  A.,  a  graduate  of  the  Plynmuth 
Normal  School,  and  the  wife  of  y\lbert  Ran- 
dall, a  machinist  of  Worce.ster,  Mass.  ;  John 
VV. ,  who  is  married  and  lives  in  Greendale, 
Mass.,  having  one  child;  and  Daniel  H.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch. 

Daniel  H.  Moulton  was  educated  in  Camp- 
ton  and  Thornton.  At  an  early  age  he  began 
to  make  himself  useful  upon  the  farm.  Pre- 
vious to  his  marriage  he  was  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  with  his  brother,  Arthur  C, 
in  Woodstock,  for  eight  months.  Then  he 
bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  situated  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  15clkna[)  in  the  town  of  Gil- 
manton.  From  a  small  beginning  he  has 
worked  his  way  forward  to  the  prominent  place 
he  now  occupies  among  the  leading  agricult- 
urists of  this  section.  As  the  result  of  his  in- 
dustry, he  now  owns  si.x  hundred  acres  of  land, 
constituting  one  of  the  largest  farms  in  Gil- 
raanton. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-three  Mr.  Moulton  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Emma  H.  Page.  Her 
father,  R.  W.  Page,  was  a  large  land-owner 
and  successful  drover.  A  man  of  schidarly 
attainments  and  a  forcible  speaker,  he  was  a 
leader  of  the  Republican  party  in  this  section, 
and  he  ably  represented  this  district  in  the 
legislature  during  the  exciting  times  of  the 
Civil  War.  His  wife,  Abbie  'P.,  was  a 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Sanborn.  He  bought  of 
George  W.  Sanborn  the  farm  which  he  Liter 
sold  to  his  son-in-law,  Daniel  H.  Moulton. 
R.  W.  Page  was  an  active  member  of  the  Con- 
gregational church.  Mrs.  Moulton  was  grad- 
uated from  the  Gilmanton  Academy,  and 
taught  school  for  several  terms  previous  to  her 
marriage.      She  is  the  mother  of  two  children 


200 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


—  Lena  A.  and  Carroll  Harrison.  Lena  A. 
graduated  from  the  Gilmanton  Academy  in 
June,   1S96. 

LONZO  B.  LANG,  a  successful  farmer 
of  Alton,  and  an  ex-member  of  the 
New  Hampshire  legislature,  was 
born  in  this  town,  April  5,  1842,  son  of  John 
and  Mary  Jane  (Webb)  Lang.  His  grand- 
father, William  Lang,  who  emigrated  from 
England  in  company  with  his  two  brothers, 
resided  in  Newington,  N.H.,  for  a  short  time, 
and  then  settled  in  Alton.  William  cleared  a 
farm,  upon  which  he  passed  the  rest  of  his 
life;  and  he  lived  to  be  over  eighty  years  old. 
He  married  in  Newington,  and  had  one  son, 
named  John. 

John  Lang,  Alonzo  B.  Lang's  father,  en- 
gaged in  farming  with  his  father.  He  added 
more  land  to  the  farm,  which  fell  to  his  pos- 
session ;  and  he  owned  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  at  Lang's  Corner,  which  took  its 
name  from  the  family.  He  operated  one  of 
the  first  saw-mills  in  this  town,  kept  a  store 
in  which  the  post-office  was  located  for  many 
years,  was  interested  in  other  enterprises,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  prosperous  residents  of 
Alton  in  his  day.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  pol- 
itics, and  he  served  as  a  Selectman  for  some 
time.  In  religious  affairs  he  took  a  prominent 
part,  and  attended  meetings  held  in  different 
schoolhouses.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
six  years.  His  wife,  Mary  Jane,  who  was  a 
native  of  Madbury,  N.H.,  became  the  mother 
of  seven  children — Charles  L. ,  Mary  Jane, 
John  Jackson,  Martin  V.  B. ,  William  H.  B., 
Alonzo  B.,  and  Melissa  A.  Charles  L.  is 
now  residing  in  New  York  State,  and  has  a 
family.  Mary  Jane  married  John  Dow,  of 
North  Barnstead.  John  J.  succeeded  his 
father  as  postmaster,  and  resided  at  the  home- 
stead until   his  death.      Martin   V.  B.    is  mar- 


ried, and  follows  the  calling  of  a  shoemaker  in 
Farmington,  N.  H.  William  H.  B.  died  at 
the  age  of  twenty-two  years.  Melissa  A.  mar- 
ried George  P.  Miller,  who  served  in  the 
Civil  War,  and  she  now  resides  at  Alton  Cor- 
ner. Mrs.  John  Lang  died  June  2,  1884,  over 
eighty  years  old. 

Alonzo  B.  Lang  attended  school  in  his  dis- 
trict, and  resided  at  home  until  twenty-one 
years  old.  He  then  went  to  the  northern  part 
of  New  York  State,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
making  starch  for  five  years.  After  his  return 
to  New  Hampshire  he  worked  at  shoemaking 
for  a  year.  He  next  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  Company,  finally 
becoming  a  locomotive  engineer.  After  nine 
years  of  service,  he  joined  his  associates  in  a 
strike,  and  did  not  subsequently  return  to  the 
company's  service.  He  has  since  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  with  energy,  and  owns  a 
farm  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
He  supports  the  Democratic  party  in  politics, 
has  served  in  town  offices,  and  spent  a  two- 
year  term  in  the  legislature,  where  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs. 

Mr.  Lang  wedded  Mary  A.  Stevens,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Jane  (Roberts)  Stevens,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  i8ii  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  Mr.  Lang.  This  farm  was 
cleared  and  improved  by  Mrs.  Lang's  grand- 
father, also  named  John  Stevens,  who  resided 
here  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  John  Stevens 
(first)  lost  his  parents  when  young,  and  was 
bound  out  to  Edwin  Libby,  of  Alton.  After 
serving  his  time  he  bought  a  farm  in  New 
Durham,  Strafford  County,  and  later  returned 
to  Alton.  While  living  with  Edwin  Libby, 
he  attended  school  but  three  days.  After- 
ward, under  the  tuition  of  his  wife,  he  learned 
to  read  the  Bible,  and  in  time  became  an 
authority  upon  scriptural  subjects.  His  wife's 
maiden  name  was  Lydia   Home,  and   his   chil- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


drcn  were:  William,  James,  John,  and  Betsey, 
none  of  whom  are  living.  William  and  James 
married  and  reared  families,  and  ]?etsey  be- 
came the  wife  nf  y\sa  Chamberlain.  The 
father  died  August  lo,  1S82,  aged  sixty-nine 
years;  antl  his  wife,  April  19,  1888,  aged 
seventy-four.  Mrs.  Lang's  father  succeeded 
to  the  homestead  and  increased  its  acreage  by 
adding  more  land ;  served  as  a  Selectman  and 
upon  the  School  Committee;  was  a  Democrat 
in  jiolitics;  in  religion,  a  Universalist ;  and 
he  died  in  1S81,  aged  seventy  years.  His 
wife,  Jane,  who  was  born  in  181 3,  was  a 
daughter  of  Silas  and  Sarah  (Davis)  Roberts. 
Her  father,  who  was  a  native  of  Dover,  N.  H., 
and  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  had  a  family  of 
twelve  children.  She  became  the  mother  of 
three  children;  namely,  Ellen  ].,  Mary  A., 
and  John  P.  Ellen  J.  married  John  C.  Nut- 
ter, of  Gilmanton,  and  is  no  longer  living; 
and  John  1'.  died  at  the  age  of  eight  years. 
Mrs.  John  Stevens  is  still  living,  and  resides 
with  her  daughter.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lang  have 
two  sons — Walter  A.  and  Harry  B.  Walter 
A.  is  a  clerk  in  a  grocery  store  at  Beverly, 
Mass.  ;  and  Harry  li.  lives  at  home  with  his 
parents.  Mr.  Lang  is  a  member  of  Winnepe- 
saukee  Lodge,  No.  75,  F.  &  A.  M.  ;  Past 
Chancellor  of  Cocheco  Lodge,  No.  2S, 
Knights  of  Pythias;  and  he  is  connected  with 
Merry  Meeting  Grange,  No.   155. 


I'^ORGE  B.  COX,  a  successful  attor- 
ney of  Laconia  and  counsel  for  the 
New  Hampshire  State  Law  and 
Order  League,  was  born  in  Ashland,  Grafton 
County,  N. H.,  July  16,  i860,  son  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  and  Ann  (Currier)  Cox.  His  pater- 
nal ancestors  were  among  the  first  settlers  of 
Holdcrness  (now  Ashland),  N.H.  ;  and  his 
mother's  family  was  of   Scotch  descent.      The 


great-grandfather  of  the  present  generation  of 
the  Cox  family  was  a  man  of  considerable 
wealth  and  prominence,  who  took  an  important 
jiart  in  public  affairs,  and  who  owned  the  only 
covered  carriage  in  the  town,  a  circumstance 
which  added  greatly  to  his  dignity. 

Wallace  Cox,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  a  native  and  lifelong  resident 
of  Holdcrness.  He  owned  a  large  farm,  and 
his  active  jjcriod  was  devoted  to  its  cultiva- 
tion. He  was  b)'  nature  a  quiet,  unassuming 
man,  holding  himself  aloof  from  all  matters 
which  might  lead  to  public  notoriety;  and  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  He 
married  Hannah  Kimball,  a  native  of  Ilolder- 
ness,  and  reared  a  family  of  five  children,  of 
whom  the  only  survivor  is  William  Cox,  a  res- 
ident of  Lowell. 

Benjamin  I'ranklin  Cox,  son  of  Wallace 
and  father  of  George  B.,  was  born  in  Holdcr- 
ness, and  there  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  took  an  active  interest  in  the  town  govern- 
ment, and  was  elected  to  various  offices,  serv- 
ing with  ability  and  faithfulness.  He  married 
Ann  Currier,  a  daughter  of  William  Currier,  of 
Plymouth,  N.  H.  ;  and  they  became  the  parents 
of  but  one  child,  George  B. ,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  Benjamin  F.  Cox  died  at  the  age 
of  fifty-eight  years.  Mrs.  Cox,  his  widow,  is 
still  living,  and  is  now  fifty-nine  years  old. 

George  B.  Cox  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Ashland  and  Plymouth,  the  New 
Hampton  Literary  Institution,  and  Wesle)an 
University.  Previous  to  entering  the  law 
school,  Mr.  Cox  taught  school  in  Candia  for 
one  year,  and  served  as  superintendent  of 
schools  in  the  town  of  Ashland.  In  1SS5  he 
began  his  legal  studies  with  Judge  Hibbard,  of 
Laconia,  and  two  years  later  entered  the  Bos- 
ton University  Law  School,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  1888,  with  the  degree  of  l?achelor 
of  Law.     Admitted  to  the  bar  in  July  of  the 


202 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


same  year,  he  associated  himself  with  N.  J. 
Dyer;  and  the  firm  of  Cox  &  Dyer  conducted  a 
general  law  business  in  Laconia  until  1S94. 

In  politics  Mr.  Cox  is  a  Democrat,  and  has 
frequently  stumped  the  State  in  the  inter- 
est of  his  party.  He  served  as  a  member  of 
the  School  Board  for  three  years,  acting  as 
its  Chairman  during  his  last  term.  In  1S90 
the  Citizens'  Temperance  Union  was  formed 
in  Laconia,  and  for  four  years  he  was  retained 
as  its  counsel.  In  January,  1S94,  Mr.  Cox 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Law  and  Order  League  of  New 
Hampshire,  a  strong  temperance  organization, 
supported  by  many  of  the  most  influential  citi- 
zens of  the  State,  and  is  still  serving  as  such. 
In  1895  he  was  retained  as  counsel  for  the 
league,  and  is  still  acting  in  that  capacity. 
He  has  labored  diligently  and  successfully  in 
forwarding  the  aims  and  purposes  of  the 
league,  having  worked  exclusively  in  its  in- 
terests for  six  months,  but  of  late,  owing  to 
the  demands  of  his  law  practice,  has  been 
obliged,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  relinquish  his 
efforts  in  its  behalf.  Mr.  Cox  has  also  per- 
formed some  work  in  the  lecture  field  in  his 
native  State  during  the  past  four  years,  his 
recent  efforts  in  this  line  being  confined 
mainly  to  the  subject  of  temperance. 


\C^;/ILL1AM  M.  HERRING,  an  es- 
teemed citizen  of  Strafford  County, 
New  Hampshire,  residing  in  Farm- 
ington,  was  born  in  this  town,  February  9, 
1859.  His  father,  the  late  Hon.  George  M. 
Herring,  son  of  Seth  and  Deborah  Herring, 
was  born  in  Framingham,  Mass.,  in  1812. 
He  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  in  Natick, 
Mass.  His  shop-mates  at  this  time  were  Mar- 
tin L.  Hayes  and  Henry  Wilson,  who  later  in 
life  was  Senator  from  Massachusetts  and  after- 


ward Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 
George  M.  Herring  in  his  early  manhood  came 
to  Strafford  County,  locating  in  this  place  in 
1843.  For  a  time  he  carried  on  a  good  busi- 
ness in  general  merchandise.  He  subse- 
quently engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  shoes, 
having  a  large  shop  on  the  present  site  of  the 
Opera  House,  and  continued  in  that  occupa- 
tion until  his  demise  on  September  26,  1875, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years.  His  body  was 
interred  in  the  family  lot  in  the  beautiful 
cemetery  of  South  Framingham,  Mass. 

George  M.  Herring  was  a  stanch  Republi- 
can in  politics,  very  active  in  public  affairs. 
He  served  as  a  member  of  the  State  Senate 
in  the  years  1855  and  1856,  and  in  1870  and 
1 87 1  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  He 
was  also  United  States  Assessor  for  the  First 
District  of  New  Hampshire,  serving  in  that 
capacity  from  1862  to  1869,  having  been  ap- 
pointed by  President  Lincoln.  He  was  Presi- 
dent of  the  Farmington  Savings  Bank  and 
Farmington  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  Di- 
rector of  the  D.  &  W.  Railroad  Company.  It 
was  mainly  by  his  persistency  that  the  I^\arm- 
ington  National  Bank  was  chartered,  of  which 
he  was  President  from  its  commencement  to 
the  time  of  his  death.  In  1845  ^^  unitetl  with 
the  Congregational  church,  was  a  Deacon  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  and  for  many  years  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school.  During  all 
these  years  he  studied  constantly,  and  often 
gave  lectures  on  astronomy  and  geology.  He 
also  sometimes  preached  when  his  pastor  was 
absent.  Captain  Herring,  as  he  was  famil- 
iarly called,  did  more  than  any  other  man  in 
building  up  and  establishing  the  shoe  business 
in   Farmington. 

He  married  Ellen  E.  frames,  of  South 
P'ramingham,  Mass.,  in  1844,  and  they  reared 
four  children,  namely;  Mary  E.,  wife  of  D. 
S.   Dockham,    of   Manchester;  E.    Grace,    wife 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


203 


of  A.  F.  Waldron,  of  Farniington;  Sadie  M., 
wife  of  Fred  Watson,  of  Manchester;  and 
William  M.,  whose  name  heads  the  present 
sketch. 

William  M.  Herring  was  brought  up  and 
educated  in  Farmington,  being  graduated  at 
the  High  School  in  1S77,  and  since  early 
manhood  has  been  identifietl  with  the  mercan- 
tile interests  of  the  town.  His  first  exjieri- 
ence  in  this  line  of  business  was  with  the  firm 
of  Dockham  &  Nute  Brothers,  of  Farniington, 
by  whom  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  a  year  or 
more.  In  1882,  when  Mr.  J.  F.  Hall  bought 
his  store,  he  accepted  a  position  with  him,  and 
has  since  continued  in  his  service  as  head 
clerk  and  book-keeper,  earning  a  deserved 
reputation  for  ability  and  trustworthiness,  and 
by  his  courteous  kindness  and  attention  to 
customers  assisting  in  building  up  the  large 
trade  of  his  employer. 

Mr.  Herring  was  married  June  14,  1893,  to 
Miss  Edith  E.  Pinkham,  of  Farmington,  a 
daughter  of  Levi  L.  and  Augusta  Pinkham. 
Brought  up  as  a  Republican  in  politics,  he  has 
never  swerved  from  party  allegiance,  and, 
notwithstanding  his  disinclination  for  ]niblic 
office,  in  1895  and  1896  he  was  a  Represent- 
ative to  the  General  Court  at  Concord,  N.  H., 
and  served  as  one  of  the  Committee  on  I'kluca- 
tion.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  Har- 
mony Lodge,  No.  II,  K.  of  P.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Herring  attend  the  Congregational  church  and 
contribute  cheerfully  to  its  supjiort. 


JVERETT  M.  SINCLAH^,  agent  of  the 
Cocheco  Mills  at  Rochester,  Strafford 
County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  Lisbon, 
Me.,  August  16,  1848,  son  of  Moses  and 
Lucretia  Totman  Sinclair.  Li  the  records  of 
the  Sinclair  family  in  America  is  found  the 
name  of  one  John  Sinclair,  a  pioneer  settler  of 


E.\eter,  N.H.,  who  is  thought  to  have  been  the 
father  of  Robert  Sinclair,  of  Wells,  Me.  In 
the  archives  of  the  town  of  Wells  there  is  a 
recortl  of  a  grant  of  one  hundreil  and  ten  acres 
of  meadow  land  being  given  to  this  same 
Robert  in  1712.  There  is  also  a  deed  signed 
by  another  John,  his  son,  in  1734,  showing 
that  he  must  have  been  at  that  time  at  least 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  John  Sinclair,  the 
younger,  removed  to  Boston  in  1744,  and  be- 
came a  volunteer  under  Captain  John  Stover 
for  the  expedition  that  captured  Louisburg  in 
1745.  The  troops  sailed  from  Boston,  March 
24,  and  were  forty-nine  days  in  reducing  the 
stronghold.  This  same  John  later  became  a 
resident  of  Arundel,  where  "for  not  frequent- 
ing the  Public  Worship  of  God  on  the  Lord's 
day  for  six  months,  from  January  i,  1749,"  he 
was  brought  before  the  court  and  fined.  He 
married  Mary  Wakefield,  and  their  two  chil- 
dren were  Adoniram  and  Mary. 

Adoniram  located  in  Lisbon,  Me.,  about 
1760,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  dwellers  in 
the  town.  It  was  then  a  wilderness,  and  the 
land  had  to  be  reclaimed  and  reduced  to  culti- 
vation. Adoniram  Sinclair  cleared  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  had  a  beautiful 
and  productive  farm  before  his  death.  His 
son,  John,  third,  inherited  the  estate,  and  was 
a  prominent  citizen  of  Lisbon.  He  was 
known  to  have  remarkable  judgment,  and  was 
universally  beloved  and  respected.  In  relig- 
ion he  was  a  Baptist.  He  married  Mrs.  Mary 
Hyde  Harmon,  of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  a  woman  of 
strong  character  and  marked  executive  ability. 

Moses,  son  of  John  and  Mary  Sinclair,  and 
father  of  Mr.  I^verett  M.  Sinclair,  was  born 
on  the  farm  at  Lisbon,  March  15,  1807. 
When  only  nine  months  old  he  fell  into  an 
open  fire-place,  and  his  left  hand  and  ariu  were 
crippled  for  life  on  account  of  the  severe 
burns   received.      He   was   consequently   much 


204 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


at  home  with  his  mother,  and  there  was  a  re- 
markably strong  attachment  between  them. 
When  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age  his  mother 
died,  and  he  was  plunged  into  the  deepest 
grief.  He  remained  at  home  until  he  had 
reached  his  majority,  and  in  his  twenty-second 
year  he  went  to  Bath,  where  he  was  employed 
for  three  years  upon  the  farm  connected  with 
the  hospital.  He  then  went  back  to  the  home 
farm,  and  stayed  until  he  was  thirty  years  old, 
when  he  went  into  the  lumber  business  at 
Little  River  Village,  now  Lisbon  Falls. 
There  he  had  an  interest  in  a  saw-mill,  and 
later  owned  a  shingle  and  clapboard-mill.  In 
1852  a  destructive  fire  caused  the  loss  of  these 
buildings,  and  after  this  he  went  to  East 
Auburn,  where  for  three  years  he  was  engaged 
in  a  grocery  business.  He  next  purchased  a 
small  farm,  and  devoted  himself  to  farming 
until  his  death,  September  28,  1883.  The 
tastes  of  Mr.  Moses  Sinclair  were  strongly 
domestic.  He  was  devotedly  attached  to  his 
home  and  family,  and  no  sacrifice  was  great 
when  made  for  them.  This  same  kindness  of 
heart  and  generosity  of  mind  made  him  be- 
loved by  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
It  is  said  that  sorrow  and  pain  are  wonderful 
refiners,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Mr. 
Sinclair's  lifelong  infirmity  had  given  sweet- 
ness and  patience  to  his  whole  character.  His 
children  were:  Angeline  Rowena,  born  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1847;  Everett  M.;  Willis  Webber; 
Trufant;  Silas  Trufant ;  Charles  Trufant ;  and 
Jennie  Webber. 

Everett  M.  Sinclair  received  a  common- 
school  education,  and  in  18G3  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Androscoggin  Mills  at  Lewiston, 
Me.,  as  picker-boy.  He  worked  afterward  in 
Lisbon  Falls,  and  in  1867  accepted  a  position 
in  the  Pondicherry  Mills  at  Bridgton,  Me. 
In  1872  he  took  charge  of  the  weaving  depart- 
ment of  the  Cocheco  Woollen  Mills  at  East 


Rochester.  Later  he  worked  in  Pennsylvania 
and  at  Worcester,  Mass.;  but  in  i8S4theposi- 
ti(m  of  superintendent  of  the  Cocheco  Mills 
being  vacant,  he  was  asked  by  the  corporation 
to  return  and  accept  that  office.  He  was  su- 
perintendent of  the  Cocheco  Mills  until  1894, 
when  he  was  elected  agent  of  the  company. 
Mr.  Sinclair's  life  has  been  one  of  close  at- 
tention to  business,  and  his  success  has  been 
won,  not  by  good  luck,  but  by  steadfastness 
of  purpose  and  integrity  combined  with  hard 
work.  He  is  a  self-made  man,  and  has 
merited  all  the  success  he  has  won. 

Mr.  Sinclair  united  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  1873,  and  has  taken  a 
deep  interest  in  all  movements  for  the  uplift- 
ing of  humanity.  He  has  served  his  town  as 
a  member  of  the  School  Board,  and  is  much 
interested  in  all  educational  questions.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  he  has  never 
sought  political  preferment.  He  has  written 
many  articles  upon  mechanical  subjects  and 
upon  questions  of  local  historical  interest. 
He  is  a  prominent  and  active  Mason.  He  was 
made  an  F.  &  A.  M.  at  Oriental  Lodge,  of 
Bridgton,  Me.,  in  1869,  and  demitted  to  Hu- 
mane Lodge  of  Rochester.  He  took  chapter 
degrees  in  Oriental  Chapter,  Bridgton,  Me., 
in  1S73,  ■I'ld  demitted  to  become  a  charter 
member  of  Temple  Chapter  of  Rochester.  He 
has  been  P.  H.  P.,  and  in  virtue  of  having  held 
that  office  he  received  the  degrees  of  High 
Priesthood  at  Concord,  under  the  direction  of 
the  late  John  J.  Bell,  of  Exeter.  He  was  a 
member  of  Orphan  Council  and  St.  Paul  Com- 
mandery  of  Dover,  and  demitted  to  become 
charter  member  of  Palestine  Commandery  at 
Rochester  in  1896. 

Mr.  Sinclair  is  a  Director  of  the  Rochester 
Building  &  Loan  Association,  and  one  of  the 
incorporators  of  the  Norway  Plains  National 
Bank.     He   is  also   a  charter  member  of  the 


JOHN     L.    PERLEY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


207 


National  Association  of  Woollen  and  Worsted 
Overseers,  which  was  organized  in  18S3,  with 
Mr.  Sinclair  as  temporary  Chairman.  A  few 
overseers  met  in  Boston  at  the  Institute  ot 
Technology  Building,  and  from  that  meeting 
the  organization  grew.  Mr.  Sinclair  was  one 
of  its  first  Vice-Presidents,  and  has  always 
been  an  active  and  influential  member. 

On  January  30,  1870,  Mr.  Sinclair  married 
Miss  Eleanor  Perry  Hill,  a  lady  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  She  was  born  in  Selkirk, 
Scotland,  and  came  to  America  with  her  par- 
ents when  only  five  years  old.  For  a  time 
Mr.  Hill,  her  father,  lived  in  New  York  City, 
whence  he  removed  to  Ohio,  where  his  wife 
died  in  1861,  and  he  then  came  with  his 
daughter  to  Maine.  Mrs.  Eleanor  P.  H.  Sin- 
clair died  April  21,  1878,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren. In  18S0  Mr.  Sinclair  married  Miss 
Carrie  Manson,  a  lady  who  had  been  educated 
at  Wolfeboro  Academy,  and  had  for  some  time 
been  a  teacher.  Of  this  union  have  been  born 
two  children  —  Angle  M.  and  John  Everett. 


(g^OMN  LANGDON  PERLEY,  M.D., 
was  one  ot  the  leading  men  of  Belknap 
County  in  the  early  part  of  this  cen- 
tury; and  in  Laconia,  the  home  of  his  family 
for  many  years,  he  was  very  influential  in 
financial  and  political  affairs.  Born  in  La- 
conia (at  that  time  Meredith  Bridge),  June  10, 
1805,  he  was  the  son  of  Stephen  and  Mehitable 
(Ladd)  Perley.  Of  Stephen  Perley,  who 
might  be  called  the  architect  of  the  fortunes 
of  Laconia,  an  extended  account  will  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  The  Ladd  family, 
too,  to  which  the  Doctor's  mother  belonged, 
was  prominent  in  the  early  history  of  this 
place. 

John  Langdon  Perley  was  graduated  at  Bow- 
doin   College,    Brunswick,    Me.,    in    1829,  and 


studied  medicine  with  Dr.  John  Durkee,  of 
Laconia.  Me  was  actively  engaged  in  profes- 
sional practice  imtil  about  forty  years  of  age, 
and  then  retired  in  order  to  give  his  attention 
to  other  matters  in  which  he  had  become  in- 
terested. In  1837  he  went  West,  and,  spentl- 
ing  some  time  in  that  comparatively  jlawless 
antl  unsettled  country,  returned  to  his  boy- 
hood's home  with  renewed  interest  in  its  wel- 
fare. Owning  a  vast  extent  of  woodland  in 
this  vicinity,  he  was  extensively  engaged  for 
years  in  farming  and  the  manufacture  of  lum- 
ber; and  at  East  Tilton  he  owned  a  saw-mill,  a 
grist-mill,  and  the  water  privilege.  He  event- 
ually sold  the  Tilton  property.  Dr.  Perley 
was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Meredith 
Bridge  Savings  Bank,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  and  its  President  for 
some  time.  He  was  also  active  in  incorporat- 
ing the  Belknap  Savings  Bank,  of  which  he 
was  President  until  about  ten  years  previous 
to  his  death,  when  he  resigned.  A  member  oi 
the  old  Whig  party,  he  was  appointed  Post- 
master of  Laconia  in  1829,  .the  last  year  of 
John  Quincy  Adams's  administration;  and  in 
that  year  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Ben- 
jamin Pierce  Surgeon  of  the  Twenty-ninth 
Regiment  of  New  Hampshire  militia.  Elected 
to  the  State  legislature  in  1834,  he  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  disinterested  champion  of 
the  people's  rights.  He  it  was  who  introduced 
and  obtained  the  passage  of  the  bill  to  reduce 
the  governor's  salary  from  two  thousand  dol- 
lars to  one  thousand  dollars,  believing  that 
the  salary  should  be  nominal  only,  aiul  that  the 
honor  of  being  governor  of  the  State  should 
satisfy  the  candidate.  No  change  has  been 
made  in  the  governor's  salary  since  his  time. 
Dr.  Perley  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years  and  four  months.  The  ])ortrait  of  Dr. 
Perley  accompanying  this  sketch  was  taken  at 
the  age  of  fifty-eight  years. 


208 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


On  February  20,  1839,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Dora,  daughter  of  Josiah  and 
Betsey  (rotter)  Rundlett,  of  Giliuaiiton,  N.  H. 
Their  union  was  blessed  by  five  children  — 
John  L. ,  D.  Augusta,  Mary  P.,  Lewis  S.,  and 
Clara  E.  John  L.  Parley,  who  was  born  in 
December,  1839,  enlisted  in  August,  1861,  in 
Troop  M,  New  England  Cavalry,  and  the  fol- 
lowing November  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Second  Lieutenant.  Taken  ill  in  May,  1862, 
he  returned  home,  and  died  shortly  after  from 
the  effects  of  exposure  during  his  military  ser- 
vice D.  Augusta  is  the  wife  of  Jacob  San- 
born, of  Laconia,  and  has  one  child.  Pearl 
Smith  Sanborn.  Mary  l\  was  married  in  Sep- 
tember, 1 87 1,  to  Josiah  T.  Sturtevant,  a  native 
of  Centre  Harbor,  Belknap  County,  N.H., 
who  was  for  a  time  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  hosiery  in  Meredith,  and  who  also  managed 
a  drug  store  in  that  town,  where  he  is  now  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  the  real  estate  business. 
Mr.  Sturtevant  is  a  member  of  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  affiliated  with  two  of  the  leading 
fraternal  orders  of  this  section,  belonging  to 
the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Meredith  Grange. 
In  religious  matters  his  symiiathies  are  with 
the  Congregational  denomination,  his  father 
having  been  a  Deacon  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

Lewis  S.  Perley  attended  Gilford  Academy, 
then  took  a  year's  course  of  special  study  in 
Boston,  and  finished  his  educational  training 
at  Professor  Hyatt's  Academy  in  Pennsylvania. 
He  has  had  much  work  to  do  as  a  civil  en- 
gineer; and  he  manages  the  home  farm,  an 
estate  of  one  hundred  acres,  largely  devoted  to 
raising  hay.  Mr.  Lewis  S.  Perley  also  is  a 
Republican  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of 
Winipiseogee  Lodge,  No.  7,  I.  O.  O.  F. 
In  1888  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Clara 
L.  Knowlton,  of  Meredith.  They  have  two 
children,  Lew  K.  and  Marion  Louise,  aged  re- 


spectively six  and  three  years.  Clara  E.  Per- 
ley is  the  wife  of  Dr.  A.  L.  Norris,  residing 
on  Massachusetts  Avenue,  Cambridgeport, 
Mass.  She  is  the  mother  of  three  children: 
Albert  P.,  a  student  at  the  Boston  Institute  of 
Technology;  C.  Maud,  attending  the  Cam- 
bridgeport High  School;  and  Grace  M. 


RANK  W.  CORSON,  an  active  and 
enterprising  business  man  of  East 
Rochester,  N.  H.,  was  born  June  2, 
1852,  in  the  village  of  East  Rochester,  about 
a  mile  from  the  post-office,  this  having  also 
been  the  birthplace  of  his  father,  the  late 
Willard  Corson.  His  grandfather,  Joseph 
Corson,  who  came  to  Rochester  from  Dover  in 
the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  was 
probably  the  first  of  the  Corson  family  to  lo- 
cate in  this  section  of  Strafford  County. 
Willard  Corson,  whose  death  occurred  in 
Rochester  in  1888,  was  here  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  during  his  active  life,  carry- 
ing on  all  branches  of  husbandry  with  much 
success.  His  wife,  in  maidenhood  Lydia 
Wingate,  of  this  town,  bore  him  four  chil- 
dren; namely,  Myra,  Eliza,  Frank  W.,  and 
Joseph  W.  Eliza  is  the  wife  of  Charles  W. 
Corson,  of  East  Rochester;  and  Joseph  W.  is 
in  the  provision  business  in  New  York  City. 

Frank  W.  Corson  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Rochester  in  his  earlier  years.  He 
subsequently  studied  for  several  winters  at 
Lebanon  Academy,  devoting  his  summers  to 
farm  work.  After  this  he  learned  the  carpen- 
ter's trade,  at  which  he  worked  for  some  time, 
continuing,  however,  to  reside  with  his  par- 
ents. In  1877,  or  thereabout,  he  began  work- 
ing for  the  Cocheco  Woollen  Manufacturing 
Company  in  East  Rochester,  remaining  with 
them  for  a  period  of  thirteen  years.  Desiring 
then  to  establish   himself   in   some  permanent 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


209 


business,  lie  formed  a  co|jnitiiershi|)  with 
G.  H.  Knox,  antl  with  iiini  purchased  the  mill 
ol  John  C.  Shorey.  In  tiiis  place  he  has  since 
been  profitably  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
boxes  and  lumber  of  all  kinds. 

In  1 878,  November  28,  Mr.  Corson  marrieil 
Sabra  T.  Cowell,  of  West  Lebanon,  I\Ie. 
They  have  now  three  children,  namely:  S. 
Gertrude,  born  June  5,  i88j;  Mildred  A., 
born  June  27,  1888;  and  F.  Verne,  born 
March  4,  1894.  Mr.  Corson  has  taken  an  ac- 
tive interest  in  local  affairs,  in  which  he  has 
been  prominent  during  a  large  portion  of  his 
life,  invariably  supporting  the  Republican 
party.  In  1S87  and  1888  he  was  elected  to 
the  lower  branch  of  the  State  legislature,  and 
attended  the  long  session  made  famous  by  the 
great  railway  fight.  In  1893  he  was  elected 
to  the  City  Council  from  Ward  One,  and  while 
there  served  on  the  Water  Works  Committee. 
He  served  for  two  years  on  the  School  Board, 
and  has  been  ward  Selectman  for  six  years, 
or  since  the  incorporation  of  Rochester  as  a 
city.  Mr.  Corson  is  a  charter  member  of 
Cocheco  Lodge,  No.  39,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of  East 
Rochester,  and  was  its  first  Vice  Grand,  and 
has  since  occupied  all  the  chairs.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  is  serving  as  one  of  its  official  board. 


r'.  DANIEL  CLARKE  KNOWLES, 
\.M.,  D.D.,  Ladd  Professor  of 
Moral  and  Biblical  Science  at  the 
New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary  and 
I'Y'inale  College,  Tilton,  N.H.,  and  a  veteran 
of  the  Civil  War,  was  born  in  Yardville,  N.J., 
January  4,  1836.  His  parents,  Enoch  and 
Alice  C.  (Hughes)  Knowles,  were  natives  of 
New  Jersey.  His  great-grandfather,  John 
Knowles,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Titusville,  N.J., 
where   he  resided  as    long  as   he    lived.      He 


owned  land  upon  the  Delaware  River,  near  the 
point  where  General  Washington  made  his 
famous  crossing. 

John  Knowles,  Jr.,  son  of  John,  Sr. ,  and 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a 
lifelong  resident  of  Titusville,  and  one  of  the 
prominent  men  of  that  town  in  his  day.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  IClizabeth  Farley. 

Enoch  Knowles,  son  of  John,  Jr.,  was  born 
in  Titusville  in  1805.  He  was  reared  to  agri- 
cultural [lursuits,  antl  remained  at  the  home- 
stead until  his  marriage,  at  which  time  he 
settled  in  Yardville,  ujion  a  farm  belonging 
to  hi.s  wife's  parents.  This  proi:)erty,  which 
eventually  came  to  his  possession,  consisted 
of  two  hundred  acres  of  tillable  land;  and, 
besides  taking  care  of  a  peach  orchard  of  four 
thousand  trees,  he  tlevoteil  considerable  atten- 
tion to  the  raising  of  cattle  and  sheep.  He 
carried  on  general  farming  and  fruit  raising 
with  unusual  energy  until  1862,  when  he  re- 
tired from  active  life.  Although  his  school 
opportunities  were  meagre,  his  natural  ability 
enabled  him  to  make  good  use  of  what  little 
education  he  had  acquired.  In  ])olitics  he  was 
originally  a  Democrat,  but  joined  the  Repub- 
lican party  at  its  formation.  Though  not  an 
aspirant  for  political  [irominence,  he  held 
some  of  the  minor  town  offices.  He  was  an 
earnest  advocate  of  temperance  and  total  absti- 
nence and  an  able  speaker  in  behalf  of  the 
cause.  He  was  at  one  time  a  candidate  for 
the  legislature;  and,  being  assured  of  the 
liquor  vote,  provided  he  would  not  use  his  in- 
fluence against  the  traffic,  he  replied  that,  if 
it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  the  legis- 
lature u])on  a  liquor  cask,  he  preferred  to  re- 
main at  home.  His  wife,  Alice  C.  Hughes, 
was  born  in  Yardville  in  1804,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  Hughes,  the  former  of  whom 
died  in  1846,  aged  eighty-two,  and  the  latter 
in  1842,  aged  eighty-one. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Enoch  Knowles  were  the 
parcnt-s  of  .seven  children,  a.s  follows:  Sarah 
A.;  Mary;  the  Rev.  Joseph  Hughes;  John 
Fletcher;  the  Rev.  Daniel  C,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Emma  L. ;  and  Enoch.  Sarah 
A.  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Abram  Palmer, 
of  Newark,  N.J.  Mary  died  in  1857.  The 
Rev.  Joseph  Hughes  Knowles  is  a  member  of 
the  Newark  Conference  and  Secretary  of  the 
American  Sabbath  Union.  He  was,  in  a  great 
measure,  instrumental  in  having  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition  at  Chicago  closed  on  Sundays. 
John  Fletcher  Knowles  resides  in  Orange, 
N.J.  Emma  L.  Knowles  is  a  missionary  in 
India,  and  has  a  school  located  at  Darjeeling, 
which  is  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  Enoch  resitles  in  Pennington,  N.J. 
The  father  and  mother  both  united  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  when  young;  and 
the  father,  who  was  a  local  preacher,  was 
active  in  religious  matters  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  February  4,    1877. 

Daniel  Clarke  Knowles  prepared  for  college 
at  the  Pennington  (N.J.)  Seminary,  and  was 
graduated  at  the  Wesleyan  University,  Middle- 
town,  Conn.,  with  the  class  of  1858.  After 
completing  his  collegiate  course  he  became 
teacher  of  mathematics  at  the  Poultney  (Vt. ) 
Academy,  in  1859  was  teacher  of  languages  at 
the  Pittsburg  (Pa.)  Female  College,  and  in 
the  following  year  he  was  appointed  to  the 
same  position  at  the  Pennington  Seminary  and 
Female  Collegiate  Institute.  In  May,  1861, 
he  began  the  organization  of  a  company  for 
service  in  the  Civil  War,  and  the  one  hundred 
and  one  men  that  he  recruited  were  mustered  in 
on  August  21  of  the  same  year.  He  was  com- 
missioned Captain,  and  served  at  Hilton  Head 
and  at  Fort  Pulaski.  He  had  charge  of  estab- 
lishing a  battery  on  Jones's  Island  to  cut  off 
the  enemy's  approach  to  that  fort,  and  during 
the  siege  was  stricken  with  malaria,  which   he 


had  contracted  while  camping  in  the  swamps. 
By  the  advice  of  physicians  he  was  compelled 
to  resign  in  order  to  save  his  life;  anil  what 
promised  to  be  a  notable,  as  well  as  an  honor- 
able, military  career  ended  in  1862. 

He  returned  to  Pennington  Seminary,  and 
in  1863  was  elected  its  President,  a  position 
which  he  filled  for  four  years.  In  1864  he 
joined  the  New  Jersey  Conference,  in  1866 
was  made  a  Deacon,  and  in  1868  an  Elder. 
In  1867  he  was  transferred  to  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Conference,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
Haverhill  Street  Methodist  Church,  Lawrence, 
Mass.,  where  he  remained  for  three  years.  In 
1870  he  was  transferred  to  the  New  England 
Conference,  and  assigned  to  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Lowell,  Mass.  In  1872  he  was  stationed  at 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Lynn,  Mass.,  and  in  1876 
was  assigned  to  Maiden,  Mass.  In  1878  he 
was  retransferred  to  the  New  Hampshire  Con- 
ference, and  again  took  charge  of  the  Haver- 
hill Street  Church  in  Lawrence.  His  health 
failing  while  there,  he  spent  several  months 
at  Cli-fton  Springs.  Upon  his  recovery  he  in 
1882  took  charge  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  Plymouth,  N.H.,  where  he  remained 
two  years;  and  in  1884  he  was  appointed  agent 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  Seminary 
and  Female  College,  in  which  capacity  he 
raised  and  collected  fifty-five  thousand  dollars 
for  the  erection  of  new  buildings.  He  was 
elected  its  President  in  1885;  and  he  ably 
filled  that  position  until  1891,  when  he  was 
forced  to  resign  on  account  of  feeble  health. 
The  malarial  poison  that  his  system  absorbed 
while  in  the  army,  and  which  had  produced 
years  of  suffering,  at  last  located  in  his  foot; 
and  he  was  obliged  to  have  it  amputated.  In 
1892  Dr.  Knowles  was  appointed  Treasurer 
and  General  Agent  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Conference  Seminary,  a  position  that  he  still 
holds,  besides  filling  the  Ladd  Chair  of  Moral 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  Biblical  Science,  which  he  took  in  i8g6; 
In  iSSo  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con- 
ference at  Cincinnati,  and  in  1882  was  elected 
a  Trustee  of  the  Wesleyan  University,  Middle- 
town,  Conn.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ecu- 
menical Council  at  Washington,  B.C.,  in 
1 89 1,  but  was  unable  to  be  present,  as  he 
was  then  confined  to  the  hospital. 

On  November  10,  1863,  Dr.  Knowles  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lucia  M.  Barrows, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  L.  D.  Barrows,  D.D., 
of  the  New  Hamjishire  Conference.  Mrs. 
Knowles  has  been  the  mother  of  two  children  ; 
namely,  Nina  IClbert  and  Frederic  Lawrence. 
Nina  E.  died  in  Maiden,  Mass.,  in  1875,  aged 
eight  years.  Frederic  Lawrence  Knowles  was 
graduated  at  the  Wesleyan  University  in  1S94, 
and  at  Harvard  University  in  1896.  He  is  at 
present  teacher  of  literature  at  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Conference  Seminary. 

Dr.  Knowles  cast  his  first  Presidential  vote 
for  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  continued  to  suji- 
port  the  Republican  party  until  1884.  He 
then  became  a  Prohibitionist,  and  has  twice 
been  that  party's  candidate  for  Congress  from 
the  Second  District.  In  1894  he  was  the  Pro- 
hibition candidate  for  Governor.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  F"raternity  and 
the    Phi     Beta    Kappa     Society    of    Wesleyan 

University. 

« <  •  >  * 

]BEN  E.  BERRY,  one  of  the  best-known 
residents  of  New  Durham,  and  an  e.x- 
meniber  of  the  legislature,  was  born 
in  this  town,  October  18,  1831,  son  of  Eben 
B.  and  Mercy  R.  (Hurd)  Berry.  His  grand- 
father, John  Berry,  an  linglishman,  was  a 
pioneer  settler  in  New  Durham.  Eben  B. 
Berry  was  a  lifelong  resident  of  this  town,  and 
for  many  years  was  engaged  in  manufacturing 
agricultural  implements  and  in  general  farm- 
ing.     He  was  a  gogd  business  man,  and    an 


influential  citizen,  and  his  activity  and  enter- 
prise were  very  beneficial  to  the  community. 
He  served  for  a  number  of  years  on  the  Board 
of  Selectmen  (one  year  of  which  he  was  Chair- 
man), was  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  and  also  acted 
as  a  Notary  Public.  He  was  drafted  during 
the  War  of  181 2,  but  not  called  into  active 
service.  He  died  in  1865,  aged  si.xty-eight 
years.  His  wife,  Mercy  R.  (Hurd)  Berry, 
was  a  daughter  of  John  Hurd,  who  served  on 
General  Washington's  staff  during  llie  Revo- 
lutionary War.  She  became  the  mother  of 
eight  children,  of  whom  the  only  survivor  is 
Eben  E.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Eben  E.  Berry  attended  the  Farmington 
High  School,  and  subsequently  com[)leted  his 
studies  at  the  West  Lebanon  Academy.  He 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he  fid- 
lowed  for  some  years  during  the  summer  sea- 
son, and  he  taught  school  in  the  adjoining 
towns  during  several  winter  terms.  In  1856 
he  bought  his  [jresent  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty  acres,  located  at  Scruton's  Corner,  and 
when  not  occupied  in  attending  to  its  cultiva- 
tion he  is  engaged  in  surveying  land,  having 
performed  much  work  of  that  kind  in  Strafford 
and  Belknap  Counties.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat.  He  served  as  Ta.x  Collector  in 
1S56  and  1857,  was  superintendent  of  schools 
nineteen  years,  and  was  for  two  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  is  now 
serving  for  the  third  year.  He  was  a  Select- 
man fifteen  years.  He  has  acted  as  police 
officer,  has  been  a  Justice  of  the  I'eace  for 
over  thirty  years,  and  was  elected  a  Repre- 
sentative to  the  legislature  in  1895.  He  is 
interested  in  the  New  Durham  Fire  Insurance 
Company,  and  has  been  its  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  for  the  past  ten  years. 

February  i,  1855,  Mr.  Berry  married  Lucy 
M.  Chesley,  of  this  town,  and  of  their  five 
children    three   are   living,    namely:    Ida    L., 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


wife     of     James    Glidden:     Lyman     E.  ;     and 
Percey  C. 

Mr.  ]5erry  has  occupied  tlio  principal  chairs 
of  iM-atcrnal  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Farming- 
ton,  and  is  connected  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of 
I'ythias.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church,  and  has  acted  as  Clerk  and  Treasurer 
therein  for  the  past  twelve  years. 


'ON.  ELLERY  A.  HIBBARD,  of 
Laconia,  senior  member  of  the  Belk- 
L^  ^_^  nap  County  liar,  and  a  former  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire,  is  a 
widely  known  and  influential  citizen,  having 
for  many  years  taken  an  active  part  in  the  con- 
duct of  public  affairs.  He  was  born  in  St. 
Johnsbury,  Vt. ,  July  31,  1826,  a  son  of  Silas 
and  Olive  (Albee)  Hibbard. 

Several  generations  of  Hibbards  have  lived 
and  died  in  Concord,  Vt.  David,  Judge  Hib- 
bard's  grandfather,  who  was  a  resident  of  that 
town  during  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  was  a 
Revolutionary  soldier.  He  had  a  family  of 
twelve  children.  His  son  Silas,  the  Judge's 
father,  was  in  the  hotel  business  a  number  of 
years,  antl  later  was  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing. He  died  before  he  was  forty  years  old. 
He  was  an  uncle  of  the  Hon.  Harry  Hibbard, 
of  Bath,  N.  H.  His  wife,  Olive,  a  native  of 
Chesterfield,  N.  H.,  was  a  daughter  of  Zuriel 
Albee,  of  Littleton,  N.H.  She  died  in  1874, 
aged  eighty-two.  At  the  time  of  her  hus- 
band's death  she  was  left  with  five  young  chil- 
dren and  a  small  property,  and  was  able  to 
give  the  children  only  very  limited  educational 
opportunities.  Three  of  these  children  are 
now  living. 

EUery  A.  Hibbard  was  nine  years  old  when 
his  father  died.  He  attended  the  district 
school    as    regularly  as    circumstances    would 


permit,  and  afterward  studied  at  an  academy 
at  Derby,  Vt.  His  mother's  training  and  his 
early  independence  I)rought  out  strongly  his 
powers  of  self-reliance,  and  he  worked  per- 
severingly  through  the  course  of  study  neces- 
sary to  fit  him  for  the  bar.  He  taught  school 
one  term,  and  studied  in  different  law  offices, 
including  those  of  Nathan  B.  Felton  and 
Charles  R.  Morrison,  of  Haverhill,  N.H.,  and 
Henry  F.  French,  of  E.xeter,  N.H.  Ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  Plymouth,  N. H.,  in  July, 
1849,  he  immediately  commenced  practice  in 
that  town;  and  in  January,  1853,  he  became  a 
resident  of  Laconia  (then  Meredith  15ridge), 
N.H.  In  course  of  time  he  won  a  place 
among  the  ablest  and  most  successful  lawyers 
in  the  State,  and  acquired  a  large  business. 
In  1870,  when  the  famous  litigation  between 
the  Concord  and  the  Northern  Railroads  was 
on  the  docket,  and  the  most  powerful  legal 
talent  in  New  Hampshire  was  employed  by 
the  rival  corporations,  Mr.  Hibbard  was  re- 
tained as  one  of  the  council  for  the  Northern 
Railroad,  and  made  one  of  the  arguments  on 
each  occasion  when  the  case  was  in  court. 
He  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
in  March,  1873,  and  was  on  the  bench  till 
August,  1874,  when  the  law  under  which  the 
judges  were  appointed  was  repealed;  nomi- 
nated again  under  the  new  law,  he  declined  to 
serve. 

In  politics  a  firm  and  consistent  Democrat, 
though  never  a  violent  partisan,  Judge  Hib- 
bard has  long  been  an  especial  favorite  with 
his  own  party,  and  highly  esteemed  by  the  Re- 
publicans. He  presided  from  1862  to  1873, 
inclusive,  as  Moderator  of  town  meetings  in 
Laconia.  At  the  June  session  of  the  New 
Hampshire  House  of  Representatives  in  1852, 
he  was  elected  assistant  clerk,  and  at  the  No- 
vember session  he  was  chosen  clerk,  being 
honored   with   re-election    in    1853   and    1854. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


2'3 


He  was  the  last  Democratic  clerk  of  the  House 
until  the  partial  triumph  of  the  Democracy  in 
1871.  In  1865  he  was  elected  to  the  legislat- 
ure from  Laconia,  anil  in  the  following  year 
he  was  re-elected.  The  first  year  he  was  on 
the  Committee  on  Finance,  and  the  second 
year  on  the  Judiciary  Committee  and  many 
special  committees,  aiding  the  plan  for  the 
adoption  of  the  new  State  Library,  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  College  of  Agriculture  and 
Mechanical  Art  .  He  was  also  one  of  three 
appointed  by  Governor  Tuttle  to  put  the  col- 
lege at  Durham  on  a  legal  basis  to  remove 
from  Hanover,  which  was  endowed  by  a  large 
grant  of  land  by  the  general  government.  In 
1862  he,  with  Samuel  B.  Page  and  William  C. 
Sturoc,  led  the  minority  of  the  House,  and 
(quoting  from  the  "History  of  the  Forty -sec- 
ond Congress";  "he  drew  up  the  minority  re- 
port, which  presented  briefly  and  forcibly  the 
reasons  against  the  ratification  of  the  Four- 
teenth Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  He  subsequently  maintained 
his  views  on  the  subject  in  an  able  and  exhaus- 
tive speech."  While  in  the  House  Mr.  Hib- 
bard  never  spoke  except  when  he  had  a  point 
to  make,  and  his  words  then  were  concise  and 
forcible,  and  had  great  influence  with  the 
members.  He  has  done  good  service  on  the 
stump,  and  in  the  memorable  cam|>aign  in 
Pennsylvania  in  the  fall  of  1864  he  made  sev- 
eral speeches  in  the  western  part  of  the  State. 
He  was  the  Democratic  member  from  Belknap 
County  in  the  Johnson  Convention  in  Phila- 
delphia in  1866.  In  1869,  though  he  did  not 
desire  it,  his  friends  in  the  First  District 
nominated  him  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for 
Congress.  The  party,  however,  was  hope- 
lessly in  the  minority  from  the  start,  and  the 
full  Republican  State  ami  Congressional  ticket 
was  elected. 

"In  1871,"  as  the  history  further    records, 


"he  was  nominated  for  Representative  to  the 
Forty-second  Congress,  and  was  elected,  al- 
though for  the  period  of  si.\teen  years  pre- 
vious New  Hampshire  had  been  represented 
only  for  a  single  term  by  a  Democrat.  Tak- 
ing his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  Forty-second 
Congress,  Mr.  Hibbard  was  appointed  on  the 
Committee  on  Patents.  He  seldom  addressed 
the  House;  always,  however,  when  he  occu- 
pied the  floor  he  spoke  with  earnestness  and 
effect  in  support  of  his  convictions.  He  spoke 
in  opposition  to  the  bill  to  devote  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  public  lands  for  the  creation  of 
an  educational  fund  for  the  education  of  the 
people,  on  the  ground  that,  if  there  must  be  a 
donation  for  the  benefit  of  the  States  that  were 
too  poor  to  provide  for  the  education  of  their 
people,  it  should  be  by  a  specific  donation  in 
money,  and  of  a  sum  definite  and  uniform 
from  year  to  year,  so  that  the  various  States 
and  districts  for  whose  benefit  it  is  to  be 
created  shall  receive  the  same  amount  every 
year,  and  shall  know  beforehand  what  sum 
they  may  rely  upon,  and  not  be  dependent  on 
the  constantly  fluctuating  sales  of  the  jiublic 
lands."  His  nomination  for  Congress  had 
been  supported,  not  only  by  his  own  party, 
but  also  by  the  Labor  Reform  party;  and  he 
ably  represented  the  interests  of  the  people. 
Always  active  in  opposing  schemes  for  robbing 
the  masses,  be  was  [larticularly  earnest  in 
frustrating  the  plunderings  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific Railroad;  and  as  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Patents  he  did  much  to  prevent  the 
extension  of  unjust  monopolies. 

A  resident  of  Laconia  for  more  than  four 
decades.  Judge  Hibbard's  life  is  well  known 
to  his  townsmen,  who  regard  him  with  the 
highest  honor.  He  was  a  member  of  the  orig- 
inal Board  of  Directors  of  the  Laconia  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  is  still  connected  with  that 
institution;    and  he   is  a  Trustee  of  the   La- 


214 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


conia  Savitigs  Bank.  He  is  President  of  the 
Union  Cemetery  Association  of  this  place,  a 
Director  of  the  Laconia  and  Lakeport  Water 
Works,  and  has  been  a  Trustee  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Asylum  for  the  Insane  since  1S71. 
One  member  of  the  l^elknap  County  Bar  is  a 
few  years  his  senior  in  age,  Judge  Rollins,  of 
Meredith,  but  that  gentleman  was  not  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  until  one  month  after  Judge 
Hibbard's  qualification. 

On  December  5,  1853,  he  was  married  to 
Mary,  daughter  of  Jacob  Bell,  of  Haverhill, 
N.H.,  and  great -grand-daughter  of  Josiah 
Jiartlett,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  Three  children  have  been 
born  to  Judge  and  Mrs.  Hibbard,  namely: 
Charles  B.,  his  father's  law  partner;  Jennie 
O.,  wife  of  Ormon  J.  Lougee,  of  Lougee 
Brothers;  and  Laura  B.,  who  resides  with  her 
parents.  Judge  Hibbard  attends  the  Congre- 
gational church,  and  has  been  President  of  the 
society  for  twelve  or  fifteen  years. 

As  happily  characterized  in  the  "Grafton 
County  History,"  published  in  1856,  "he  is 
an  industrious,  faithful,  and  learned  coun- 
sellor, of  modest,  quiet  deportment,  thought- 
ful and  reflective  mind,  and  thoroughly 
conscientious  in  discharge  of  all  duties,  po- 
litical, professional,  and  judicial.  .  .  .  Hon- 
est with  the  court  and  with  his  clients,  he 
has  gainctl  a  deserved  and  enviable  reputation, 
both  as  a  citizen  and  lawyer  of  his  adopted 
State. " 


"ERBERT    J.    MARSH,    a    prominent 
farmer    of    Gilmanton,    was    born    in 

L^  v., ,  that    town.    May   28,    1852,    son   of 

Joseph  and  Hannah  (Page)  Marsh.  The 
family  is  an  old  one  in  this  part  of  the  State. 
The  first  of  the  name  to  come  to  Gilmanton 
was  Isaac  Marsh,  great-great-great-grandfather 
of  Mr.  Herbert  Marsh.      Stalwart  and  sturdy, 


he  lived  to  the  age  of   ninety-four  years.      His 
six    children    had    reached    maturity    when    he 
came   to    Gilmanton.      His  son,  Joseph  Marsh, 
who    was    a    blacksmith,    settled    at    the    Iron 
Works.      Joseph's   sons   were:    Joseph,    Caleb, 
and  Amos.      His  two  daughters  severally  mar- 
ried    men     named      Lougee     and     Thurston. 
Joseph    (second)    married    Betsey    Lougee,    of 
Gilmanton,     and     they     became     the    parents 
of    eleven    children;    namely,    Olive,    Mary, 
Stephen,      Betsey,     Amos,     Joseph,     Abigail, 
Clarissa,    Harriett,    Nehemiah,    and    John    1?. 
John  15.  died  January  25,   1863,  losing   his  life 
in  the  service  of   his  country.      Betsey  died    in 
July,  1895;  Clarissa,  July  9,  1840;  and  Amos, 
December  19,   1857;   Harriett,  the  only  one  of 
this   large   family   now    living,  married    Rufus 
Lamprey,  of   Manchester,    who   died    in    1895. 
Joseph  Marsh  (third),  the   grandfather  of  Her- 
bert  J.,  married    for   his   second    wife  a   Mrs. 
Lydia  Otis,  who  died  May  24,   1859.      Like  so 
many   of   his   ancestors   he   was  a   blacksmith, 
and   he  was  well    known   and   highly  respected 
in    the    town.       He    died    in    October,     1867. 
His  son,  a  fourth  Joseph  MarsJi,  the  father  of 
Herbert   J.   Marsh,    followed    farming   as   well 
as  his  father's  trade.      His   wife   was   Hannah 
Page,  a  daughter  of   Henry  Page,  and   a   niece 
of  Quaker  John   Page.      The  latter  was  a  noted 
man.      The   Page  family  is   among   the   oldest 
in    Gilmanton,    and    in    years    past    was    very 
numerous.      The  children  of  Henry  Page  were: 
Annie  W. ,  Reuben,  Elizabeth,  Hannah,  John, 
Samuel,  Mary,  and  Sarah.      The  fourth  Joseph 
Marsh  and  his  wife,  after  their  marriage,  lived 
in    Manchester,    N.H.     Upon    his    death    the 
widow    returned    to    Gilmanton,    where    some 
years   later   she   married    Stephen    S.    Nelson. 
Her    children     by    her    first     marriage    were: 
Addie,    who    was    a    school    teacher,    married 
Westley   Cunningham,    and    died    soon    after; 
and  Herbert  ].,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Alter  attciuling  the  i)ul)lic  schools  of  Man- 
chester for  the  usual  period,  Herbert  J.  Marsh 
took  a  course  in  a  commercial  school.  He 
began  his  business  life  in  the  grocery  store  of 
Henry  C.  Merrill,  with  whom  he  worked  for 
three  years.  After  this  he  was  with  Stearns 
&  I'armer  and  George  C.  Lord  respectively 
for  six  years.  Since  1887  Mr.  Marsh  has 
lived  in  Gilmanton  with  Mrs.  Nelson,  his 
mother.  They  own  over  five  hundred  acres  of 
land  and  one  of  the  best  residences  in  the 
town.  Mr.  Marsh  keeps  twenty-five  cattle, 
and  does  considerable  dairy  business.  He 
first  married  Fannie  M.  Poor,  by  whom  he 
had  two  children  —  Lillian  and  Joseph.  Lil- 
lian died  in  childhood.  Mr.  Marsh  contracted 
a  second  marriage  with  Miss  Addie  B.  Par- 
sons, daughter  of  George  C.  Parsons,  an  influ- 
ential resident  of  Gilmanton,  who  was  a  Select- 
man, and  now  is  a  County  Commissioner. 
Mrs.  Marsh  graduated  from  the  Pittsfield 
Academy,  and  taught  school  for  a  number  of 
terms  before  her  marriage.  Both  she  and  her 
husband  are  devoted  members  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  and  active  supporters  of  its 
religious  and  benevolent  organizations.  In 
politics  Mr.  Marsh  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, Highland  Lodge,  No.  93;  and  of  Crystal 
Lake  Grange,  No.  loi.  In  1875  he  joined 
the  New  Hampshire  Battery,  in  which  he  has 
since  been  made  Sergeant.  Mr.  Marsh  has 
a  wide  circle  of  friends,  and  is  highly  es- 
teemed in  the  town.  He  is  liberal,  fair- 
minded,  and  progressive;  antl  his  integrity  is 
unquestioned. 


"CJdWARD    E.    RICE,  founder  of  the  Rice 
X^}      Manufacturing    Company   of   New    Dur- 
ham, was  born   in   Freedom,    N.H., 
August  3,   1863,  son  of    William   and    Hannah 


(Randall)  Rice.  His  grandfather,  'I'hoinas 
Rice,  who  was  of  English  ancestry,  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Freedom. 

William  Rice  was  for  some  years  a  lumber 
dealer.  In  1S81  he  came  to  New  Durham, 
where  he  manufactured  hogshead  stock  for 
three  years,  or  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1884,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years.  In  jjol- 
itics  he  was  a  Republican.  He  was  an  ener- 
getic business  man,  and  stood  high  in  the 
estimation  of  the  community.  He  married 
Hannah  Randall,  of  Kczar  Falls,  Me.  ;  and 
Edward  E. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the 
only  child  of  their  union. 

Edward  E.  Rice  attentled  the  high  school  in 
Springvale,  Me.,  and  completed  his  studies  at 
Phillips  Academy,  E.xcter,  N.H.,  when  he  was 
nineteen  years  old.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  father, 
and  some  time  after  the  death  of  the  elder 
Rice  closed  out  the  lumber  business,  in  order 
to  engage  in  the  manufacture  of  wire  brushes, 
steam  packing,  and  similar  goods.  He  con- 
ducted business  in  partnership  and  alone  until 
1893,  when  the  Rice  Manufacturing  Company 
was  incorporated.  This  concern  is  now  doing 
a  large  and  profitable  business.  Their  [ilant 
is  located  at  Downing's  Mills,  where  it  has  a 
good  water  power,  and  the  products  are  shipped 
to  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  Politically, 
Mr.  Rice  supports  the  Republican  i)arty,  and 
for  three  years  he  rendered  efficient  service  to 
the  town  as  a  member  of  the  School  Board. 

Mr.  Rice  married  Laura  Ayers,  daughter  of 
Joshua  Ayers,  of  Barnstead,  N.  H.  He  is  a 
member  of  Winnei)esaukee  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  of  Alton,  N.H.;  of  Woodbine  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Farmington,  N.H.;  and  also 
of  the  Encampment.  His  efforts  to  maintain 
and  still  further  develop  the  industrial  re- 
sources of  this  town  are  appreciated  by  his 
fellow-citizens,  and   he   occupies   a   prominent 


2l6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


positidii  in  the  community,      lie   anil   his  wife 
attend  the  ]5aj)tist  church. 


kALCOM  A.  II.  HART,  M.D.,  a 
rising  young  physician  of  Milton, 
Strafford  County,  N.H.,  was  born 
in  this  town,  December  28,  1861,  son  of 
Simon  and  Mary  A.  (VVentworth)  Hart.  His 
paternal  grandfather  was  Nathaniel  Meserve 
Hart,  of  Rochester,  N.H.;  and  two  of  his 
great-great-grandfathers  were  Colonel  John 
Hart  and  Colonel  Nathaniel  Meserve,  who 
commanded  New  Hampshire  regiments  in  the 
last  French  and  Indian  War.  (See  Bel- 
knap's History,  account  of  campaigns  in  1756, 
1757,  and  1758.)  The  Hart  family,  it  may  be 
mentioned,  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  State, 
having  settled  in  and  around  Portsmouth  in 
very  early  Colonial  days. 

Simon  Hart,  who  was  a  native  of  Rochester, 
followed  mechanical  pursuits  in  Milton  for 
many  years.  The  last  twenty  years  of  his  life, 
however,  were  passed  in  South  Berwick,  Me., 
where  he  died  July  9,  1882.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Republican,  but  took  no  active  part  in 
public  affairs.  He  married  Mary  A.  Went- 
worth,  a  native  of  Farmington,  N.  H.,  and  she 
became  the  mother  of  nine  children,  four  of 
whom  are  living,  namely:  Lyndel,  a  resident 
of  New  York  State;  Justin  and  Ernest,  who 
are  residing  in  Lawrence,  Mass.;  and  Malcom, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Malcom  A.  H.  Hart,  having  completed  his 
studies  at  the  Berwick  Academy  in  1878,  was 
for  some  time  engaged  in  teaching  school  in 
Lebanon,  South  Berwick,  and  Kennebunk, 
Me.,  and  then  took  a  two  years'  course  in 
the  medical  department  of  Bowdoin  College. 
Entering  the  University  of  New  York  City  in 
1887,  he  was  graduated  in  1888,  and  located 
for  practice   in   Fall   River,    Mass.,   where  he 


remained  for  eighteen  months.  After  that  he 
took  a  year's  post-graduate  course  in  New 
York  City,  obtaining  much  valuable  jiractical 
e-\])eriencc  in  the  hospital  connected  with  the 
school.  He  resumed  the  duties  of  iiis  pro- 
fession at  Gilmanton  Iron  Works,  residing 
there  for  a  year;  and  in  iSgi  he  settled  in 
Milton,  where  he  has  since  remained.  His 
professional  success  in  his  native  town  has 
been  so  marked  as  to  gain  for  him  a  high 
reputation  as  a  skilful  and  reliable  physician, 
and  a  profitable  practice  is  the  result. 

Dr.  Hart  and  Estelle  L.  Draper,  daughter 
of  Hiram  H.  Draper,  of  Rutland  County, 
Vermont,  were  married  in  1890,  and  are  the 
parents  of  two  sons;  namely,  VVentworth  and 
Ezra  D. 

Dr.  Hart  is  a  member  of  Olive  Branch 
Lodge,  No.  28,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  South  Berwick; 
and  is  ofificially  connected  with  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men  of  Milton.  He  is  one  of 
the  Trustees  of  the  Nute  High  School  of  the 
town..  In  politics  he  acts  with  the  Republican 
party,  and  in  his  religious  views  he  is  a 
Baptist. 


*  •  >» » 


APT.    JOSEPH     WILLIAM     LANG, 


who  commanded  a  company  of  volun- 
teers in  the  Civil  War,  and  is  now 
a  prosperous  farmer  of  Meredith,  Belknap 
County,  N.  H.,  was  born  in  Tuftonboro,  Car- 
rol County  this  State,  December  2,  1833. 
His  parents  were  Thomas  E.  and  Cynthia 
(Blaisdell)  Lang.  His  great-grandfather, 
Josiah  Lang,  first,  a  native  of  Greenland, 
N.  H.,  settled  in  Portsmouth,  and  followed  the 
trade  of  a  shoemaker.  He  joined  a  military 
company  that  was  raised  toward  the  latter  part 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  and  did  garrison 
duty.  He  died  May  12,  1828,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two  years.      His  wife,    Pearn  Johnson, 


MALCOM     A.    H.    HART. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


219 


was  of  Knglish  descent.  Her  father  was  a 
Colonel  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  She 
was  a  remarkably  bright  and  active  woman, 
anil  lived  to  be  ninety-four  years  old.  She 
died  June  4,  1S41,  having  been  the  mother  of 
four  sons  and  three  daughters,  Josiah,  second, 
Captain  Lang's  grandfather,  being  the  eldest 
child. 

Josiah  Lang,  second,  was  born  in  Lortsniouth, 
April  12,  1772.  His  occupation  was  farming. 
He  removed  with  his  son  to  Meredith  in 
April,  1816,  and  died  in  this  town,  September. 
27,  1 85 5.  He  married  Sarah  Whidden,  a 
native  of  Portsmouth,  born  August  2,  1774, 
and  had  a  family  of  three  children,  namely: 
Joseph  W.  ;  Thomas  E.  ;  and  Josiah,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  eleven  years.  Mrs.  Sarah  W. 
Lang  died  December  21,  1861.  Josiah  Lang, 
second,  was  a  Jacksonian  Democrat  in  politics. 
An  extensive  reader,  he  was  a  man  of  unusual 
intelligence,  and  entertained  very  decided 
views  upon  all  subjects  with  which  he  was 
familiar.  In  his  religious  belief  he  was  a 
Methodist,  and  his  wife  was  a  Congregation- 
alist,  but  as  there  was  no  place  of  worship  be- 
longing to  either  of  these  denominations  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  residence,  they  joined  the 
Christian  church. 

Their  son,  Thomas  E.  Lang,  was  born  in 
Portsmouth,  June  21,  1801.  He  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools,  and  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Tuftonboro.  He  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  and  resided  there  until  1854, 
when  he  bought  a  small  farm  in  Meredith  and 
removed  his  family  to  this  town.  He  contin- 
ued to  till  the  soil  as  long  as  he  was  able,  the 
last  four  years  of  his  life  being  spent  in  re- 
tirement. He  died  in  1889.  Politically,  he 
acted  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  he 
served  as  Tax  Collector  in  Tuftonboro  for  sev- 
eral years.  He  was  a  member  of  Morning 
Star  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Wolfboro,    N.H. 


His  wife,  Cynthia  Blaisdell,  was  born  in 
Gilford,  N.H.,  May  29,  1 S02,  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  William  Hlaisdell,  a  Chiistian  Bap- 
tist clergyman  of  that  town.  She  became  the 
mother  of  two  children:  Sarah  Whidden,  who 
married  Nathan  B.  Wadleigh,  of  Meredith; 
and  Joseph  William.  Mrs.  Cynthia  15.  Lang 
died  January  7,  1890.  She  and  her  husband 
were  members  of  the  Congregational  church. 
Joseph  William  Lang  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  acquired  his  education  in  the  district 
school  and  at  the  Meredith  Bridge  Academy. 
In  1852  he  began  life  for  himself  as  a  clerk  in 
the  general  store  of  Lang  &  Stevens,  the 
senior  partner  being  his  uncle.  Three  years 
later,  when  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he 
bought  the  interest  of  Mr.  Stevens,  and  con- 
tinued in  business  until  the  summer  of  1862. 
In  August  of  that  year  he  went  to  work  with 
a  will  to  raise  a  company  for  service  in  the 
Civil  War,  and  in  four  days  he  recruited 
ninety-eight  men  and  three  officers.  These 
were  mustered  in  as  Company  I,  of  the 
Twelfth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teers, and  Joseph  \V.  Lang  was  chosen  its 
Captain.  On  September  27,  1862,  they  left 
New  Hampshire  for  Washington,  and  after 
camping  upon  the  Robert  K.  Lee  estate  at 
Arlington  Heights  for  a  short  time  joined 
Colonel  Wright's  division.  On  October  10 
they  were  ordered  to  General  Whipple's 
division.  Third  Army  Corps,  and  joined  Gen- 
eral McClellan's  command.  They  were  later 
assigned  to  the  Eighteenth  and  Twenty- fourth 
Army  Corps.  The  Twelfth  New  Hampshire 
was  the  last  regiment  io  leave  the  field  after 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg;  and  Captain 
Lang  commanded  his  company  in  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville,  where  he  was  wounded  in 
the  thigh  and  side  and  taken  prisoner.  He 
was  parolled  after  thirteen  days  of  captivity, 
and,    being    sent    to    Washington,    was    then 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


j;ivcn  a  furlough  and  came  home.  In  August, 
1863,  ho  rejoined  his  regiment  at  Point  Look- 
out, where  he  remained  guarding  rebel  pris- 
oners until  April,  1864;  and  in  May  of  that 
year  he  was  again  laid  up  on  account  of  his 
«ild  wound.  lie  was  at  Fortress  Monroe 
for  a  time,  and,  finally  resigning  his  com- 
mission, returned  to  Meredith,  where  the  next 
year  was  passed  in  recovering  his  health.  He 
was  engaged  as  a  clerk  until  1870,  at  which 
timt;  he  started  in  the  dry-goods  business  upon 
his  own  account,  and  followed  it  successfully 
until  1879.  He  has  since  devoted  his  time 
and  energies  to  general  farming.  He  owns  a 
desirable  piece  of  agricultural  property,  con- 
taining about  one  hundred  acres,  cuts  an  aver- 
age of  forty  tons  of  hay  annually,  and  keeps 
about  fifteen  head  of  cattle  and  a  large  flock 
of  poultry. 

In  politics  Captain  Lang  has  always  been  an 
active  supporter  of  the  Democratic  party.  In 
1 861  and  1862  he  represented  this  town  in  the 
legislature  and  served  upon  the  committees  on 
State  House  and  on  Militia.  In  1S73  and 
1876  he  was  again  a  member  of  the  legislature. 
In  1 89 1  and  1S92  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Hoard  of  Selectmen,  and  he  has  acted  as  mod- 
erator at  town  meetings  for  twelve  years. 

On  January  19,  i860.  Captain  Lang  married 
Lucy  A.  Leach,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Giles 
Leach,  a  Congregational  ist  preacher.  The 
only  child  of  this  union  is  Elizabeth  W. ,  who 
is  now  a  teacher  in  Franklin  Falls,  N.H. 

In  September,  1862,  Captain  Lang  was 
made  a  Mason  in  l^lazing  Star  Lodge,  of 
Concord;  in  1866  he  became  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Chocorua  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  No.  83; 
and  he  is  also  a  member  of  Union  Chapter, 
No.  7,  R.  A.  M.  of  Laconia.  He  is  Past 
Chancellor  of  Meredith  Lodge,  No.  50, 
Knights  of  Pythias;  is  Past  Sachem  of  Algon- 
quin Tribe,    No.  26,    Improved   Order  of  Red 


Men;  was  the  I-'irst  Commander  of  (ieorge  S. 
Cram  Post,  No.  54,  G.  A.  R.  ;  and  is  con- 
nected with  VVinnepesaukee  Grange,  P.  of  II. 
Cajitain  Lang  attends  and  contributes  toward 
the  support  of  the  Congregational  church,  of 
which  Mrs.  Lang  is  a  member. 


OSCOE     G.     BLANCH  ARD,      M.D., 


an  able  and  skilful  physician,  who  has 
^  V  ^  met  with  signal  success  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  since  coming  to  Dover 
thirteen  years  ago,  was  born  July  24,  1853,  in 
West  Cumberland,  Cumberland  County,  Me., 
son  of  Joseph  Y.  and  Abbie  N.  (Libby)  Blan- 
chard.  He  was  six  years  of  age  when  his  par- 
ents removed  to  Saco,  Me.  Here  he  received 
his  early  education,  first  attending  the  distiict 
schools,  and  afterward  the  Biddeford  High 
School,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1871. 

After  taking  a  commercial  course  at  Gray's 
Business  College  in  Portland,  Mr.  Blanchard 
accepted  the  position  of  book-keeper  and 
cashier  with  the  firm  of  Chadbourn  &  Kendall, 
clry-goods  merchants  of  Portland,  remaining 
with  them  seven  years.  In  his  spare  hours 
during  five  years  of  this  time.he  fitted  himself 
for  his  present  career,  reading  medicine  with 
Dr.  l*;dward  Kimball  and  attending  lectures 
at  the  Portland  Medical  College.  Having,  in 
the  meantime,  by  close  economy  accumulated 
a  sufficient  sum  to  warrant  him  in  giving  up 
his  position,  Mr.  Blanchard  took  a  two  years' 
medical  course  at  Portland  Medical  School, 
and  afterward  entered  the  medical  department 
of  Bowdoin  College,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  the  class  of  1884.  A  few  months 
later  he  located  in  Dover,  among  whose  people 
and  those  of  its  suburbs  he  has  since  won  an 
extensive  patronage. 

Dr.   R.  G.    Blanchard   was   married    Septem- 
ber 4,    1S77,    to  Miss  Laura   B.    Hodgdon,    a 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


221 


(laughter  of  Z.  II.  llnclgtloii  and  Orinda  (Rood) 
Hodgdon,  of  North  Boothbay,  Me.  Ho  has 
one  daughter,  Florence  L. ,  now  fourteen 
years  of  age.  In  politics  Dr.  Blanchard  is  an 
uncompromising  Republican.  lie  is  an  active 
and  prominent  member  of  many  societies,  in- 
cluding the  Maine  Medical  Society;  the  Straf- 
ford District  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  has 
been  the  secretary  for  two  years ;  and  the 
Dover  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  sec- 
retary for  five  years,  and  president  for  two 
years.  The  doctor  has  likewise  been  an  ar- 
dent worker  in  Masonic  circles,  and  has  done 
much  to  promote  the  good  of  the  order  in  this 
city.  He  has  already  taken  the  thirty-second 
degree  of  Masonry ;  is  a  member  of  Strafford 
Lodge  and  IJelknap  Chapter;  is  Thrice  Illus- 
trious Master  of  Orphan  Council ;  and  a 
Knight  of  St.  Paul's  Commandery,  of  which 
he  was  Eminent  Commander  for  two  years. 
In  1895  he  was  invested  with  the  degrees  of 
the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite;  and 
he  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  Dover  Lodge  of 
Perfection,  holding  the  rank  of  Thrice  Potent 
Grand  Master.  Dr.  Blanchard  is  also  an  Odd 
Fellow,  belonging  to  Beacon  Lodge,  of  Port- 
land, and  to  Portland  Encampment. 


;_TEPHEN  PERLEY.  — The  city  of 
Laconia,  N.H.,  owes  to  the  Perley 
r-~^^^  family  many  of  her  important  enter- 
prises. To  Stephen  Perley  especially  much  is 
due,  as  he  was  the  father  of  industrial  life  in 
this  place.  He  was  born  in  Ipswich,  Mass., 
October  7,   1770,  a  son  of  Allen  Perley. 

The  Perley  family  is  said  to  have  had  its 
origin  in  Wales.  Allen  Perley  (first),  who  \wns 
from  St.  Albans,  Herefordshire,  England, 
landed  at  Charlestown,  Mass.,  in  1630,  and 
settled  in  Ipswich  in  1634.  The  following 
year  he  was  married  to  Susanna  Bokeson,  who 


bore  him  tour  sons  -John,  Samuel,  Thomas, 
and  Timotiiy.  Timothy,  who  was  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  had 
throe  sons  —  Stephen  (first),  Joseph,  and  Allen 
(second).  Ste]ihen  (first)  had  one  son,  Allen 
(third),  a  farmer  of  Ipswich;  and  Allen  (thirtl) 
had  four  sons  —  Allen,  John,  Stephen,  and 
Jacob  —  each  of  whom  lived  to  be  over  eighty 
years  of  age.  All  these,  beginning  with  the 
children  of  Allen  and  Susanna  (Bokeson)  Per- 
ley, were  born  in  Ipswich,  Mass. 

Stephen  Perley,  who  was  the  third  son  of  his 
parents,  acquired  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  Ipswich;  and  after  leaving  school  he 
worked  for  a  while  in  a  store  in  Salem,  Mass. 
While  still  a  young  man  he  located  in  Mere- 
dith Bridge,  now  Laconia,  where  he  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers;  and  his  intlomitable 
energy  developed  in  the  small  village  a  re- 
markable degree  of  industrial  activity.  At 
one  time  he  owned  most  of  the  land  on  which 
the  city  stands.  He  was  extensively  engaged 
in  farming,  raising  some  years  six  hundred 
bushels  of  corn.  He  managed  a  general  store, 
which  was  the  centre  of  trade  not  only  for  the 
inhabitants  of  the  village,  but  also  for  those  in 
the  outlying  country.  He  had  a  number  of 
saw-mills,  where  the  lumber  felled  on  the  land 
he  was  clearing  was  converted  into  marketai)le 
shape;  and,  in  addition  to  all  this,  he  estab- 
lished, as  the  place  grew,  a  nail  factor)',  a 
starch  factor)',  a  cotton-mill,  and  a  linseed  oil 
mill.  The  cotton-mill  he  eventually  sold  to 
Daniel  Avery.  Mr.  Perley  dug  the  canal  con- 
necting the  bond  of  the  Winnepesaukee  River 
at  North  Church  Street  with  the  same  river 
near  Winnesquam  Lake,  where  the  Laconia 
car  shops  now  are.  In  foresight  and  enter- 
prise he  was  far  ahead  of  his  time,  and  many 
of  his  plans  have  been  adojited  rmd  carried  out 
by  the  wise  men  of  to-day. 

His  personal  history  was  the  early  history  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  town.  A  Jefferson ian  Djnvicr.it,  he  was 
active  also  in  the  politics  of  the  time.  He 
was  one  of  the  electors  for  Van  Huien,  reprc- 
sentcii  this  part  of  Belknap  County  in  the 
State  legislature,  and  he  was  Postmaster  here 
for  thirty  years.  A  resident  of  the  town  for 
sixty  years,  he  was  an  essential  factor  in  its 
life  (luring  all  that  time;  and  no  man  was  more 
popular  than  he.  In  his  later  days  he  was  a 
strong  Univcrsalist,  and  his  house  was  always 
a  minister's  home.  Mr.  Perley  was  a  great 
admirer  of  the  Rev.  llosca  Ballou,  of  Boston, 
or,  as  he  was  reverentially  called,  Father  Bal- 
lou, and  invited  him  at  an  early  day  to  visit 
him  at  Meredith  Bridge  and  proclaim  his 
peculiar  views  to  the  people,  as  Universalism 
was  entirely  unknown  here.  He  came  and 
preached  the  new  faith,  as  it  was  then  spoken 
of,  and  created  quite  a  sensation  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  place,  both  for  and  against 
the  doctrine,  many  of  tiic  most  prominent 
citizens  adopting  his  ideas  at  once.  The 
Rev.  Messrs.  Sebastian  and  Russel  Streeter 
followed  Mr.  Ballou,  by  invitation  of  Mr. 
Perley;  and  in  that  way  he  was  instrumental 
in  forming  what  was  for  many  years  a  strong 
and  zealous  Univcrsalist  Society. 

Mr.  Perley  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  Abigail,  died  young,  leaving  one  child, 
a  daughter,  Sarah,  who  married  Dr.  John 
Durkee,  of  Laconia,  a  prominent  physician  at 
that  early  day.  His  second  marriage  was  with 
Mehitable,  daughter  of  Colonel  Samuel  Ladd, 
who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  and  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Gilmanton,  now  Belmont,  N.H. 
He  was  a  large  land-owner,  and  Ladd  Hill 
was  named  for  his  family.  In  politics  he  was 
directly  opposed  to  Mr.  Perley,  being  an 
earnest  Republican.  A  strictly  honest  man, 
kind  and  affectionate  to  his  family  and  friends, 
he  had  few  enemies.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
Colonel  Ladd  was  the  oldest  inhabitant  of  the 


place.  Mrs.  Mehitable  Perley  was  a  most 
worthy,  charitable  woman  and  an  e.\-emi)lary 
wife  and  mother.  She  died  October  25,  1S34, 
aged  fifty-one  years  and  si.x  months.  Mr.  Per- 
ley died  April  13,  1855,  passing  away  peace- 
fully at  the  good  old  age  of  eighty-four  years 
and  si.x  months,  leaving  five  children  ^ 
Stephen  Jefferson,  John  Langdon,  Louisa, 
Abigail,  and  Martha  Maria. 

Stephen  Jefferson  Perley  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty.  Of  John  Langdon  Perley,  who  be- 
came a  successful  physician  and  public  man, 
an  extended  account  will  be  found  elsewhere 
in  this  work.  Louisa  (now  deceased)  married 
Nathan  T.  P"ogg,  a  farmer  of  Belmont.  Abi- 
gail became  the  wife  of  John  H.  Brewster,  of 
Laconia,  editor  of  a  paper.  She  also  has 
passed  to  the  better  life.  Martha  Maria  Per- 
ley still  remains  in  good  health  at  the  ripe  age 
of  eighty-one  years.  She  was  born  in  La- 
conia, November  19,  181 5,  and  was  married 
October  22,  1835,  to  the  Rev.  Joseph  I'lum- 
mer  Atkinson,  a  Univcrsalist  clergyman,  who 
was  a  "native  of  Gloucester,  Mass.,  and  who 
studied  with  Thomas  Whittemore,  D.D. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  P.  Atkinson  was  well 
known  and  highly  esteemed  in  New  Hamp- 
shire and  Massachusetts  during  his  years  of 
ministerial  labor,  having  charge  of  churches 
in  Hingham,  Mass.,  Dover,  and  Weare,  N.H., 
Westbrook,  Me.,  and  Marblehead,  Orleans,  and 
Orange,  Mass.,  and  for  a  while  being  in  tlie 
Universalis!  Publishing  House  in  Boston, 
Mass.  In  1852  Mr.  Atkinson  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Laconia;  and  here  in  1885  he  and  his 
wife  celebrated  their  golden  wedding,  which 
excited  much  interest,  being  the  first  ever  held 
in  this  region.  He  made  his  home  in  Laconia 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
December  27,  1888,  when  he  was  seventy-nine 
years  of  age.  From  the  address  at  his  funeral 
by  the   Rev.  Alonzo  A.  Miner,  D.D.,  we  copy 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


223 


these  words  of  high  appreciation:  "His  pulpit 
labors  were  marked  by  plain  common  sense 
and  freedom  from  anything  like  ambiguity. 
Scorning  all  cant  and  every  form  of  pretence, 
he  breathed  the  spirit  of  our  holy  religion  into 
his  life  toil,  and  allied  himself  with  all  those 
movements  fitted  to  uplift  the  community 
around  him.  Especially  was  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance dear  to  his  heart,  and  he  was  a  life 
worker  of  its  principles." 

It  is  easy  to  believe  as  one  looks  upon  the 
intelligent  and  kindly  features  of  Mrs.  Atkin- 
son that  she  was  an  able  helpmeet  to  her  hus- 
band in  his  church  and  other  work.  The  three 
children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atkinson  are 
all  living  at  this  time  (1897).  They  are: 
Mrs.  Josephine  P.  Thwing,  widow  of  Charles 
Thwing,  a  merchant  tailor  of  Boston;  Orville 
A.,  who  has  succeeded  to  Mr.  Thwing  in  busi- 
ness; and  Joseph  P.  Atkinson,  a  jsrominent 
merchant  of  Laconia. 


4^«^» 


fs^OHN  D.  PHILBRICK,  a  well-known 
merchant,  engaged  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness in  I'lochester,  Strafford  County, 
was  born  in  P^fflngham,  Carroll  County,  N.  H., 
in  September,  184S,  son  of  Ara  and  Sarah  A. 
(Thompson)  Philbrick.  He  remained  at  home 
with  his  parents  until  thirteen  years  old,  in 
the  meanwhile  attending  the  common  schools. 
Then,  leaving  home,  he  went  to  Wenham, 
Mass.,  where  he  worked  for  three  years  in  a 
shoe  factory,  later  going  to  Dover,  where  he 
was  employed  in  shoe  factories  some  sixteen 
years.  He  next  went  to  Lowell  and  connected 
himself  as  travelling  salesman  with  a  house 
dealing  in  mill  supplies,  and  was  thus  engaged 
four  years,  during  which  time  he  travelled 
through  New  Plngland,  Canada,  and  the  Prov- 
inces. In  1884  he  came  to  Rochester,  and 
embarked  in  his  present  business,  of  which  he 


has  made  a  coniplete  success.  On  March  35, 
1879,  l^I''-  Philbrick  was  married  to  Miss 
Abbie  Cater,  of  Barrington,  N.  II.  Their 
only  ehiUl  died  at  tiie  age  of  nine  years. 

Politically,  Mr.  Philbrick  is  a  Republican, 
and  has  been  very  active  in  local  affairs.  He 
is  now  serving  his  fourth  term  as  County  Com- 
missioner. He  was  one  of  the  Counciimen  in 
the  first  City  Council,  and  took  a  leading  part 
in  clearing  the  city  square,  being  chairman  of 
the  committee  that  had  charge  of  the  work. 
Mr.  Philbrick  is  a  member  of  Humane  Lodge, 
No.  21,  F.  &  A.  M.  ;  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Dover;  and  the  Dover  Lodge  of 
Elks. 


AZEN  P.  WEEKS,  a  successful  farmer 
of  Gilford,  Belknap  County,  N.  H., 
and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  was 
born  on  Liberty  Hill,  October  22,  1840,  son 
of  Noah  and  Mary  (Dudley)  Weeks.  His 
grandfather,  Noah  Weeks,  Sr. ,  who  was  born 
in  Greenland,  N.  H.,  January  12,  1754,  was 
the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Gilford.  In 
February,  1780,  he  married  Betsey  Meade, 
who  was  born  April  11,  1759,  and  died  March 
26,   1820.      He  died  ALirch   12,   1825. 

Noah  and  Betsey  (Meade)  Weeks  were  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  a  brief  record  of 
whom  is  as  follows:  William,  born  in  Gil- 
manton,  December  14,  1782,  died  in  1839; 
Mary,  born  September  24,  1784,  died  July  26, 
1806;  Sally  was  born  November  14,  1786; 
Matthias  was  born  December  13,  178S;  A.sa 
was  born  in  August,  1790;  Betsey  was  born 
August  24,  1792,  and  died  January  9,  1818; 
Hannah  was  born  June  18,  1794,  and  died  in 
181 3;  Noah  was  born  March  29,  1797;  and 
Eleanor  was  born  January  12,  1804.  William 
Weeks  settled  in  Portsninuth,  N.ll.,  antl  was 
in  his  later  years  editor  of  a  newspaper.  He 
married     Abigail     Hubbard.        Sally     married 


224 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIKVV 


Daniel  Kcllcy,  and  resided  upon  a  farm  on 
Guiney  Kidge  in  the  town  of  Gilmanton. 
Her  son,  John  L.  Keliey,  is  now  a  well-tcnown 
resident  of  Franklin,  N.  II.  Matthias  Weeks 
lived  in  Gilfiml,  and  was  a  prosperous  farmer, 
lie  married  Betsey  Thing,  and  had  three 
children,  of  whom  the  only  one  living  is  Dea- 
con Jonathan,  who  is  now  eighty  years  old. 
Hetsey  Weeks  married  I^phraim  C.  Mason. 
A.sa  married  Jemima  Marston.  Eleanor  mar- 
rieil  John  G.  Sanhorn,  and  resides  in  Laconia. 
Noah  Weeks,  fourth  son  of  Noah,  Sr. ,  en- 
gaged in  farming  with  his  father  when  a  young 
man,  and  continueil  with  him  while  he  lived. 
Previous  to  his  death,  grandfather  Noah 
Weeks  divided  his  property,  Asa  taking  the 
Webster  farm,  Noah,  Jr.,  father  of  Hazen  P. 
Weeks,  retaining  possession  of  the  homestead 
on  Liberty  Hill.  Me  was  an  able  farmer,  and 
realized  a  comfortable  prosperity  as  the  result 
of  his  labor.  He  was  prominent  in  public 
affairs,  and  for  many  years  was  a  Deacon  of 
the  Free  Will  Baptist  church.  He  died  in 
August,  1872.  His  wife,  Mary  Dudley,  whom 
he  married  April  23,  1820,  became  the  mother 
of  eleven  children;  namely,  Betsey  M., 
Charles  H.,  Alvah  T.,  Mary  J.,  Lyman  M., 
Eleanor  V.,  Hannah  A.,  Noah  D.,  Serepta  A. 
Hazen  P.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  Sarah 
F.  Betsey  M.  Weeks,  became  Mrs.  Ellis,  is 
now  a  widow,  and  resides  with  her  son  in  New 
York  City.  Charles  H.  married  Polly  Wad- 
leigh,  and  died  in  Centre  Harbor,  N.  H.  Al- 
vah T. ,  who  lives  in  Romney,  N.  H.,  married 
Salina  Blanding,  and  had  a  family  of  three 
children,  two  of  whom  are  living.  Mary  J. 
married  Frank  Naton,  and  died  in  Manchester, 
leaving  one  child,  who  is  living  in  Laconia. 
Lyman  M.  wedded  Mary  A.  Thing,  and  both 
died  in  Gilford,  N.H.,  leaving  one  child,  now 
living  in  Laconia.  Eleanor  P.  married  Albert 
Rogers  (both  deceased).      Hannah   A.  died  at 


the  age  of  si.xteen  years.  Noah  D.  married 
Emma  Jewell,  and  lives  in  Laconia,  N.  H. 
Sarepta  A.  is  now  Mrs.  Lamprey,  of  Laconia. 
.Sarah  T.  married  Hiram  Emerson,  and  is  re- 
siding at  the  old  homestead. 

Hazen  P.  Weeks  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools,  at  Gilford  Academy,  and  at  New 
Hampton,  where  he  spent  one  sch(K)l  year,  and 
then  returned  to  his  father's  home  for  a  short 
time.  In  1S63  he  enlisted  in  the  P'irst  Regi- 
ment, New  Hampshire  Heavy  Artillery.  He 
served  as  a  non-commissioned  officer  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  after  his  return  from  the 
army  he  was  for  a  few  years  engaged  in  farm- 
ing at  the  homestead.  In  1874  he  bought  the 
Webster  farm,  formerly  his  uncle  Asa's,  which 
adjoins  the  home  property,  and,  having  added 
more  land,  he  now  owns  two  hundred  acres. 
He  has  made  various  improvements  upon  the 
land  and  buildings,  and  has  one  of  the  best 
pieces  of  agricultural  property  in  this  locality. 
He  was  formerly  engaged  in  stock-raising, 
but  for  the  past  fifteen  years  has  devoted  his 
attention  to  the  milk  business.  He  is  an 
active  supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  has 
served  three  years  as  a  Selectman,  and  two 
years  as  a  Representative;  and  while  in  the 
legislature  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Roads  and  Bridges  and  upon  the  Insane 
Asylum. 

Mr.  Weeks  married  Mary  F.  Roberts,  a 
native  of  Belmont,  N.H.,  daughter  of  John  M. 
and  Sarah  E.  (Leavitt)  Roberts.  Her  father 
was  a  native  of  Gilford,  and  her  mother  was 
born  in  North  Hampton,  N.  H.  John  Roberts, 
father  of  John  M.,  was  an  early  settler  in 
Gilford.  He  had  three  other  sons;  namely, 
Charles,  Joseph  L. ,  and  James  H.,  who  at  one 
time  were  all  engaged  in  the  machine  business 
in  Boston,  where  James  H.  Roberts  is  carry- 
ing on  an  extensive  business  in  that  line  at  the 
present  time.      Mrs.    Weeks' s  father  was  for- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


225 


meiiy  in  business,  but  returned  to  the  home- 
stead in  order  to  care  for  his  parents  in  their 
old  age,  and  is  now  living  in  Laconia.  Mrs. 
Weeks  has  a  sister,  I^tta  E. ,  who  married 
Dana  Elliott,  of  Laconia,  and  a  brother,  John 
L.  Roberts,  who  is  now  engaged  in  the  wood, 
coal,  and  ice  business  in  Laconia.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Weeks  have  two  children  —  Walter  S. 
and  Bessie  E.  Walter  S.  Weeks  received  his 
education  at  schot)ls  in  Gilford  and  New 
Hampton.  Mr.  Weeks  is  a  member  of  Gran- 
ite Lodge,  No.  3,  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  of  Laconia;  and  he  and  Mrs. 
Weeks  are  members  of  Belknap  Grange.  In 
his   religious  views  he  is  a  Free  Will    Baptist. 


(gtr  MELVIN  FOSS,  ex-Mayor  of  Dover, 
f^  and  one  of  its  substantial  business 
/°'ls\^^  ^  nien,  was  born  July  23,  1847,  in  the 
town  of  Strafford.  He  is  a  son  of  Dennis  and 
Hannah  (Peary)  Foss,  the  former  of  whom 
was  for  several  years  a  mill  owner  in  Straf- 
ford. After  receiving  his  education  in  a  pri- 
vate school,  Mr.  Foss,  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  became  a  clerk  in  the  general  store  of 
John  W.  Jewell,  of  Strafford.  Two  years 
later  he  and  his  father  opened  a  store  of  the 
same  kind  in  the  same  place.  In  1874  D.  Foss 
&  Son  brought  their  business  to  Dover,  here 
establishing  a  small  bo.x  factory  and  grain  mill. 
They  disposed  of  the  grain  mill  in  1884,  and 
then  added  to  the  manufacture  of  boxes  that  of 
doors,  sashes,  and  blinds,  devoting  the  entire 
first  floor  of  their  new  building  to  the  planing 
and  bo.\  mill,  and  the  second  and  third  floors 
t(j  the  other  departments.  Their  business  now 
gives  employment  to  fifty  or  more  men. 

In  politics  Mr.  Foss  is  a  firm  supporter  of 
the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  Dur- 
ing the  administration  of  Fresident  U.  S. 
Grant    he    served    as    Postmaster  of   Strafford. 


Since  his  arrival  in  Dover  he  has  been  closely 
identified  with  the  best  interests  of  the  city, 
and  has  won  the  sincere  esteem  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  For  several  years  he  was  a  member 
of  the  School  Board  ;  and  during  the  years  of 
1893,  1894,  and  1895  he  served  acceptably  in 
the  office  of  IVhiyor.  He  is  a  member  of 
Strafford  Lodge,  No.  29,  F.  &  A.  M.,  the 
chairs  of  which  he  has  passed  through;  of 
Belknap  Chapter,  passing  through  the  chairs; 
of  Orphan  Council,  in  which  he  has  been  Dep- 
uty Master;  and  St.  Paul  Commandery,  of 
which  he  is  Generalissimo.  He  is  also  an 
active  member  of  the  Dover  Lodge  of  Elks. 

In  1869  Mr.  Foss  married  Miss  Clara  S. 
Foss,  daughter  of  Frank  and  Alice  T.  (Foss) 
Foss,  of  Strafford.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  P'oss  have 
but  one  child,  Ina  G.,  now  the  wife  of  Frank 
E.  Boomer,  junior  member  of  the  firm  of 
A.   P.   Drew  &  Co,  photographers,  of   Dover. 


W'l 


LL.IAM  ROCKWELL  CLOUGH, 
the  well-known  manufacturer  of 
Alton,  N.  H.,  was  born  in  this  town, 
November  8,  1844.  He  is  the  younger  son  of 
the  late  John  C.  Clough,  and  a  grandson  of 
Daniel  Clough,  who  came  to  Alton  with  his 
two  brothers,  the  three  settling  on  adjoining 
farms,  and  all  rearing  families.  Daniel  ditl 
farming  and  some  lumbering,  and  carried  on  a 
coo[)ering  business  in  the  winter  months,  sell- 
ing barrels  in  the  surrounding  towns.  He 
married  Sally  Meserve,  and  was  father  of  three 
sons  —  Joseph  M.,  l^enjamin  F.,  and  John  C. 
Joseph  M.  married  Esther  Philbrick,  and  had 
two  children  —  Electa  and  Daniel.  Benjamin 
F.  lived  on  the  homestead,  but  never  marrieil. 
John  C.  Clough  received  a  good  education, 
and  afterward  learned  the  painter's  and  cabinet- 
maker's trade.  He  carried  on  an  extensive 
business   in    Manchester   during   many  years  of 


2jC 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


his  active  business  life,  ami  later  retired  to 
Alton,  where  he  developed  farming  interests. 
He  was  a  loyal  Republican,  and  represented 
the  town  in  the  State  legislature  and  held 
various  other  offices.  11  is  wife  was  Lydia 
Treddick,  and  his  two  children  were:  Oscar, 
now  living  on  the  old  place;  and  William 
Rockwell  Clough,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
John  C.  Clough  was  a  mechanical  genius.  In 
the  earliest  stages  of  match  making  he  manu- 
factured some  lucifer  matches  and  sold  them, 
lie  foresaw  the  ]iossibil  ities  of  the  business, 
but,  lacking  capital,  he  could  not  go  into  it  to 
the  e.xtent  he  wished  to;  had  he  lived  longer, 
he  would,  undoubtedly,  have  been  able  to 
carry  out  his  plans. 

Rockwell  Clough  attended  the  public 
schools  in  Alton  and  Gilmanton  and  Franklin 
Academy,  Dover,  and  also  took  a  commercial 
course,  graduating  at  Eastman's  College, 
Poughkeepsie.  He  worked  with  his  father  on 
the  farm  until  his  seventeenth  year,  when, 
wishing  a  wider  field,  he  went  to  Massachu- 
setts. While  he  was  there  the  war  broke  out, 
and  in  1S62  Mr.  Clough  enlisted  in  the  Fif- 
tieth Massachusetts  Regiment,  and  going  into 
the  field  was  in  the  siege  and  as.sault  at  Port 
Hudson,  being  under  fire  there  for  six  weeks. 
During  his  residence  in  New  York,  after  the 
war,  he  joined  the  Ninth  Regiment  of  Infantry 
in  the  State  National  Guard,  going  in  as  First 
Lieutenant  of  Company  H,  and  being  afterward 
elected  Captain.  He  was  in  this  regiment  for 
over  five  years,  and  withdrew  on  account  of 
leaving  the  city. 

Wishing  to  become  a  professional  book- 
keeper, Mr.  Clough  secured  a  place  in  Cani- 
bridgeport,  and,  after  gaining  valuable  experi- 
ence there  during  a  few  years,  he  was  ap- 
pointed as  expert  accountant  in  the  United 
States  Department  of  the  Internal  Revenue  in 
Boston,    where    he   remained    for     two     years. 


While  tliere  he  conceived  the  idea  that  corks 
in  medicine  bottles  were  incomplete  without 
a  screw  to  remove  them.  The  ordinary  way  of 
digging  out  the  cork  with  a  knife  or  scissors 
destroyed  the  cork  and  often  spoiled  the  medi- 
cine. Mr.  Clough  thought  that  if  wire  screws 
could  be  manufactured  in  sufficient  quantities 
and  at  low  enough  cost  to  enable  manufact- 
urers of  patent  and  standard  medicines  to  sup- 
ply a  screw  for  every  stopper  sold,  it  would 
make  a  paying  business  and  be  of  general 
utility.  Screws  could  be  manufactured  at  a 
very  small  expense  if  the  proper  machinery 
could  be  invented  and  a  market  insured.  Once 
started  on  the  line  of  invention,  Mr.  Clough 
became  deeply  interested,  and  has  ever  since 
been  actively  at  work  in  thinking  out  new  de- 
vices. He  has  patented  in  all  over  thirty  in- 
ventions. It  was  three  years  before  he  could 
find  a  firm  to  take  the  wire  screw  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  make  its  manufacture  a  suc- 
cess, and  during  this  time  he  travelled  over  a 
large  territory  endeavoring  to  interest  various 
firms  in  his  plan.  At  last  Perry  Davis  &  Son 
were  favorably  impressed,  and  agreed  to  a  con- 
tract, whereby  they  were  to  be  supplied  with 
wire  screws  for  all  the  bottles  in  which  their 
"Pain  Killer"  and  other  medicines  were  sold. 
Their  only  fear  was  that  the  screws  cotild  not 
be  manufactured  in  sufficient  numbers  to  keep 
them  supplied. 

The  machinery  has  been  constantly  im- 
proved, and  automatic  machines  are  now  used 
by  which  one  operator  can  do  as  much  work  as 
could  be  accomplished  by  twenty  men  working 
by  hand.  These  machines  have  been  intro- 
duced in  both  F"rance  and  England,  and  Mr. 
Clough  has  made  several  trips  abroad  in  the 
interest  of  his  patent.  At  the  Centennial  Ex- 
position in  Philadelphia  in  1876,  when  the  old 
machines  were  in  use,  he  secured  two  pre- 
miums.     In    187S,   at    Paris,    he   received   an- 


HIRAM     F.    SNOW. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


22g 


other  reward,  and  at  the  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion, Chicago,  in  1S93,  he  took  the  highest 
medal,  the  machines  being  one  of  the  most 
interesting  features  of  Machinery  Hall,  and 
the  place  they  occii|)ied  always  one  of  the 
crowded  sections.  Mr.  Clongh  and  two  as- 
sistants were  constantly  at  work  making 
screws,  which  were  sold  at  five  cents  a  ])iece 
as  fast  as  they  could  be  turned  out.  At  the 
Cotton  States  Exposition  at  Atlanta,  in  1895, 
the  exhibit  of  the  Rockwell  Clongh  Company 
attracted  great  attention,  and  Mr.  Clough  was 
honored  by  being  chosen  president  of  an  asso- 
ciation composed  of  all  the  leading  exhibitors, 
some  fifteen  hundred  in  number;  in  this  posi- 
tion he  entertained  foreign  and  State  clubs, 
and  came  in  contact  with  many  interesting  and 
widely-known  people.  He  met  many  Southern 
soldiers  amid  fraternal  and  pleasant  associa- 
tions, and  retains  the  most  agreeable  recollec- 
tions of  his  visit  to  Atlanta.  Mr.  Clough's 
business  has  been  located  successively  at  New 
Bedford,  Mass.,  New  York  City,  Brooklyn, 
Newark,  N.J.,  and  Alton.  He  has  at  various 
times  had  a  partner  in  the  business,  but  is 
now  sole  proprietor.  Upon  the  death  of  his 
father,  he  came  back  to  Alton,  where,  despite 
the  advice  of  friends,  who  feared  that  this 
would  not  be  a  favorable  location,  he  has  built 
up  a  flourishing  business.  He  now  makes  also 
a  staple  which  has  been  patented,  and  which 
is  supplied  to  a  Boston  heeling  machine  com- 
pany to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  boots 
and  shoes  for  fastening  the  heels. 

While  making  his  way  in  business  and 
struggling  for  success,  Mr.  Clough  had  little 
time  to  devote  to  politics;  but  now,  with  busi- 
ness and  trade  well  established,  he  has  turned 
his  attention  somewhat  to  his  civic  responsi- 
bilities. A  lifelong  Republican  and  a  loyal 
one,  he  was  last  year  chosen  by  his  party  as  a 
candidate  for  the  legislature,  and  was  elected 


for  the  session  of  1897,  at  which  he  was  ac- 
corded the  high  honor  of  Chairmanship  of  Com- 
mittee on  National  .Affairs,  and  was  made  the 
President  of  the  Veterans'  Association  of  the 
legislature.  His  tilt  with  William  Jennings 
Bryan  at  Manchester  was  noted  in  the  pui)lic 
l)ress  througliout  the  country.  When  Mr. 
Bryan  was  to  speak  in  that  city,  Se])teniber  26, 
1S96.  Mr.  Clough  went  to  the  hall,  not  with 
any  idea  of  questioning  him,  Lnit  as  a  listener. 
The  arguments  put  forth  by  the  speaker,  how- 
ever, seemed  so  specious,  and  .such  an  attack 
on  Republican  principles,  that  Mr.  Clough, 
without  premeditation,  put  forth  question  after 
question  in  such  a  manner  as  to  win  for  him- 
self great  commendation  from  his  supporters. 
A  few  days  later  he  addressed  an  open  letter 
to  the  supporter  of  the  Silver  Democracy, 
which  was  afterward  printed  and  widely  dis- 
seminated as  campaign  literature. 

Mr.  Clough  is  a  Mason  and  a  member  of 
Crystal  Wave  Lodge,  No.  6^8,  ]?rooklyn, 
N.Y.  ;  also  a  charter  member  of  Winfield 
Scott  Hancock  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  New  York 
City.  He  is  at  the  jjresent  time  Commis- 
sioner from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  to 
the  Tennessee  Centennial  Exposition  at  Nash- 
ville. 

Mr.  Clough's  wife,  formerly  Miss  Amelia 
Young,  died  in  18S5.  His  only  child,  a 
daughter  named  Gertrude,  is  married  to  P'rank 
J.  Dugan,  a  prominent  manufacturer  of  Nor- 
walk,  Conn.  Mr.  Clough  has  a  fine  residence 
at  Alton,  and  hospitably  entertains  his  many 
city  friends. 


*^«^> 


IRAU  F.  SNOW,  proprietor  of  the 
Dover  Loom,  Harness,  and  Recti 
P'actory  in  Dover,  Strafford  County, 
N.H.,  has  been  clo.sely  identified  with  the  in- 
dustrial interests  of  this  part  of  the  State  for 
more  than  half  a  century.      He  was  born  Jan- 


^3° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


uary  28,  1S26,  in  North  Berwick,  Me.,  a  son 
of  Hiram  Snow.  His  father  was  likewise  a 
native  of  North  Berwick,  and  there  grew  to 
manhood,  learning  the  shoemaker's  trade  as 
soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  engage  in  that 
useful  handicraft.  He  subsequently  settled 
in  Tamworth,  N.H.,  and  worked  at  shocmak- 
ing  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty-five  years.  His  wife, 
Hannah  Felch,  a  native  of  Tamworth,  sur- 
vived him  a  number  of  years,  dying,  a  little 
while  after  her  second  marriage,  at  Eaton, 
N.H.,    when  thirty-seven  years  old. 

Hiram  F.  Snow  was  about  a  year  and  a  half 
old  when  left  fatherless;  and  from  that  time 
until  si.xtcen  years  of  age  he  lived  with  his 
mother's  brother,  J.  Felch,  a  farmer,  in  Tam- 
worth. Going  then  to  the  neighboring  town 
of  Effingham,  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpen- 
ter and  joiner,  working  there  about  three 
years.  He  afterward  made  his  way  to  Dover, 
and,  here  beginning  in  a  modest  way  as  a  car- 
penter, gradually  enlarged  his  operations  until 
he  built  up  one  of  the  most  extensive  contract- 
ing, roofing,  and  building  businesses  in  the 
city,  continuing  until  1886.  In  that  year  Mr. 
Snow  purchased  his  present  factory,  and,  hav- 
ing equipped  it  with  the  most  approved  modern 
machinery,  has  since  carried  it  on  with  most 
gratifying  success.  He  is  known  throughout 
the  city  as  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  busi- 
ness ability  and  tact,  who  through  his  own 
exertions  has  steadily  climbed  the  ladder  of 
prosperity.  In  addition  to  his  factory  he  owns 
considerable  stock  in  other  industrial  enter- 
prises, he  has  six  valuable  thoroughbred  road 
horses  that  he  raised  himself,  and  he  occupies 
one  of  the  most  attractive  residences  in  the 
city.  All  of  this  property  has  been  acquired 
by  persistent  work,  he  having  been  from  his 
youth  up  entirely  dependent  upon  his  own 
resources. 


Mr.  Snow  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  Roxanna,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Anna 
(Gray)  Gentleman,  of  Dover,  passed  on  to  tiie 
higher  life  July  6",  1882.  She  bore  him  three 
children,  the  following  being  their  record: 
Charles  F. ,  a  tailor,  resides  in  Dover;  George 
W.,  also  a  resident  of  this  city,  is  a  roofer  and 
carpenter;  a  daughter,  Hannah  Francis,  died 
when  three  years  old.  Mr.  Snow  married  June 
20,  1883,  Miss  Fannie  Pinkham,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Mary  (Amazeen)  Pinkham,  of 
Farmington,  N.H.  Of  this  union  two  chil- 
dren have  been  born,  namely:  Ethel  M.,  who 
died  when  seven  years  old;  and  Bertha  F".,  a 
bright  little  girl  of  nine  years. 

Politically,  Mr.  Snow  is  an  active  Republi- 
can; and,  besides  having  served  as  Council- 
man two  years  and  as  Alderman  for  the  same 
length  of  time,  he  has  represented  Ward  Two 
in  the  State  legislature  another  two  years. 
He  is  prominently  identified  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  having  taken  the  thirty  -  second 
degree,  and  being  a  Knight  Templar.  Pie  is 
an  active  member  of  the  Strafford  Lodge, 
F.  &  A.  M. ,  of  Dover;  and  is  likewise  a 
Knight  of  Pythias,  belonging  to  Wechohamet, 
No.  3,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  this  city. 


/  ^^TeORGE  O.  HAYES,  of  Madbury, 
V  1^  I  Strafford  County,  N.  H.,  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  thorough-going  farmers  of  this  locality. 
He  was  born  March  i,  1838,  on  the  homestead 
that  he  now  occupies.  This  old  homestead 
was  also  the  birthplace  of  his  father,  Timo- 
thy Y.  Hayes,  and  of  his  grandfather,  Na- 
thaniel Hayes. 

The  first  of  the  family  to  hold  it  in  posses- 
sion was  his  great-grandfather,  Daniel  Hayes, 
who  was  born  in  England,  August  26,  1723. 
He  came  to   this  country  early   in    life,    pur- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


23' 


chased  the  land  while  it  was  but  partially  cul- 
tivated, and  with  sturdy  perseverance  made 
good  headway  in  his  pioneer  work  of  clearing 
and  improving  a  farm.  He  married  Sarah 
riumer,  of  Milton,  this  county,  March  23, 
1749,  and  thirteen  children  were  born  to  them. 
Four  t)f  the  nimiber  died  in  childhood;  the 
names  of  the  others  were  as  follows:  Richard, 
Elizabeth,  Daniel,  Abigail,  Sarah,  Mahit- 
able,  Ezekiel,  Ichabod,  and  Nathaniel.  Mr. 
Daniel  Hayes  and  his  sons  conducted  a  small 
tannery  business  on  the  farm,  preparing  the 
material  from  which,  to  some  e.Ntent,  they 
manufactured  boots  and  shoes.  Mr.  Daniel 
Hayes  attained  the  good  old  age  of  eighty- 
four  years. 

Nathaniel  Hayes,  who  succeeded  his  father 
in  the  ownership  of  the  homestead,  was  born 
March  14,  1773,  and  married  Mary  Young,  of 
Madbury,  December  27,  1798.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Daniel,  Timothy  Young,  Ira, 
Plummer,  Jeremy  D.,  Sarah  P.,  Oliver  K., 
and  one  other  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Na- 
thaniel Hayes  did  a  great  deal  of  pioneer  work 
on  this  place,  adding  materially  to  the  im- 
provements. He  was  popular  in  the  com- 
•munity,  and  at  one  time  served  as  the  Repre- 
sentative of  his  town  in  the  State  legislature. 
He  with  his  sons  carried  on  many  different 
branches  of  industry.  From  the  banks  of 
clay  on  a  part  of  said  farm  they  made  bricks 
for  various  uses,  some  of  them  being  now  jjre- 
served  as  relics.  They  also  built  and  ojierated 
a  saw-mill  on  the  banks  of  the  Bellamy  River, 
which  runs  through  the  farm.  Blacksmith ing, 
too,  was  carried  on ;  and  some  of  the  home- 
made tools,  such  as  steelyards  and  hammers 
are  in  use  at  the  present  time.  They  likewise 
worked  at  joinery,  making  window  frames 
and  sashes,  also  doors.  During  this  time 
farming  was  not  in  any  way  neglected.  Busi- 
ness seemed  to  centre  at  this  place,  until  rival 


manufactures,  on  a  larger  scale,  with  machinery 
and  improved  methods,  made  wares  cheaper  to 
i)uy  than  to  make  at  home.  In  those  days  rta.x 
was  grown  in  the  fields  and  prepared  by  the 
men  for  the  busy  housewife  to  spin  and  weave; 
and  sheep  were  raised,  from  which  wool  was 
obtained  for  her  to  use  in  weaving  cloth  for 
clothing  and  for  other  purposes,  the  garments 
worn  in  the  family  being  cut  and  made  at 
home. 

Mr.  Nathaniel  Hayes  died  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
nine  years,  his  son,  Timothy  Y.  Hayes,  com- 
ing in  possession  of  the  estate.  He  was  born 
August  17,  iSoi,  and  here  spent  his  entire 
life.  He  died  June  11,  1879.  In  his  chosen 
occupation,  agriculture,  he  was  prospered,  his 
diligent  toil  day  after  day  meeting  with  a 
deserved  reward.  He  was  married  May  27, 
1833,  to  Abigail  Ham,  of  Barnstead,  who  was 
born  September  21,  1802.  They  had  two 
children,  namely:  Eliza  A.,  born  August  14, 
1836,  who  is  now  the  widow  of  David  H. 
Evans,  and  resides  in  her  native  town ;  and 
George  O. ,  special  subject  of  this  sketch. 

George  O.  Hayes  acquired  a  good  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Dover,  and  in  his 
youthful  days  when  not  attending  to  his  studies 
worked  on  the  home  farm,  becoming  as  famil- 
iar with  its  duties  as  with  the  contents  of  his 
books.  The  management  of  the  homestead 
devolved  upon  him  when  he  was  but  twenty 
years  of  age,  and  from  that  time  until  the 
present  he  has  looked  most  faithfully  after  its 
interests,  each  year  adding  to  its  improve- 
ments and  value.  He  has  also  bought  other 
land,  being  now  the  possessor  of  two  hundred 
acres,  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  which  belonged 
to  the  original  estate.  He  carries  on  general 
farming  and  dairying;  and,  in  addition  to  this, 
he  raises  sheep,  a  branch  of  inilu.stry  in  which 
he  has  excellent  success. 

On  June   II,  1 86 1,  Mr.  Hayes  was  married 


232 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


to  I'^liza  A.  Drew,  who  was  born  in  tlic  town 
of  l?:irrington,  this  county,  March  30,  1S38, 
a  daughter  of  Silas  and  Eliza  J.  (Caverly) 
Drew.  Two  sons  born  to  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Hayes 
died  in  infancy.  The  two  children  now  living 
are:  Martin  T.  H.,  who  was  born  March  2, 
1862;  and  Emma  E. ,  who  was  born  June  21, 
1877.  Martin  T.  II.  Hayes  received  his  edu- 
cation in  Dover  public  schools;  and  he  now 
lives  on  the  farm  with  his  father,  assisting 
him  in  its  management.  He  married,  August 
5,  1888,  Rosa  A.  Emerson,  who  was  born 
October  30,  1868,  in  Lcc,  this  county.  Their 
only  child,  George  L.,  a  bright  and  beautiful 
boy,  born  May  9,  1892,  passed  away  at  the 
age  of  four  years,  four  months,  and  twenty- 
eight  days.  Emma  K.  Hayes  was  graduated  at 
the  Dover  High  School  with  the  class  of 
1896,  and  began  teaching  school  on  August  31 
of  the  same  year. 


/^TToRGE  H.  DEMERITT,  an  enter- 
Vf^r  ])rising  merchant  and  one  of  the  most 
prominent  residents  of  Alton,  N.H., 
was  born  in  Nottingham,  Rockingham  County, 
February  27,  1859.  His  parents,  John  H.  and 
Jane  Demeritt,  were  born  in  Durham,  Straf- 
ford County,  N.H.,  and  the  family  sprang 
from  one  of  three  brothers,  sons  of  Eli  de 
Merit,  who  were  among  the  early  settlers  of 
Durham. 

George  H.  Demeritt's  father  left  his  native 
town  when  a  young  man,  and,  settling  in  Not- 
tingham, followed  agricultural  pursuits  for 
some  time.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to 
shoemaking,  which  has  been  his  principle 
occupation  in  life.  His  wife,  Jane  Demeritt, 
became  the  mother  of  four  children,  namely: 
Andrew  J.  ;  Frank  J.  ;  Jossie;  and  George  H., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Andrew  J.  became 
an  engineer  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and 


died  in  1894.  Frank  J.  fitted  for  college  at 
I'inkerton  Academy,  Derry,  N.H.,  and  subse- 
cpiently  engaged  in  teaching.  After  that  he 
began  to  read  law;  in  1880  he  went  to  Texas; 
in  1884  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Galves- 
ton, Tex.  ;  and  he  is  now  one  of  the  most 
prominent  lawyers  in  the  State.  Jossie  at- 
tended the  town  school,  and  lived  with  her 
father  until  she  was  married  to  Mr.  William 
Ramsdell.  She  and  her  husband,  who  is  fore- 
man for  F.  J.  Durgin  &  Co.,  now  reside  at 
Bradford,  Mass.  Mrs.  Jane  Demeritt  died 
some  thirty-one  years  ago. 

Being  thus  left  motherless  at  the  age  of 
seven  years,  George  H.  Demeritt  went  to 
reside  with  John  Morrison  of  East  Northwood, 
N.  H.  He  remained  there  until  1873,  when 
he  entered  Phillips  Academy  at  Plxeter,  N.H.  ; 
and  in  the  fall  of  1873  he  went  to  Pinkerton 
Academy,  Derry,  N.  H.,  where  his  studies 
were  completed.  He  then  began  to  work  for 
B.  W.  Hoyt  &  Co.,  Pipping,  N.  H.,  where  he 
remained  until  1882,  at  which  time  he  came 
to  Alton  and  entered  the  employ  of  John  Col- 
lins as  draftsman  and  foreman  of  the  cutting- 
room.  In  that  double  capacity  he  continued 
until  November  28,  1896,  when  he  severed  his 
connection  with  the  factory,  much  to  the  re- 
gret of  those  directly  under  his  supervision,  as 
well  as  his  employers  and  all  others  con- 
cerned. He  immediately  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Waldo  C.  Varney  and  P'rank  A. 
Varney,  under  the  firm  name  of  Demeritt  & 
Varney  Brothers,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging 
in  general  mercantile  business.  This  concern 
has  fitted  up  s]jacious  quarters  located  upon 
the  ground  floor  of  John  Coll.ins's  factory, 
fronting  on  the  main  thoroughfare  of  the  vil- 
lage ;  and  they  carry  a  large  stock  of  general 
merchandise,  including  dry  goods,  boots  and 
shoes,  paints  and  oils,  furnishing  goods,  gro- 
ceries, Hour  and  grain. 


^>^SE 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


235 


In  politics  Mr.  Demeritt  is  an  active  and 
zealous  supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
has  earnestly  advocated  its  [irinciples  since  be- 
coming a  voter.  In  1891  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  School  Board,  upon  which  he 
served  for  three  years.  He  was  Town  Clerk 
from  1893  to  1895.  He  succeeded  the  Hon. 
Amos  L.  Rollins  as  Judge  of  the  Police  Court, 
which  position  he  resigned  on  November  30, 
i8g6,  previous  to  entering  mercantile  business. 

He  is  now  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  also  Chair- 
man of  the  Republican  Town  Committee,  and 
the  local  party  organization  has  in  him  a  most 
capable  and  efficient  worker.  Actively  in- 
terested in  all  movements  which  tend  to  bene- 
fit the  general  community,  he  was  one  of  the 
committee  of  three  who  were  elected  by  the 
town  to  locate  and  build  the  Opera  House; 
has  been  President  of  the  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  and  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Library  Trustees  since  its  organization.  In 
fact,  he  was  one  of  the  original  promoters  of 
the  movement  which  resulted  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  that  useful  institution,  having 
begun  his  endeavors  to  bring  it  into  e.xistence 
when  the  State  law  was  passed,  giving  one  hun- 
dred dollars'  worth  of  books  to  every  town  that 
would  inaugurate  and  place  in  working  order  a 
public  library.  He  labored  diligently  to  se- 
cure its  foundation  and  opening,  with  the  re- 
sult that  it  now  contains  over  two  thousand 
volumes.  Mr.  Demeritt  has  at  various  times 
acted  as  Librarian,  having  served  in  that  ca- 
pacity without  remuneration,  and  his  efforts  in 
its  behalf  are  both  creditable  to  himself  and 
an  honor  to  the  town. 

In  1880  Mr.  Demeritt  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Carrie  E.  Norris,  daughter  of 
Thomas  J.  Norris,  of  Epping,  N.H.  In  Ma- 
sonry Mr.  Demeritt  has  reached  tlie  Royal 
Arch  Degree.  He  is  a  member  of  Sullivan 
Lodge,  No.  19,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Epping,  and  of 


the  chapter  in  Farmington,  N.H.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  Cocheco  Lodge,  No.  28,  Knigiits 
of  Pythias,  of  Alton,  and  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire. 


i:UBEN  W,  PRICE,  M.D.,  of  Alton, 
whose    career    has    been    divided    bc- 

^  V_  ^  tween  the  practice  of  medicine  and 
dentistry,  in  both  of  which  he  has  met  with 
excellent  success,  was  born  in  Gilmanton,  Bel- 
knap County,  N.H.,  February  12,  1838,  a  son 
of  Moses  and  Sarah  (Page)  Price. 

William  Price,  son  of  Richard,  a  native  of 
Wales,  as  the  master  of  a  vessel  made  frequent 
voyages  to  America,  where  at  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  on  September  12,  1727,  he  met 
and  married  Sarah  Hidden,  of  Rowley,  Mass. 
Si.x  years  later,  in  1733,  Captain  William 
Price  was  lost  in  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  He 
left  a  son  and  daughter —  William  and  Sarah. 
William,  second,  son  of  Captain  William, 
married  Sarah  Giddings,  of  Essex,  Mass.,  in 
1752.  During  the  early  years  of  his  life  he 
was  a  successful  grocer  in  Newburyport,  Mass. 
In  January,  1782,  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  Gil- 
manton, N.H.,  where  he  died  June  18,  1797, 
aged  seventy  years,  leaving  eight  children; 
namely,  William,  Sally,  Mary,  Elizabeth  S., 
John  B.,  Ebenezer,  Lucy,  and  Ebenezcr  (sec- 
ond) . 

William,  the  eldest  child,  the  third  of  the 
name  in  direct  line,  born  December  23,  1752, 
died  December  9,  1822,  aged  seventy  years. 
He  was  married  first  on  April  30,  1781,  to 
Susanna  Sumner,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and 
resided  for  six  years  in  Newburyport.  Then 
in  1787  he  followed  his  father  to  Gilmanton, 
where  he  became  a  successful  farmer,  and  held 
various  positions  of  trust.  His  first  wife  died 
July  18,  1794,  aged  forty-two;  and  his  sec- 
ond, who  when  he  married   her  was  a  widow. 


236 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Mrs.  Mary  Adams  Smith,  died  on  October  3, 
1847,  at  eii;hty-si.\  years  of  age.  There  were 
six  children  by  the  first  union — John,  Will- 
iam, Stephen,  Sarah,  Eben  and  Mary  (twins) ; 
and  four  by  the  second  union ;  namely, 
Hpiiraim  S.,  Ebenezer,  Moses,  and  Thomas. 

Moses  Price,  the  youngest  but  one  of  ten 
children,  worked  in  his  early  life  at  his  trade 
of  carpenter  and  builder;  and,  having  bought 
with  his  earnings  the  shares  of  his  brothers, 
he  lived  on  the  old  homestead,  which  has  re- 
mained in  the  Price  name  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years,  and  has  been  the  home  of  five 
generations.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Con- 
gregational church,  the  hardest  working  man 
in  Belknap  County,  a  leading  citizen,  promi- 
nent in  town  affairs,  being  often  elected  to 
office  as  a  Republican,  when  the  Democrats 
were  in  the  ascendency.  He  was  thrice  mar- 
ried, first  on  March  30,  1826,  to  Theodate 
Page,  who  died  October  i,  1827,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one;  second,  on  December  25,  1829, 
to  Sarah  Page,  who  died  November  19,  1854; 
and  third,  on  March  24,  1858,  to  widow 
Judith  Edgerly  Gilman,  whom  he  left  a  widow 
at  his  death  in  1873.  There  was  one  child  by 
the  first  marriage,  Theodate  P.,  who  married 
Levi  H.  Mudget,  of  Gilmanton,  N.H.  By 
the  second  marriage  there  were  two  sons  and 
two  daughters;  namely,  Kbenezer  Sewall, 
Mary  P.,  Reuben  W.,  and  Martha  E.  Eben- 
ezer Sewall  married  Mary  Jane  Clay  and  lived 
on  the  old  homestead ;  Mary  P.  married  Ben- 
jamin Quincy  Jewett,  of  Gilford,  N.H.  ; 
Martha  E.  was  graduated  at  Gilmanton  Acad- 
emy and  Mount  Holyoke  College,  South  Had- 
ley,  Mass.,  and  taught  school  a  number  of 
years  in  New  Hampshire  and  in  South 
Weymouth  and  Beverly,  Mass.  She  is  now  a 
missionary  at  Inanda,  Natal,  South  Africa, 
whither  she  went  in  1877. 

Reuben   W.    Price,   the  special   subject    of 


this  biography,  worked  on  the  home  farm  until 
about  fifteen  years  of  age,  after  which  he  fitted 
for  college  at  Gilmanton  Academy,  but  for 
want  of  health  he  gave  up  a  collegiate  course, 
and  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr. 
Nahum  Wight,  of  Gilmanton.  After  studying 
three  years  and  attending  one  course  of  med- 
ical lectures  at  Bowdoin  College  in  Maine,  and 
two  courses  at  Dartmouth  College,  Hanover, 
N.H.,  he  received  his  medical  degree  from 
the  latter  institution.  His  educational  ex- 
penses were  in  large  part  defrayed  by  teaching 
in  Gilmanton  and  Manchester,  and  as  an  as- 
sistant at  Gilmanton  Academy. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation  in  1861  he 
located  in  Seabrook,  N.H.;  and  after  three 
years'  practice  enlisted  from  that  town  in  the 
First  New  Hampshire  Heavy  Artillery,  as  a 
private  soldier;  but  before  leaving  the  State 
he  received  from  the  governor  a  commission  as 
First  Assistant  Surgeon  of  that  regiment.  On 
arriving  at  Washington  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  General  Hardin's  brigade  of  the 
Twenty-second  Army  Corps.  He  was  after- 
ward Post  Surgeon  at  Fort  Reno,  and  again  at 
Fort  Sumner,  Md.,  and  was  mustered  out  of 
the  service  with  the  regiment  in  1865.  He 
soon  after  received  an  appointment  from  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  as  one  of  the  surgeons  of  the 
One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth  United  States 
Calvary  Infantry,  stationed  at  New  Orleans, 
and  served  in  that  regiment  and  in  the  Eighth 
United  States  Cavalry,  Heavy  Artillery,  at 
Indiandla  and  Victoria,  Tex.,  until  the  close 
of  the  war. 

Being  mustered  out  in  Kentucky,  and  wish- 
ing to  see  more  of  the  West,  he  made  a  trip 
to  Indiana,  Missouri,  and  Kansas,  and  bought 
a  tract  of  land  on  the  Pacific  Railroad  in 
Prairie  township,  Jackson  County,  Mo.  He 
soon  after  moved  to  his  new  purchase,  and, 
having  laid  out  the  town   of   Greenwood,  built 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


237 


the  largest  house  on  the  town  plat,  where  he 
kept  a  drug  store,  and  practised  medicine. 
Iking  a  pioneer,  he  was  a  leader  in  tlie  organ- 
ization of  the  town  and  the  establishment  of 
its  schools,  as  well  as  a  leading  practitioner 
in    Prairie  township. 

He  was  the  first  station  agent,  for  several 
years  Postmaster  and  a  Notary  Public,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Medical  Association  organized  in 
Jackson  County,  also  of  the  Masonic  Lodge 
and  several  temperance  and  other  societies. 
Having  been  reared  in  the  Congregational 
church,  he  was  an.xious  to  establish  that  de- 
nomination in  the  new  town,  and,  though  the 
only  Congrcgationalist  there,  he  succeeded  in 
uniting  the  disciples  of  various  creeds  in  a 
Congregational  church,  of  which  he  was  made 
the  first  Deacon,  and  Chairman  of  its  first 
Itoard  of  Trustees.  He  was  so  far  financially 
successful  as  to  own  property  in  1870,  valued 
above  debts  at  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Speculations,  entered  into  with  every  pros- 
pect of  success,  were  rendered  abortive  by  the 
■financial  crash  of  1872;  losses  by  indorsing 
other  people's  paper  came  about  by  the  same 
cause ;  drouth,  grasshoppers,  and  other  pests 
destroyed  the  crops  for  several  years,  business 
being  so  far  destroyed  as  to  make  a  change  of 
location  desirable;  and  in  1S76  he  made  a 
trip  through  the  Indian  Territory  and  Te.xas, 
where  he  spent  a  year  lecturing  on  astronomy 
and  physiology,  studying  in  the  meantime  the 
Indian  problem,  and  looking  for  a  new  place 
of  business.  That  year  was  an  eventful  one  in 
the  doctor's  life,  filled  with  adventures  and 
hair-breadth  escapes  which  would  fill  a  vol- 
ume with  truth  stranger  than  fiction.  After 
his  return  he  decided  not  to  move  South,  but 
resumed  practice  at  the  old  stand.  A  dentist 
came  to  the  place  for  a  temporary  stay,  and 
shared  his  office,  during  which  he  "stole  the 
trade"  (having  studied  it  before  studying  med- 


icine). He  then  jiractised  both  medicine  and 
dentistry  until  the  fall  of  1881,  when  he  made 
a  visit  to  Belknap  County,  and,  finding  La- 
conia  with  only  one  dentist,  he  rented  an 
office,  into  which  he  moved  as  soon  as  his 
business  could  be  settled  in  Missouri.  On 
coming  to  Laconia,  he  gave  up  the  jiractice  of 
medicine  altogether,  but  had  an  extensive 
dental  practice  there  for  twelve  years.  He 
was  a  charter  member  of  Crystal  Council,  No. 
2,  of  Chosen  Friends,  was  its  first  Secretary 
and  afterward  its  Chief  Councillor;  a  member 
of  several  temperance  societies,  and  active  in 
church  and  temperance  work. 

On  May  14,  1862,  Dr.  Price  married  Manda 
C.  Smith,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  — 
Minnie,  Harvey,  Lulu  E.,  Ethelyn  Mallei, 
and  Willard  A.  Minnie  Price  attended 
Greenwood  Academy  in  Missouri,  Gilnianton 
Academy,  and  the  Normal  School  in  Pridgc- 
water,  Mass.,  taught  school  in  Gilnianton  antl 
in  Laconia,  and  is  now  a  teacher  in  Denver, 
Col.  Harvey  died  in  infancy.  Lulu  E.  and 
Ethelyn  M.  attended  Gilmanton  Academy,  and 
were  afterward  graduated  at  Laconia  High 
School,  each  receiving  the  highest  mark  of 
scholarship  in  her  class  by  being  made  vale- 
dictorian. They  were  members  of  the 
Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.,  and  of  the  Congregational 
church,  and  taught  school  in  Gilford,  Gilman- 
ton, and  Alton.  Lulu  ¥..  commenced  the 
study  of  photography,  but  died  at  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  Elthelyn  was  graduated  at  Til- 
ton  Seminary,  receiving  during  her  course  the 
largest  number  of  prizes  for  scholarship  in  the 
history  of  the  institution.  She  entered 
Weilesley  College  in  the  class  of  1897,  gradu- 
ating in  June  of  the  present  year,  and  has  sus- 
tained throughout  the  course  the  highest  rank 
as  a  scholar.  Will  is  a  member  of  the  class 
of  1899  in  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology  in  Boston. 


23'^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Dr.  Price  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss 
Annette  Chesley,  the  daughter  of  Jonathan 
l-'iirlier  and  Ai)iyail  (Stevens)  Chesley.  Her 
grandfather,  i\Iiies  Chesley,  one  of  the  early 
settlers  in  New  Durham,  married  Mary 
Furber,  of  Farmington,  N.H.,  and,  dying,  left 
eight  children,  of  whom  Jonathan  Furber  was 
the  third.  Her  maternal  grandfather,  John 
n.  Stevens,  spent  the  most  of  his  life  in 
Alton.  He  was  a  prominent  man,  and  ac- 
counted the  wealthiest  farmer  in  town  in  his 
time.  He  married  Abigail  Emerson,  and  had 
four  children.  Abigail,  the  eldest,  attended 
the  academies  at  New  Hampton  and  Wolf- 
boro,  and  taught  school  several  years  before 
her  marriage  to  Mr.  Chesley.  They  lived  in 
New  Durham,  where  their  only  child,  An- 
nette, was  born,  and  afterward  in  Alton,  where 
Mr.  Chesley  was  prominent  in  town  affairs, 
serving  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Selectman, 
and  in  other  positions  of  trust,  and  represent- 
ing Alton  in  the  State  legislature  in  1861 
and  18G2. 

Annette  Chesley,  after  pursuing  her  studies 
at  Gilmanton  Academy  and  at  Dover  Acad- 
emy, was  for  many  years  a  successful  and  pop- 
ular teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Belknap 
and  Strafford  Counties. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Price  are  now  living  in  Alton 
at  the  home  of  her  mother,  to  care  for  Mrs. 
Chesley  in  the  fast-growing  infirmities  of  a 
ripe  old  age.  Dr.  Price  was  never  a  sectarian 
in  church,  nor  a  partisan  in  politics.  He  has 
been  a  Republican,  a  Greenbacker,  and  a  Pro- 
hibitionist; is  an  earnest  advocate  of  all  social 
and  political  reforms,  including  international 
arbitration  and  the  "double  standard"  by  in- 
ternational agreement;  and  is  a  firm  believer 
in  trusts  and  monopolies  ozvticd  by  tlic  govern- 
ment;  in  Cuban  independence  and  the  annexa- 
tion of  Hawaii;  and  he  thinks  that  the  Turks 
ought  to  be  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 


YgrORACF  P.  BOODEY,  a  well-known 
\^\  resident  of  New  Durham,  and  a  vet- 
-L>®  V        eran    of    the   Civil    War,    was   born 

in  Alton,  N.H.,  April  14,  1844,  son  of  Soc- 
rates H.  and  Tanson  L.  (Hamj  Boodey.  His 
great-grandfather,  Zachariah  ]3oodey,  came 
from  Madbury,  N.H.,  to  this  town,  among  the 
early  settlers;  and  Joseph  Boodey,  grandfather 
of  Horace  P.,  was  a  lifelong  resident  of  New 
Durham. 

Socrates  H.  Boodey,  who  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  in  New  Durham,  was  one  of 
the  stirring  farmers  of  his  day.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat.  His  last  days  were  passed 
with  his  son,  and  he  died  in  1880,  aged  si.xty- 
four  years.  His  wife,  who  survives  him,  is  a 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Ham,  late  of  this  town. 
She  has  had  six  children,  as  follows:  Rozctte 
E.,  now  the  wife  of  Henry  Irvin;  Horace  P., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Orissa  A.,  now  the 
wife  of  Albert  Labounty ;  Mary  E.,  the  wife 
of  W.  H.  Hurd;  Belle  C.  and  Nat  H.,  of 
Barre,  Vt. 

Educated  in  the  common  schools,  Horace  P. 
Boodey  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
On  August  II,  1862,  he  enlisted  for  service 
in  the  Civil  War  as  a  private  in  Company  I, 
Tenth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteer 
Infantry,  and  subsequently  participated  in 
several  important  battles,  including  those  of 
P'redericksburg,  Drury's  Bluff,  Bermuda  Plun- 
dred,  and  Cold  Harbor.  At  Cold  Harbor  he 
received  a  severe  wound  that  confined  him  to 
the  hospital  for  eleven  months.  He  was  ap- 
pointed Corporal  of  his  company,  and  dis- 
charged as  such  May  15,  1865.  After  his  re- 
turn from  the  army  he  resided  mostly  in  New 
Durham,  and  was  Postmaster  of  the  part  of  it 
called  Dexter.  He  also  resided  for  three 
years  in  Northwood,  N.H.,  of  which  he  was 
likewise  Postmaster.  Mr.  Boodey  owns  a  pro- 
ductive farm   in   New  Durham,  which  he  car- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


239 


ries  on  with  energy  and  success.  He  has  been 
Collector  of  Taxes  of  the  town,  and  is  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  spends  about  six 
months  of  the  year  at  the  Advcntist  camp- 
ground at  Alton  ]?ay,  N.H.,  of  which  he  has 
been  the  superintendent  for  the  past  ten  years, 
having  also  charge  of  the  store  and  boarding- 
house. 

Mr.  Boodey  married  JVI.  Abbie  Huckins,  a 
native  of  Alton,  N.H.,  and  a  daughter  of  An- 
drew and  Maria  J.  (Chamberlain)  Huckins. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Ethel  M.,  who  is 
now  the  wife  of  Eugene  F.  Simonds,  of 
Sharon. 


|D\VIN  WEBSTER  LANE,  the  prede- 
cessor of  the  present  Chairman  of 
Saiibiirnton's  Board  of  Selectmen, 
was  born  in  Hill,  N.  H.,  April  25,  1846,  son 
of  Isaac  Newton  and  Deborah  J.  (Thomas) 
Lane.  He  is  a  descendant  in  the  eighth  gen- 
eration of  William  Lane,  who  as  early  as 
1 65 1  was  residing  in  Boston,  where  he  was 
made  a  freeman  in  1657.  The  family  is  of 
English  origin.  William  Lane  (second),  a 
tailor  by  trade,  who  was  born  October  i,  1659, 
died  February  14,  1749.  On  June  21,  1680, 
he  married  Sarah,  daughter  oi  Thomas  Web- 
ster, of  Hampton,  N.  H.  She  was  born  Jan- 
uary 22,  1660,  and  died  January  6,  1745. 
Joshua  Lane,  son  of  William  (second),  was 
born  in  Hampton,  June  6,  1696.  He  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  a  currier  nntl  shoemaker; 
and  on  December  24,  1717,  he  married  Bath- 
sheba  Kobie,  born  August  2,  1696,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Mary  Robie.  Joshua  lived 
upon  a  small  farm  in  Hampton,  and  there 
tilled  the  soil  and  worked  at  his  trades.  He 
and  his  wife  united  with  the  Congregational 
church  March  10,  1718;  and  he  was  subse- 
quently a  Deacon  of  the  society  for  many 
years.      He  was  killed   by  lightning,  June  14, 


1766;  and  his  wife  died  A\n\\  13,  1765. 
John  Lane,  son  of  Joshua,  born  l-'ebruarv  14, 
1726,  died  March  21,  181 1.  On  December 
28,  1749,  he  married  Ilannah  Dow,  who,  bdrn 
September  20,  1727,  died  September  10,  1775. 

Samuel  Lane,  great-grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  tills  sketch,  was  born  December  17, 
1750,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  San- 
bornton.  He  was  a  tanner,  and  carried  on 
quite  an  extensive  business  for  his  day.  It 
was  his  benevolent  custom,  when  a  struggling 
farmer  lost  a  cow  or  any  other  useful  animal, 
to  tan  the  hide  gratuitously,  besides  giving  the 
loser  a  dollar.  He  served  as  Town  Clerk  for  a 
number  of  years,  was  a  Deacon  of  the  Congre- 
gational church,  and  he  died  August  5,  181 1. 
It  was  said  of  him  at  his  funeral  that  he  was 
])()sitively  without  an  enemy.  On  February 
9,  1774,  he  married  Judith  Clifford,  who  died 
December  6,  1825.  Jeremiah  Lane,  grand- 
father of  Edwin  W. ,  was  born  in  Sanbornton, 
July  iS,  17S3.  He  was  a  prosjierous  farmer 
and  a  man  of  much  intelligence  and  sagacity. 
The  latter  qualities  earned  for  him  the  title 
of  "the  Prophet."  He  was  widely  and  favor- 
ably known  throughout  this  section.  On  No- 
vember II,  1813,  he  married  for  his  first  wife 
Sarah,  daughter  of  David  Morrison;  and  Isaac 
N.  Lane,  Edwin  Webster  Lane's  father,  was 
a  child  of  that  union.  His  second  marriage 
was  contracted  with  Sally  Ellsworth. 

Isaac  Newton  Lane  was  born  in  Sanbornton, 
April  6,  1S17.  He  resided  at  home  until  of 
age.  Then  he  went  to  Hill;  and,  forming  a 
partnership  with  David  Shaw,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Shaw  &  Lane,  he  was  engaged  in  gen- 
eral mercantile  business  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  next  became  a  drover  and  butcher, 
dealing  quite  largely  in  cattle  and  sheej-),  and 
supplying  many  of  the  neighboring  towns  witli 
meat.  Some  time  later  he  became  a  member 
of  the  firm   of  Forbes  &    Lane,    who  operated 


240 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


a  flouring-niill  in  Ikistol,  N. H.,  and  subse- 
i|iicntly  movotl  their  business  to  Hillsborough 
Hridgc,  N.II.  Isaac  Newton  Lane  finally 
sold  his  interest  in  the  mill,  settled  at  the 
homestead  in  Sanbornton,  and,  after  spending 
the  rest  of  his  life  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
died  March  28,  1887.  In  early  life  he  was 
identified  with  the  I-'irst  Baptist  Church,  and 
in  politics  he  acted  with  the  Republican  party. 
His  wife,  Deborah,  who  was  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  Thomas,  of  Sanbornton,  became  the 
mother  of  four  children  —  Edwin  W. ,  Ellen  J., 
Emma  A.,  and  Wesley  O.  Ellen  J.  is  the 
wife  of  James  L.  Mason.  Emma  A.  and  Wes- 
ley are  accomplished  musicians  and  teachers. 
Ivlwin  Webster  Lane  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  New 
Hampshire  Conference  Seminary.  Of  a  stu- 
dious disposition  in  his  school  days,  he  pre- 
ferred to  spend  his  evenings  in  study  with  the 
light  of  a  tallow  candle,  while  his  companions 
were  merrymaking;  but  at  the  present  time 
there  is  probably  not  a  person  in  this  locality 
who  enjoys  amusement  more  than  he.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  became  a  partner  in  the 
firm  of  Stackpole  &  Lane,  keepers  of  a  general 
store,  and  conducted  business  for  six  years. 
He  then  sold  his  interest,  but  remained  with 
his  successors  as  clerk  for  about  ten  years.  In 
1S77  he  bought  his  present  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred acres,  situated  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the 
Pemigewassett  River,  and  of  which  he  culti- 
vates thirty  or  forty  acres.  For  several  years 
it  was  his  cu.stom  each  fall  to  go  to  Boston, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  in  a  store 
until  after  the  holidays;  but  for  the  past  eight 
or  ten  years  his  time  has  been  entirely  ab- 
sorbed by  his  farm  and  his  official  duties. 
While  residing  in  Hill  he  served  as  Town 
Clerk,  and  he  had  been  Postmaster  for  a  few 
years  when  he  resigned.  In  1889  he  was 
elected  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen 


of  Sanbornton,  a  position  which  he  held  until 
1897.  His  business  ability  and  attention  to 
the  administration  of  the  town's  affairs  fre- 
quently prevented  unnecessary  outlay. 

Mr.  Lane  wedded  Nannie  J.  Eaton,  daughter 
of  Horace  P.  Eaton,  of  P'ranklin,  N.  H.  He 
has  now  two  sons :  Roscoe  Eaton,  born  Sep- 
tember 14,  1S74;  and  P'orrest  Glenn,  born 
April  9,  1877.  Roscoe,  who  displayed  a  ca- 
pacity for  the  printer's  trade  when  a  mere  boy 
by  using  a  toy  press,  subsequently  learned  that 
trade,  and  is  now  engaged  in  job  printing  in 
this  town.  Mr.  Lane  has  gained  quite  a  repu- 
tation as  a  poet,  having  written  numerous 
pieces  for  magazines  and  other  periodicals. 
A  collection  of  his  writings  would  make  an 
interesting  volume  of  poems.  His  first  effort, 
contributed  to  the  Toledo  Blade,  was  exten- 
sively copied  by  the  newspapers  throughout  the 
country.  His  genial  disposition,  generous 
traits  of  character,  and  the  quiet  natural  flow 
of  his  conversation  make  a  charming  impres- 
sion upon  the  guest  whose  privilege  it  is  to 
spend  an  evening  in  his  company. 


TEPHEN  YOUNG,  M.D.,  a  pro- 
//^  gressive  and  popular  physician  and 
surgeon  of  East  Rochester,  Strafford 
County,  was  born  October  22,  1854,  in  the 
town  of  Strafford,  son  of  George  Mason.  His 
great-grandfather,  on  the  maternal  side,  Jona- 
than Young,  of  Farmington,  was  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  this  county.  He  is  also  a 
descendant  of  the  first  doctor  and  minister 
of  Rochester,  the  venerable  parson,  Amos 
Main,  whose  statue  stands  in  the  public 
square.  Stephen  Young,  his  maternal  grand- 
father, whose  full  name  he  now  bears,  took  a 
jorominent  part  in  public  life,  representing 
Strafford  in  the  general  court,  and  serving  it 
for  several  terms  as  Selectman.      The  father, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


George  Mason,  was  born  in  Rochester.  After 
arriving  at  man's  estate  he  worked  at  his 
trade  of  a  dyer  in  different  localities,  and  died 
while  a  resident  of  Lebanon,  Me.,  in  1888. 
He  was  an  adherent  of  the  Republican  party, 
but  never  aspired  to  political  office.  Me  mar- 
ried Miss  Mary  Ann  Young,  of  Strafford, 
their  only  child  being  Stephen,  the  subject  of 
this  brief  sketch.      The  mother  died  in  18S4. 

Dr.  Young,  formerly  Stephen  Mason, 
adopted  his  present  surname  at  the  suggestion 
of  his  maternal  grandfather,  who  thereupon 
undertook  the  expense  of  his  education. 
After  attending  the  district  schools  of  Straf- 
ford, the  Austin  and  West  Lebanon  Acad- 
emies, and  the  Rochester  High  School,  he 
completed  his  general  education  at  South  Ber- 
wick in  1S75.  fn  the  ensuing  fall  he  entered 
Dartmouth  College,  where  he  remained  two 
years;  and  then  he  spent  two  years  in  the 
Medical  School  of  Dartmouth.  His  medical 
studies  were  completed  at  Long  Island  Hos- 
pital College,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1 88 1.  He  then  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession in  East  Rochester,  where  he  has  since 
built  up  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  bus- 
iness. His  high  reputation  for  skill,  more 
especially  in  surgery,  has  been  fully  earned. 
In  the  course  of  his  practice  he  has  success- 
fully performed  some  delicate  operations  that 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  medical 
world.  Since  August,  1896,  the  doctor  has 
had  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Thomas  W.  I^uce,  a 
graduate  of  Bowdoin  College,  who  was  house 
doctor  in  the  Maine  General  Hospital  in  1895 
and  1896. 

Dr.  Young  was  married  March  i,  1881,  to 
Fannie  F.  Stoddard,  of  Andover,  Vt.  She 
died  at  her  old  home  in  18S5,  leaving  one 
child,  Eva  M.  On  May  16,  1888,  the  doctor 
married  Miss  Lucy  R.  Karl,  of  Rockland, 
Me.,  who  died  January  2,  1S97.     She  had  two 


children,  namely:  lulward  W.,  now  seven 
years  old;  and  Karl,  born  March  2,  1893,  who 
died  February  20,  1896.  Dr.  Young  attends 
the  l^ajUist  church  at  ICast  Rochester.  His 
professional  duties  allow  him  but  little  time 
to  devote  to  ])ui)lic  affairs,  but  for  a  year  he 
was  a  member  of  tiie  School  Board,  and  he  has 
also  served  as  a  member  of  the  15oard  of 
Health.  He  belongs  to  Kenedy  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  !•■.,  of  Rochester;  to  Rindge  Lodge, 
No.  39,  K.  of  P.,  of  luist  Rochester,  having 
served  in  all  the  offices;  and  to  .Senate 
K.  A.  K.  O.,  of  which  he  is  a  charter 
member. 


t  »  »mf 


I'lRBERT  C.  ADAMS,  the  well- 
known  station  agent  of  IVdmont, 
l^elknap  County,  N.II.,  was  born  in 
Hill,  N.  H.,  November  I2,  1866,  son  of  Enoch 
and  Sylvia  Abigail  (Ifabcock)  Adams. 

The  immigrant  ancestor  of  this  branch  nf 
the  Adams  family  in  America  was  Robert 
Adams,  born  in  England,  who  settled  in  New- 
bury, Mass.  His  first  wife,  Eleanor,  who  was 
the  mother  of  all  his  children,  died  June  12, 
1677.  He  had  a  second  wife,  Sarah  Glover, 
who  was  a  widow  Short.  Robert'  Adams  died 
October  12,  1682.  His  widow  died  October 
24,   1697.      His  children  were:  — 

I.     John,  wlio  married  a  Woodman. 
II.     Joanna,     born     i(^;}4.     who     married     I.auncclot 
("1  ranker. 
III.      Abraham,  born  l''>39,  wlio  married   .Mary  IV-lten- 

gill. 
I\'.      Elizabeth,  who  niarried  Edward  I'help.s. 
y .     Mary,  who  married  Jeremiah  doodrich. 
\'I.     Isaac,  born  in  164S. 
\'I1.     Jacob,  born  23  April  1649,  died  16  August  1649. 
\'III.      Hannah,   born   25   June    1650,    married   William 
Warliam. 
I.\.     Jacob,  born   13   .September   i('>5i,  married   Anna 
Allen,  and  died  in  171  7. 

Abraham-'  Adams,    son    of    Robert',    born   at 


242 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Salem,  Mass.,  in  1639,  died  Juno  14,  1714. 
He  and  his  wife,  Mary  Pettengill,  had  the  fol- 
Imvini;  chiichen  :  — 

1.      .M;iry.  born   16   Jamiary   H')72,    married    (Icorgc 
Tliurlow. 
II.      Robert,  born    12    May   1674.    married    Rebecca 
Knight. 

III.  Abraham,    born    in    M.ay    1676.    married    Anne 

Longfellow. 

IV.  Isaac,  born  26  February  1679,  died  8  April  1763. 
\'.     Sarah,  born  15  .April  i6,Si,  married  John  Hutch- 
inson. 

\'l.     John,  born    7    March    1684,    married    Elizabeth 

N'oyes  and  Sarah  Pearson. 
\'II.     .Matthew,    born    25    July    16S6.    married    Sarah 
Knight. 
\111.     Israel,  born  2j  December  16SS,  married  Rebecca 
Atkinson. 
I.\.     Dorothy,  born  25  October  1691. 
.\.     Richard,    horn    22     November     1693,     married 
Susanna  I'ike. 

Richard'  Adam.s,  youngest  child  of  Abra- 
ham', married  12  Deceniber  1717,  Susanna 
I'ike.  He  died  2  November  1778.  Their 
children  were :  — 

I.      .Mary   C,   born  8   October   171S,  married  Noah 
Adams. 
II.     John,  born  9   September   1720.   died  20   Marcli 

1723. 
III.     Hannah,    born     16     November     1722,     married 

Daniel  Chute. 
I\'.     Enoch,  born  24  September  1724,  married  Sarah 

Jackman,  and  died  27  July  1749. 
V.     Richard,  born  2  November  1726,  married  Sarah 
Noyes,  and  died  6  November  i  788. 
VI.     Susanna,  born  5    August    1729,    died    19   June 

'745- 
VII.     Daniel,  born  4  September  1734,  married  Ednah 

Noyes,  and  died  i  December  1 759. 
\'lll.     Moses,    born    17    January    1737.   married    Ruth 
Palmer,  and  died  16  September  181 7. 
IX.     Edmund,  born  24  October  1 740,  married  Hannah 
Thunston,  and  died  18  January  1825. 

Richard'  Adams,  son  of  Richard'  and  Su- 
sanna (Pike)  Adams,  died   6   November    1788. 


He  and  his  wife,  Sarah  Noyes,  were  the 
great-grandparents  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Their  son,  Enoch'  Adams,  born  at 
Newbury,  Mass.,  29  November  1755,  married 
Elizabeth  Russell,  who  was  born  27  June 
1759.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  company  of 
Captain  Gerrish  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
After  marriage  he  settled  with  many  other 
families  from  Newbury,  Mass.,  at  Salisbury, 
N.H.,  where  his  wife  died  in  August,  1802, 
and  he  27  February  i  S42.  Their  children 
were  :  — 

1.     Russell,  born  20  January  1782,  died  21    October 
I  78S. 
II.      Richard,  born  21    August  1783.  died  17  Novem- 
ber 178S. 
III.      Eli,  born   29   September   1784,   married  Abigail 

True,  and  died  17  July  1832. 
1\'.     Judith,   born   2   January    1787,    married    Enoch 

Eastman. 
V.      Russell,    born     12     May    1788,    married     Susan 
Fifield,  died  19  November  1859. 
\'l.     Richard,    born    29   July    1790,    married    Sarah 

Dunbar. 

\11.     -Eliza,  born  3  May  1792. 

\'lll.      Phebe,  born  2  July  1795. 

IX.     Dorcas,  born  19  July  1797,  married  D.  S.  Wood- 
ward, and  died   10  March  1S77. 

Russell''  Adams,  son  of  Enoch'  and  Eliza- 
beth (Russell)  Adams,  and  the  paternal  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
12  May  1788,  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  but  re 
moved  to  Hill,  N.  H.,  in  early  life,  and  be- 
came an  extensive  land-owner  and  produce  and 
stock-raiser.  He  married  Susanna  Fifield,  who 
was  a  daughter  of  Obadiah  Fifield,  of  Salis- 
bury, N.H.,  and  one  of  a  family  of  seven  chil- 
dren; namely,  Obadiah,  Jonathan,  Benjamin, 
Sally,  Polly,  Elizabeth,  and  Susanna.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Russell  Adams  were  attendants  of 
the  Christian  Baptist  Church.  They  had  nine 
children,  namely:  Gilson;  Harrison;  Daniel; 
James;  Enoch;  Obadiah;   Emeline,    who  died 


^^^V^  1^ 


..^Vff'- 


HENRY     E     BRAWN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


245 


ill  infancy;  Emelino,  secoiul ;  and  an  unnamed 
infant.  Gilson  Adams  was  three  times  mar- 
ried, and  died  leaving  children  by  the  first  and 
second  wives.  Harrison  married  Margaret 
Morse,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.  ;  and  they  had  two 
children — Charles  and  George.  Daniel  died 
single  in  1870.  James  married  Emily  Young, 
and  had  four  children — Ellen,  Susan,  War- 
ren, and  Martha.  Obadiah,  who  died  March 
14,  1894,  married  in  Jamaica  Plain,  Mass., 
and  had  one  child — Charles  E.  Emeline 
(second)  died  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years. 

Enoch'  Adams,  son  of  Russell  and  Susanna 
F.  Adams,  and  the  father  of  Herbert  C, 
married  Sejitember  25,  1856,  a  daughter  of 
Ebenezer  and  Sylvia  (Jennings)  Babcock.  By 
this  alliance  there  were  six  children;  namely, 
Willie,  Francis  Eugene,  Ardella,  Nellie  May, 
Herbert  C. ,  and  Margaret  Emeline.  Willie 
died  March  11,  1857;  F"rancis  K. ,  September 
2,  1861;  and  Margaret  E.,  May  28,  1870. 
Nellie  May  lives  with  her  brother,  Herbert 
C.  ;  and  Ardella  is  the  wife  of  John  R.  Dear- 
born, of  Belmont. 

Herbert  C.  Adams,  after  improving  his 
boyhood's  opjiortunities  for  acquiring  a  com- 
mon-school education,  went  to  work  in  the 
Belmont  Cotton  Mills,  where  he  was  employed 
for  ten  years.  He  subsequently  went  to  La- 
conia,  and  for  one  year  was  engaged  as  a  clerk 
in  O'Shea  Brothers'  store.  Mr.  Adams  has 
since  been  engaged  in  efficiently  discharging 
the  duties  of  station  agent  for  the  Boston  & 
Maine  Railroad  at  Belmont.  In  i8gi  he  also 
became  Town  Clerk,  which  position  he  has 
filled  acceptably  for  si.\  years,  being  now  in 
that  office. 

On  June  14,  1893,  he  married  Flossie  A. 
Moulton.  Her  father,  Edmund  S.  Moulton, 
was  formerly  a  resident  of  Whitefield,  N.H., 
but  removed  to  Belmont,  where  he  is  now  serv- 
ing on   the   School    Board.      Mr.    Adams   is   a 


member  of  the  United  Order  of  the  Golden 
Cross,  officiating  as  Financial  Secretary.  He 
is  connected  with  the  Christian  Baptist 
Church,  in  which  he  has  served  for  the  past 
six  years  as  superintendent  of  the  Sunday- 
school.  Personally,  he  is  a  deservedly  popu- 
lar young  man. 

YgTl-:NRY  E.  ]^RA\VN,  who  for  nearly 
r=Tl  forty  years  has  been  engaged  in  the 
J-^  V.^^  hardware  Inisiness  at  Lakeport,  Bel- 
knap County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  Moulton- 
boro,  Carroll  County,  this  State,  November 
20,  1828,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Kame)  Brawn.  His  great-grandfather  and 
grandmother  Brawn  removed  from  ]5erwick. 
Me.,  to  Moultonboro,  when  their  son  John 
was  six  years  of  age.  John  Brawn  was  an  in- 
dustrious farmer.  He  left  a  large  family  of 
enterprising  children. 

His  son  William,  the  father  of  Henry  E., 
was  also  a  native  of  Moultonboro,  where  he 
bought  land,  which  he  improved  into  a  farm. 
He  was  much  interested  in  educational  mat- 
ters, and  served  on  the  School  Comiiiittec. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Kanic,  of 
Moultonboro.  They  reared  ten  children,  of 
whom  Henry  E.  is  the  youngest.  Mr.  Will- 
iam Brawn  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years. 

Henry  E.  Brawn  attended  school  in  Moul- 
tonboro, Sandwich,  Centre  Harbor,  and  Gil- 
ford, N.H.  He  found  early  in  life  that  there 
is  no  royal  road  to  learning;  but,  ambitious 
and  brave,  he  was  willing  to  climb  steep  and 
rugged  pathways.  After  a  short  term  of 
school  in  his  own  district,  he  travelled  three 
miles  to  and  from  school,  through  snowstorms 
and  drifts,  to  attend  school  in  an  adjoining 
district;  anil  while  a  student  at  the  academy 
he  paid  for  his  board  at  a  farmhouse,  about  a 
mile  away,  by  working  on  the  farm  nights  and 
mornings.      Later   he  worked   on   his  father's 


246 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


farm  for  about  three  years,  teaching  school 
winters,  subsequently  going  to  Massachusetts, 
where  he  drove  a  pedler's  wagon  for  three 
years.  After  driving  a  team  two  years  more 
on  his  own  account,  he,  with  a  partner,  estab- 
lishetl  a  hardware  store  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  under 
the  style  of  Hrawn  &  Morrill,  which  they  suc- 
cessfully managed  for  three  years.  In  1858 
he  came  to  Lakeport,  where  he  continued  the 
same  enterprise  with  excellent  financial  re- 
sults. In  18S4  Mr.  Brawn  built  a  fine  block, 
which  is  his  present  jilace  of  business.  For 
a  time  he  engaged  in  furnishing  pedlers'  sup- 
plies. He  now  manufactures  general  hard- 
ware. In  the  spring  of  1894,  in  anticipation 
of  his  retirement  from  the  arena  of  business 
activity,  he  purchased  a  farm.  By  his  first 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Morrill,  and 
who  was  a  native  of  Gilford,  Mr.  Brawn  had 
three  children — a  daughter,  who  is  not  liv- 
ing, and  two  sons,  William  H.  and  Edwin  M., 
who  will  succeetl  their  father  in  business. 
For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Brawn  married  Miss 
Myde,  of  Lynn,  Mass.  Fraternally,  he  is 
identified  with  Granite  State  Lodge,  No.  r, 
I.  O.  G.  T.,  of  Lakeport,  which  he  joined  a 
number  of  years  ago ;  and  with  Chocorua 
Lodge,  No.  51,  I.  O.  O.  F".  In  religion  he 
affiliates  with  the  Unitarians,  and  in  politics 
with  the  Prohibition  party. 


'^RELMAN  G.  SMITH,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Gilford,  Belknaii  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  in  Sandwich,  Carroll 
County,  June  3,  1858,  and  is  a  son  of  George 
VV.  and  Mary  (Clifford)  Smith.  His  great- 
grandfather, Daniel  Smith,  came  to  New 
Hampshire  from  Massachusetts,  and  located  in 
the  west  part  of  the  town  of  Sandwich,  where 
he  took  up  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of 
wholly  wild  land,  and   with   untiring   patience 


cleared  it,  and  made  of  it  a  profitable  farm. 
He  married,  anil  had  a  family  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, some  of  whom  died  young.  He  lived  to 
a  good  old  age. 

One  of  his  sons,  Samuel  by  name,  remained 
on  the  homestead,  and  kept  up  the  original 
farm,  adding  to  it  somewhat.  He  married 
Mercy  Burleigh;  and  they  both  lived  to  be 
quite  aged,  he  being  eighty-two  and  she 
ninety  at  the  time  of  decease.  Their  children 
were  four  in  number — Hannah  B.,  George 
W.,  Benjamin  J.,  and  Daniel  B.  Benjamin  is 
a  blacksmith  and  wheelwright  in  Sandwich. 
He  is  married  and  has  one  child.  Daniel  B. 
is  a  prominent  farmer  of  Centre  Harbor,  is 
married,  and  has  two  children.  He  has  been 
Selectman  of  his  town,  and  has  held  various 
other  minor  ofifices. 

George  W.  Smith,  after  living  for  a  while 
on  the  old  Sandwich  homestead,  removed  to 
Laconia,  of  which  Gilford  was  originally  a 
part,  and  now  has  a  small  farm  of  his  own. 
He  has  been  a  prominent  man  of  affairs,  and 
was  for  years  a  leading  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist church,  being  Trustee  of  the  same.  He 
married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  William  Clif- 
ford, of  Weirs,  N.H.,  and  she  became  the 
mother  of  four  children:  Frederick  N.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  fourteen;  Freeman  G. ,  the 
subject  of  the  present  article;  Samuel  B. ;  and 
Carrie  G.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  W.  Smith 
are  both  living.  Their  son  Samuel  B.  is  an 
active,  enterprising  farmer  of  North  Sandwich. 
He  is  inarried,  and  has  two  children. 

Freeman  G.  Smith  was  born  on  the  home- 
stead in  Sandwich,  and  after  an  ordinary 
schooling  went  to  Brentwood,  and  worked  on 
a  farm.  When  he  was  twenty-three  years  of 
age  he  came  to  Gilford,  and,  buying  the  place 
known  as  the  Cotton  farm,  lived  there  for 
thirteen  years.  In  1894  he  purchased  the 
A.  C.  James  property  on  Cotton   Hill,    where 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


247 


he  is  at  present.  He  carries  on  a  first-class 
farm,  and  tDr  the  past  five  years  he  has  also 
taken  summer  boarders. 

Mr.  Smith  has  always  been  actively  inter- 
ested in  town  matters,  and  is  an  enthusiastic 
and  prominent  Republican.  He  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  last  three  Republican  State  Con- 
ventions, and  was  a  member  of  the  Manchester 
Convention,  which  sent  delegates  in  1S96  to 
the  National  Republican  Convention  at  St. 
Louis.  He  is  identified  with  several  fraternal 
organizations.  He  joined  the  Red  Mountain 
Lodge  of  Masons  in  Sandwich,  and  was  trans- 
ferred to  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge  of  Laconia. 
He  is  a  member  of  Granite  Lodge,  No.  3, 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen;  also  of 
Winnesquam  Colony,  No.  14,  U.  O.  P.  F., 
of  Laconia;  and  of  Mount  Belknap  Grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry,  of  Gilford.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  belong  to  the  People's  Christian 
Church  Society,  and  the  latter  is  a  member 
of  the  People's  Christian  Church.  It  should 
be  noted  as  greatly  to  Mr.  Smith's  credit 
that  he  is  a  strong  advocate  of  temperance 
and  an  ardent  worker  for  no  license. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  December  21,  1881, 
to  Emma  L.  Lewis,  daughter  of  Charles 
Henry  Lewis,  of  Townsend,  Mass.,  and  grand- 
daughter of  John  Lewis,  of  that  town.  Charles 
H.  Lewis  married  Mary  Gleason.  They 
had  six  children  —  Martha,  Fausie,  Harriet, 
Emma,  Jennie,  and  Maud.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Smith  have  no  children. 


OHN  P.  HUSSEY,  a  lumber  manufact- 
urer of  Gilmanton,  who  is  also  an  in- 
ventor and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War, 
was  born  in  this  town,  March  13,  1831,  son  of 
Reuben  and  Alice  (Perkins)  Hussey.  His 
grandfather,  Thomas  Hussey,  who  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers   in    Barrington,  N.H.,  and   a 


prosperous  farmer,  owned  a  tract  of  lantl  con- 
taining u|)wartl  of  two  huntlred  acres.  Tliomas 
was  the  father  of  si,\  children,  one  of  whom 
died  in  infancy.  The  others  were:  Thomas 
(second),  Joseph,  Reuben,  Martha,  and 
another  who  became  Mrs.  Lake.  Thomas 
(second)  attended  the  Gilmanton  Academy, 
and  became  a  schoolmaster.  He  taught  school 
in  the  winter  season  for  several  years,  anil, 
having  settletl  upon  a  farm  in  Barrington,  he 
tilled  the  soil  in  the  sutnmer.  l^'inally, 
he  abandoned  teaching,  and  devoted  his 
whole  attention  to  agriculture.  At  the  age  of 
eighty  years  he  was  capable  of  doing  an  ordi- 
nary man's  work,  and  when  ninety  years  old 
he  reaped  a  bushel  of  rye  in  a  day.  His  last 
days  were  spent  in  this  town.  He  was  tiie 
father  of  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  and  his 
second  son,  also  named  Thomas,  is  a  |)rofes- 
sional  educator.  Martha,  the  fourth  child  of 
the  first  Thomas,  became  Mrs.  Waterhouse. 
Her  husband  was  prominent  in  the  old  Whig 
party,  by  which  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  legislature;  and  he  also  serveil  in  various 
town  offices  in  Barrington.  Joseph  Hussey, 
who  was  a  lifelong  and  respected  resident  of 
Barrington,  and  belonged  to  the  Congrega- 
tional church,   left  one  child. 

Reuben  Hussey,  the  father  of  John  P.,  set- 
tled in  Gilmanton.  He  married  Alice  Per- 
kins, daughter  of  Paul  Perkins,  an  extensive 
farmer  of  Strafford,  N.ll.  Paul  Perkins  was 
one  of  the  leading  residents  of  Strafford, 
which  he  served  as  Selectman  and  legislative 
Representative.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reuben  Hus- 
sey were  the  parents  of  four  ciiililren;  namely, 
Sarah,  Lydia,  Richard,  and  John  P.  Sarah 
is  now  the  widow  of  Walter  B.  Drake;  Lydia, 
who  has  not  married,  resiiles  in  North  wood, 
N.  H.;  and  Richard  was  accidentally  shot 
while  young. 

John    P.    Hussey  acquired   a   gooil    practical 


248 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


education.  When  a  young  man  he  began  to 
learn  the  painter's  tratle.  As  the  occupation 
proved  to  be  injurious  to  his  health,  he  took 
up  shoemaliing  and  farming.  A  natural  apti- 
tude for  mechanical  pursuits,  as  remarkably 
manifested  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  when  he 
made  a  pair  of  ox  wheels,  soon  diverted  his 
attention  to  another  occupation.  In  1855  he 
began  to  manufacture  ploughs  upon  a  small 
scale,  with  tools  belonging  to  his  father.  At 
first  he  was  associated  with  a  partner,  who  was 
accidentally  drowned  in  1856.  A  year  later 
he  was  obliged  to  hire  two  assistants.  Invent- 
ing and  manufacturing  ploughs  have  since 
been  his  occupation.  In  1862  he  enlisted  as 
a  private  in  the  Fifteenth  Regiment,  New 
Hampshire  Volunteers,  for  nine  months'  ser- 
vice in  the  Civil  War.  Having  completed  his 
term,  he  returned  home,  and  next  day  began 
work  upon  the  series  of  ten  different  patterns 
of  ploughs  of  which  he  is  the  inventor.  In 
1878  these  inventions  culminated  in  what  is 
known  as  the  Star  Swivel  Plough,  which  for 
several  years  has  been  in  general  use,  and 
held  the  lead  throughout  the  New  England 
States.  This  plough,  which  has  a  reversible 
blade  that  saves  much  labor  in  handling,  has 
taken  sixty-three  field  premiums  at  different 
agricultural  fairs.  In  the  notable  contest, 
held  at  the  last  New  Hampshire  State  Fair 
in  Dover,  Mr.  Hussey  won  the  first  prize  by 
ploughing  one -eighth  of  an  acre  of  ground 
without  placing  his  hand  on  the  implement. 
He  manufactures  about  three  hundred  Star 
Swivel  ploughs  per  annum,  and  in  the  past 
eleven  years  his  sales  to  one  dealer  in  Port- 
land, Me.,  have  amounted  to  eighteen  thou- 
sand dollars.  Mr.  Hussey  is  also  the  in- 
ventor of  the  King  of  Valley  Water  Wheel. 
This  wheel,  which  presents  the  appearance  of 
one  solid  piece,  makes  two  hundred  revolu- 
tions  per   minute,    and    maintains  a   uniform 


pressure  at  every  point.  He  is  also  likewise 
interested  in  mill  business,  and  is  associated 
with  Klmcr  J.  Lord  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber. 

Mr.  Hussey  married  Olive  A.  F"oss, 
daughter  of  John  Foss,  who  is  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Gilmanton,  and  a  ship-carpenter  by 
trade.  Her  maternal  grandfather,  Isaac 
Clough,  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Gilmanton.  John  Foss  was  the  father  of  five 
children,  of  whom  Alvah  and  Mrs.  Hussey  are 
the  only  survivors.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hussey 
were  born  in  the  same  year,  were  classmates 
in  the  same  school,  and  attended  the  same 
church  and  Sunday-school.  An  attachment 
formed  in  childhood  ripened  into  a  stronger 
tie,  and  the  result  was  a  happy  marriage. 
They  have  since  known  affliction,  as  the  two 
children  born  to  them  have  been  taken  away. 
Alice  Mabel  died  at  the  age  of  two  years,  and 
their  son  Herbert  at  the  age  of  twenty-six.. 


KRY  S.  DAVIS,  of  Farmington,  a 
hoe  cutter  by  trade,  was  born  May 
22,  1849,  in  the  neighboring  town 
of  Durham,  son  of  Thomas  N.  and  Elizabeth 
C.  (Seaward)  Davis.  He  is  of  English  de- 
scent, and  a  grandson  of  Noah  Davis,  who  was 
a  soldier  of  the  War  of  1812,  and  a  lifelong 
resident  of  Lee,  N.  H. 

Thomas  N.  Davis,  born  in  1S13,  in  the 
town  of  Lee,  passed  the  larger  portion  of  his 
life  in  Strafford  County,  having  been  engaged 
in  farming  in  Lee,  Durham,  and  New  Durham. 
In  his  later  years  he  resided  at  New  Durham, 
where  he  died  in  i8go,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
seven.  On  August  20,  1862,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  Twelfth  Regiment  of  New 
Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry,  for  three  years' 
service  in  the  Civil  War;  receiving  his  dis- 
charge June  22,  1865.      He  participated  in  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


249 


battles  of  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville. 
In  the  latter  engagement  he  received  a  gunshot 
wound  in  the  head,  fracturing  his  skull,  and 
another  of  a  less  serious  character  in  the 
shoulder.  He  married  Elizabeth  C.  Seaward, 
who  bore  him  five  children,  four  of  whom  are 
living.  These  are:  Melissa,  the  wiilow  of 
George  H.  Hovey,  of  Woburn,  Mass.  ;  George 
F.,  of  Ellensburg,  Wash.;  Henry  S.  ;  and 
Alonzo  I.,  of  Farmington.  George  F.  served 
as  Corporal  in  the  war  in  the  same  company 
as  his  father,  and  participated  in  nearly  all 
the  battles  in  which  the  regiment  was 
engaged,  taking  active  part  as  sharpshooter 
during  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  Va.  He  was 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment  in  June,   1S65. 

Henry  S.  Davis  received  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  New  Durham  and  Farm- 
ington, which  he  attended  until  the  age  of 
seventeen.  He  then  learned  the  shoe  cutter's 
trade,  and  worked  at  it  for  several  years,  locat- 
ing in  P'armington  in  1873.  A  man  of  sterl- 
ing character,  energetic  and  determined,  he 
has  met  with  signal  success.  He  is  a  stanch 
Republican  in  politics,  and  for  four  years  he 
has  been  Town  Clerk. 

On  July  2,  1877,  Mr.  Davis  married  Miss 
Nellie  M.  Lucas,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Sarah  Lucas,  of  New  Durham.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Woodbine  Lodge,  No.  41,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
of  which  he  has  been  Secretary  for  the  past 
twelve  years;  of  Mad  River  Encampment, 
I.  O.  O.  F.;  of  Minnehaha  Rebecca  Lodge, 
No.  11;  and  of  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  11,  K. 
of  1'.  In  each  of  these  lodges  Mr.  Davis  is  an 
active  worker  and  a  past  officer,  much  of  their 
prosperity  being  due  to  his  efforts  while  serv- 
ing them  in  an  official  capacity.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  K.  of  P. ;  of 
the  Grand  Encampment  and  Grand  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  New  Hampshire;  and  for  the 
past  seven  years  he  has  served  on  the   Grand 


Lodge,  I.  O.  O.   F.,  Connnittee  on  Hy-laws  of 
Subordinates. 


ENRV     H.     TANNP:R,    a    wide-awake 
business  man  of  P'armington,  antl  one 

-^  V, ^  of  its  most  enterprising  ami   thrifty 

farmers,  was  born  July  8,  1840,  in  Sandwich, 
Carroll  County,  son  of  Joshua  W.  Tanner. 
He  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  John  Tanner, 
who,  having  come  from  England  some  time 
prior  to  the  Re\(duti()n,  served  in  that  ghiri- 
ous  struggle  as  master's  mate  on  three  differ- 
ent war  vessels,  and  was  at  one  time  captured 
by  the  British  and  imprisoned  at  Ilalila.x, 
N.  S.  After  the  independence  of  the  colonies 
had  been  established,  John  located  in  Roches- 
ter, this  county,  where  his  son,  John,  Jr.,  the 
grandfather  of  Henry  IL,  was  born  and  reared. 
Joshua  W.  Tanner,  who  was  born  here  July 
10,  1809,  grew  to  manhood  in  this  town. 
After  his  marriage  in  June,  183S,  he  removed 
to  Sandwich,  where  he  carried  on  general 
farming,  lumbering,  and  dairying  for  many 
years,  and  died  in  December,  1875.  His 
wife,  in  maidenhood  Miss  Sally  Ham,  was  born 
in  Farmington,  February  17,  1814,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Ham.  They  had  a  family  of  si.x 
children,  of  whom  Sarah  V..,  who  resides  in 
Farmington,  is  the  only  other  survivor. 

Henry  H.  Tanner  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  Sandwich,  completing  the  course  of 
study  in  the  common  and  high  schools.  On 
leaving  the  latter  in  August,  1862,  he  enlisted 
under  Captain  O.  II.  Marston  in  Company  K, 
I-'ourteenth  New  Hampshire  \'oIunteer  Infan- 
try, and  served  in  the  Civil  War  for  three 
years.  On  returning  home,  having  been  dis- 
abled in  the  army,  he  resumed  his  studies, 
entering  Eastman's  Commercial  College  at 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  V'.,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1867.  He  spent  the  ensuing  year  on 
the  parental   homestead  assisting   in   its  man- 


25° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


aj^cmciit.  In  1869  he  wont  to  Blooiiiington, 
111.,  where  he  accepted  a  i)osition  as  general 
travelling  agent  for  Dr.  C.  Wakefield  &  Co., 
his  territory  including  the  entire  State  of 
Iowa.  In  1873  he  again  returned  to  Sand- 
wich, but  did  not  make  a  long  stay,  as  in  1875 
he  travelled  through  the  West  as  salesman  for 
Woodburn,  Seebery  &  Co.,  of  Peoria,  111. 
He  subsequently  was  clerk  for  six  months  in 
the  St.  Nicholas  Hotel  at  Bloomington,  III. 
-After  that  he  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  se- 
cured a  situation  with  the  firm  of  Job  C.  West 
&  Co.,  for  whom  he  travelled  as  commercial 
salesman  and  advertising  agent  for  ten  years, 
visiting  the  principal  cities  and  towns  of  the 
West  and  South.  In  1885  he  came  to  Straf- 
ford County,  locating  in  Rochester  at  first, 
but  afterward  going  to  Milton,  where  he  lived 
for  a  year  with  Elder  Goodwin.  He  pur- 
chased the  farm  where  he  now  resides  in  1889, 
and  he  has  since  successfully  devoted  his  time 
to  its  improvement. 

On  May  24,  1876,  Mr.  Tanner  married  Miss 
Minnie  R.  McDonald,  of  Keyser  City,  W.  Va., 
who  died  in  Chicago,  January  5,  18S5,  leaving 
two  sons:  Ralph  C,  of  Farmington;  and  Lin- 
coln G.,  of  Milton.  In  politics  Mr.  Tanner 
is  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
party.  In  the  fall  of  1896  he  was  a  delegate 
to  the  State  Convention  at  Concord.  He  aids 
all  projects  calculated  to  advance  the  moral 
and  educational  interests  of  the  town.  He 
ably  served  the  town  for  three  years  as  Chair- 
man of  the  School  Board.  Prominent  among 
the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  he  belongs  to  the 
New  Hampshire  Grange,  in  which  he  was  for 
some  time  Outside  Gate-keeper.  He  was 
made  a  Free  Mason  in  Temple  Lodge,  of  Peo- 
ria, III.  ;  and  he  is  a  member  of  General  Smith 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  He  at- 
tends the  Baptist  church,  and  takes  great  inter- 
est in  the  religious  work  of  that  denomination. 


RS.  ELIZABETH  SCOBEY 
IIUSI-],  a  well-known  and  highly 
esteemed  resident  of  Barnstead, 
Belknap  County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  Frances- 
town,  N.H.,  September  23,  1816,  daughter  of 
William  and  Jane  (Dickey)  Scobey,  and  be- 
longs to  a  family  that  is  of  considerable  note 
in  New  Hampshire.  Her  great-grandfather 
Scobey  came  to  America  as  one  of  a  company 
of  Scotch-Irish  emigrants,  presumably  from 
the  North  of  Ireland,  and  settled  in  London- 
derry, N.  H.  He  brought  over  with  him  a 
considerable  sum  of  money.  Subsequently 
removing  to  Boston,  Mass.,  he  there  engaged 
in  trade  and  also  made  other  investments. 

His  son,  David  Scobey,  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Huse,  was  born  in  Boston,  from  which  city 
he  afterward  removed  to  Francestown,  N.  H., 
becoming  one  of  the  first  settlers.  He  pur- 
chased a  large  tract  of  land,  built  saw  and 
grist  mills,  and  carried  on  a  large  business. 
Active,  enterprising,  and  of  sound  judgment 
in  business  transactions,  he  soon  established 
himself  on  a  firm  financial  basis  and  attained 
a  high  degree  of  success,  becoming  one  of  the 
leading  men  in  that  part  of  the  State.  He 
was  a  liberal  contributor  to  various  public  and 
private  charities.  In  religion  he  was  a  Pres- 
byterian. He  married  a  Miss  McGregor,  of 
Derry,  N.H.,  like  himself  of  Scotch-Irish  de- 
scent, and  they  reared  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren, William,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Huse,  being 
the  youngest  son. 

William  Scobey  was  born  on  his  father's 
extensive  estate  in  P^ancestown,  N.  H.  He 
received  a  good  education,  and  was  favored  by 
nature  in  the  possession  of  a  fine  physique  and 
most  attractive  personality,  to  which  were 
added  a  large  and  generous  heart  ant!  genial 
manners.  He  was  one  of  the  most  popular 
young  men  of  his  locality  and  was  universally 
admired.      In    the    local    militia,    he    held    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


25' 


rank  of  Major  for  a  luinibcr  of  ^ears.  He  was 
Olio  of  the  largest  laiulhoklcrs  in  the  State  of 
New  I  himi)sliire,  his  fatiier,  while  still  living, 
having  put  him  into  possession  of  the  immense 
homestead  farm,  only  reserving  the  mainte- 
nance of  himself  and  wife  during  life.  A 
turn  in  the  tide  of  his  financial  prosperity  at 
length  compelled  William  Scobey  to  sell  his 
extensive  farm,  and  he  removed  to  Milford, 
N.  H.,  where  he  died  when  iijnvard  of  sixty 
years  of  age.  He  married  Jane  Dickey,  the 
daughter  of  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  they  had  a  family  of  four  children; 
namely,  Daviil,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  Addison. 

Uavid  Scobey  was  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth 
College  and  of  Andover  Theological  Seminary. 
He  had  intended  to  become  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel,  but,  being  prevented  by  an  affection 
of  the  throat,  he  accepted  the  position  of 
teacher  of  languages  in  the  Lowell,  Mass., 
High  School,  which  he  filled  acceptably  until 
his  decease,  which  took  place  in  Lowell  in 
1850,  when  he  was  thirty-three  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  profound  student  of  history  and  a 
ripe  scholar  in  all  departments  of  knowledge, 
and  his  death  was  the  result  of  brain  fever, 
brought  on  by  mental  over-work. 

Mary  Scobey,  who  also  was  a  teacher  in  the 
Lowell  schools,  died  in  that  city  about  three 
years  before  her  brother,  in  the  year  1847. 
Addison  Scobey,  who  was  a  carpenter  and 
builder  by  trade,  ujion  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  War  in  1S61  enlisted  in  a  New  Hamp- 
shire Regiment.  His  death,  which  took 
place  after  the  war,  was  the  result  of  hardships 
eniiured  in  military  service.  He  resided  in 
the  vicinity  of  Sutton,  N.  H. 

Mrs.  Jane  Dickey  Scobey,  mother  of  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  S.  Huse,  finding  at  her  husband's 
decease  that  she  and  her  family  were  entirely 
dependent  upon  their  own  efforts  for  support, 
offered    herself,     in    company     with     her     son 


David  and  daughter  Mary,  for  the  examina- 
tions held  in  Milford,  N.H.,  to  test  the  quali- 
fications of  ajiplicants  to  teach  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  town.  Mother  and  children 
passed  successfully,  and  at  one  period  all 
three  were  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  Milford 
schools.  Mrs.  Scobey  became  a  noted  teacher 
in  that  part  of  the  country.  She  was  a  woman 
of  brilliant  intellectual  endowments,  vivacious 
and  lively,  always  interested  in  current  topics, 
and  possessed  remarkable  energy  and  force  of 
character.  She  lived  to  be  eighty-six  years  of 
age,  and  preserved  her  mental  superiority  and 
her  peculiarly  erect  carriage  of  body  as  long  as 
she  lived.  In  her  the  spiritual  seemed  to 
dominate  the  material  even  to  the  end.  After 
her  husband's  decease,  and  consequent  upon 
the  offer  made  her  son  David  of  the  position 
in  the  Lowell  (Mass.)  High  School,  Mrs. 
Scobey  removed  with  her  family  to  that  city. 

Her  daughter  PZlizabeth  became  one  of  the 
pupils  of  the  Lowell  High  School  soon  after 
its  establishment,  and  while  Thomas  I\I. 
Clark,  afterward  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Rhode  Island  in  the  Protestant  I'',pisc()pal 
Church,  was  its  principal.  She  was  a  chuss- 
mate  of  the  afterward  famous  General  Benja- 
min F.  Butler.  After  her  graduation  she 
remained  for  some  time  at  h(jme.  When  about 
twenty-one  years  old,  she  was  married  to 
Thomas  M.  Huse,  a  native  of  Strafford,  Vt., 
but  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Lowell,  Mass. 
They  had  five  children —  Henry,  Jennie, 
David,  Mary  A.,  and  George. 

Thomas  M.  Huse,  who  was  by  trade  a  ma- 
chinist, in  course  of  time  became  the  second 
overseer  in  the  Lowell  Machine  Shop.  He 
subseiiuently  removed  to  Manchester,  N.H., 
and  for  some  eighteen  years  was  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  carding  section  of  an  inrnrpo- 
rated  stock  mill  in  that  city.  He  then  re- 
moved   with    his    family    to    Barnstead,    N.H. 


25* 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Together  with  his  son,  who  was  Captain,  in 
iS6i  he  enlisted  in  the  Eighth  New  Hamp- 
shire Volunteer  Infantry ;  but,  owing  to  sick- 
ness, he  was  obliged  tu  return  home,  and  was 
engaged  in  recruiting  men  for  the  Fifteenth 
New  Hampshire  Regiment,  being  made  First 
Lieutenant  of  Company  G.  So  popular  was 
he  among  the  men,  that  they  were  most  urgent 
that  he  should  return  to  the  seat  of  war  with 
them.  He  accordingly  acceded  to  their 
wishes. 

During  the  war.  Lieutenant  Thomas  M. 
Huse  was  at  one  time  in  charge  of  the  Sani- 
tary Commission  at  City  Point,  Va.  He 
came  home  in  1864  with  his  health  so  seri- 
ously impaired  that  he  found  himself  unable 
to  resume  his  former  occupation  ;  but  shortly 
afterward,  receiving  the  aijpointment  of  Post- 
master of  Barnstead,  he  held  that  office  for 
twenty  years,  until  his  death  in  i88i  at  the 
age  of  si.vty-seven  years,  being  noted  as  a 
faithful  and  courteous  official.  The  Grand 
Army  Post  of  Barnstead  bears  his  name.  Po- 
litically, he  was  a  stanch  Republican.  The 
possessor  of  a  fine  voice  and  excellent  ear  for 
music,  he  was  the  leader  of  the  choir  of  the 
Congregational  church  for  many  years.  He 
took  a  deep  interest  in  all  matters  relative  to 
the  public  welfare,  and  endeavored  faithfully 
to  perform  his  duty  as  a  citizen  and  neighbor. 
In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  it  was  his  fre- 
quent practice  to  visit  and  care  for  the  sick 
and  suffering  members  of  the  community;  and 
he  devoted  entire  days  to  these  beneficent 
purposes,  for  which  his  name  will  long  be 
held  in  affectionate  remembrance.  He  and 
his  wife  e.xercised  great  care  in  the  education 
of  their  children,  a  short  account  of  whom  fol- 
lows. 

Henry  Huse,  the  eldest  son,  after  being 
graduated  from  the  Lowell  High  School,  en- 
gaged in  the  study  of  law  in   Pittsfield,  N.  H. 


When  the  war  broke  out,  he  recruited  a  num- 
ber of  men,  and  enlisted  December  20,  1861, 
being  ajjpointed  Captain  of  Company  G,  Eighth 

Regiment  of  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. He  was  the  youngest  captain  among 
the  New  Hampshire  troops  in  the  service. 
After  two  years  in  the  most  malarial  district 
of  Louisiana,  he  was  obliged  to  resign  his 
commission,  and  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge from  the  service.  The  ]3receding  July, 
he  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  a  Major 
for  his  "gallant  and  meritorious  conduct" 
during  the  protracted  siege  of  Port  Hudson. 
Upon  his  return  home,  he  resumed  his  legal 
studies,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began 
the  practice  of  law  in  company  with  the  Hon. 
Lewis  W.  Clark.  Subsequently,  retiring 
from  this  connection,  he  associated  himself 
with  the  Hon.  J.  F.  Briggs  in  the  e.xercise  of 
his  chosen  profession. 

Inheriting  from  his  father  a  high  degree  of 
musical  taste  and  a  fine  rich  voice,  he  was 
leader  at  different  times  of  the  choirs  of  the  va- 
rious churches  of  Manchester,  N.H.  In  1S82 
Henry  Huse  received  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts  from  Dartmouth  College.  He  was  ap- 
pointed Insurance  Commissioner  for  the  State 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  held  it  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  his  fifty-second 
year.  He  was  chosen  Chairman  of  the  State 
Republican  Committee  for  several  years.  He 
represented  the  city  of  Manchester  in  the 
legislature  for  several  terms,  and  in  1879  was 
elected  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  clearest 
and  most  forcible  speakers  that  ever  addressed 
that  body.  His  wife,  whose  name  before  mar- 
riage was  Irene  Poole,  became  the  mother  of 
four  children. 

Jennie  Huse,  the  elder  daughter  of  Thomas 
M.  and  Elizabeth  S.  Huse,  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  Lowell,    Mass.,    and  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


^53 


Manchester,  N.  II.  When  only  fifteen  years 
of  age,  she  began  teaching  in  liarnstead,  N.  H. 
She  is  at  the  present  time  residing  at  home 
with  her  mother. 

David  Husc,  the  second  son,  on  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  Civil  War,  enlisted  at  the  early 
age  of  seventeen  years.  His  short  life  was 
given  to  his  beloved  country.  He  served  with 
the  Union  forces  at  the  battle  of  l^all's  Bluff 
and  in  the  whole  campaign  along  the  Potomac 
River.  At  length  he  was  taken  sick  with  ty- 
phoid fever,  from  long  residence  in  that  ma- 
larial district;  and  while  in  the  hospital,  upon 
one  occasion,  when  President  Lincoln  was 
making  one  of  his  visits  to  the  sick  soldiers, 
he  was  introduced  as  the  "sickest  soldier  that 
was  ever  carried  into  a  hospital  and  lived." 
At  the  advice  of  the  President,  he  accej^ted  his 
discharge  and  returned  home.  His  health  im- 
proving, he  re-enlisted,  against  his  mother's 
desire,  in  the  regiment  of  his  father,  the  I"if- 
teenth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers.  He  was 
ordered  to  New  Orleans,  and  remained  there 
nine  months.  He  was  present  all  through  the 
long  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  and  at  the  storm- 
ing was  one  of  the  first  to  scale  the  walls. 
He  died   in  the  hospital  at   Mound   City,  111. 

Mary,  the  younger  daughter,  began  teach- 
ing school  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen,  and 
pursued  that  occupation  for  many  years,  and  in 
various  parts  of  the  United  States — New 
York,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  in  other  lo- 
calities. After  she  had  taught  for  a  few 
years,  feeling  the  need  of  a  more  thorough 
education,  she  resumed  her  studies,  and  was 
subsequently  graduated  at  the  New  Hampton, 
N.H.,  Institute.  She  then  went  to  the  State 
of  Wisconsin  and  resumed  teaching.  After 
having  been  thus  occupied  for  twenty  years, 
she  married  Polder  Harmon,  the  pastor  settled 
over  the  P^ee  Baptist  church  of  Meredith, 
N.  H.,    continuing    to  teach    all    through     the 


period  of  his  ministry.  U]ion  her  husband's 
death,  having  no  children,  she  decided  to  de- 
vote her  life  to  foreign  missionary  work.  She 
was  first  sent  out  to  the  British  Past  Indies, 
where  she  soon  acquired  such  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  Hindoostance  tongue  that 
she  was  enabled  to  translate  the  I'"our  Gospels 
into  that  language.  She  was  afterward  trans- 
ferred to  the  mission  station  at  the  Barhadocs, 
and  from  thence  to  Georgetown  in  British 
Guiana,  where  she  is  at  present,  busily  pur 
suing  the  study  of  the  native  tongue  ami  al- 
ready imparting  it  to  others.  Her  entire  term 
of  service  in  the  cause  of  education  extends 
over  a  period  of  thirty-two  years. 

George  Huse,  the  third  son  and  youngest  of 
the  five  children,  was  appointed  Postmaster  of 
Barnstead  immediately  after  his  fatlier's  de- 
cease, but  subsequently  engaged  in  trade  in  the 
same  town.  Later  on  he  went  into  the  hotel 
business  in  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  where  he  at  pres- 
ent owns  and  runs  a  very  large  hotel,  the  only 
one  in  the  place. 


tNEZ  H.  FORD,  M.D.,  who  occupies 
an  assured  position  among  tine  skilled 
and  successful  physicians  of  Strafford 
County,  is  pleasantly  located  in  Dover,  where 
she  has  a  large  and  rapidly  increasing  practice. 
A  typical  New  I^ngland  woman,  fully  en- 
dowed with  the  mental  ability  and  force  of 
character  that  mark  the  true  son  or  daughter 
of  this  corner  of  the  United  States,  she  early 
resolved  to  devote  her  future  to  the  science  of 
medicine,  a  profession  into  which  at  that  time, 
though  but  a  few  years  ago,  comparatively  few 
of  her  sex  had  ventured.  She  was  born  July 
24,  1864,  in  the  town  of  Orford,  N.  H.,  a 
daughter  of  Edward  and  Harriet  Gould  I''oid. 
She  was  there  reared  to  young  womanhood, 
and  in  the  common  schools  of  the  hillside  town 


254 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


laid  a  substantial  foundation  for  her  future 
knowledge.  She  suhsec|uently  prepared  for 
college  in  the  academy  at  l^radford,  Vt. ,  and 
in  Mount  Holyokc  College  at  South  Hadley, 
Mass.  After  spending  three  years  in  close 
ajiplication  to  her  liooks  in  the  latter  institu- 
tion, Miss  I'^ord  entered  the  Woman's  Medi- 
cal College  at  Philadeli>hia,  Pa.,  from  which 
she  was  graduated  in  1X90.  The  ensuing 
year  Dr.  Ford  served  as  Interne  in  the  Phila- 
delphia Hospital  for  Women,  and  was  after- 
ward employed  for  a  few  months  as  a  substitute 
in  the  hospital  for  the  in.sane  at  Ilarrisburg, 
her  practice  in  these  institutions  being  of 
great  value  to  her  in  many  respects.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1S92,  the  doctor  returned  to  her  native 
State,  and  coming  to  this  county  located  in 
Dover,  where  she  has  built  up  an  extensive 
practice  among  the  leading  people  of  this  city, 
her  professional  skill,  knowledge,  and  courtesy 
winning  for  her  the  confidence  and  good  will 
of  all  with  whom  she  is  brought  in  contact, 
be  it  in  a  business  or  social  way.  In  attain- 
ing her  jiresent  position  in  the  medical  frater- 
nity, Dr.  I'ord  has  labored  faithfully  and  con- 
scientiously, and  is  eminently  worthy  of  the 
success  which  has  greeted  her  efforts. 


(IIARLES  J.  PIKE,  the  efficient 
foreman  of  the  Crane  Manufacturing 
Company  in  Lakeport,  Belknap 
County,  N.  H.,  was  born  in  Franklin,  this 
State,  January  18,  1842,  son  of  Samuel  and 
Hannah  (Wells)  Pike. 

His  grandfather,  James  Pike,  was  born  De- 
cember 13,  1752,  and  became  one  of  the  early 
settlers  in  Franklin,  N.  H.,  where  he  owned  a 
farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  which  he  success- 
fully managed.  During  the  Revolutionary 
War,  he  voluntarily  laid  down  his  hoe  for  a 
musket  in  behalf  of  his   country.      He  married 


Alice  George,  anti  had  twelve  children; 
namely,  Plannah,  Rebecca,  Alice,  Simeon, 
James,  Sally,  Stephen,  Hugh,  Samuel,  Lydia, 
Polly,  and  Riifus.  Mrs.  Alice  G.  Pike  was 
born  January  18,  1756,  and  died  October  8, 
1837.  She  was  survived  but  a  few  weeks  by 
her  husband,  James  Pike,  who  died  November 
30,   1837. 

Their  son,  Samuel  Pike,  the  father  of 
Charles  J.,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead  in 
PVanklin,  November  30,  1795.  He  acquired 
a  good  education  and  brought  his  scientific 
knowledge  to  bear  on  the  old  home  farm,  on 
which  he  remained  until  his  death  on  Febru- 
ary 24,  1867.  He  was  a  Major  in  the  State 
militia. 

Samuel  Pike  was  three  times  married.  His 
first  matrimonial  alliance  was  formed  with 
Betsy  Brown,  who  was  born  February  20, 
1787,  and  was  the  mother  of  five  children  — 
Lydia,  Almira,  Mary  S.,  Samuel  G.,  and 
Washington  ¥.  She  died  October  2,  1836. 
His  second  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Hannah  Wells,  died  February  22,  1843,  hav- 
ing been  the  mother  of  five  children  —  Han- 
nah, Augusta  H.  E.,  John  H.,  Charles  J.,  and 
Polly.  By  his  third  marriage,  with  Polly 
Clark,  there  were  three  children  —  Betsy  A., 
David  W.,  and  Clara  B. 

Charles  J.  Pike,  the  fourth  son  as  named 
above,  acquired  a  common-school  education  in 
his  native  town,  and  remained  on  the  home 
acres  until  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  On 
August  13,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company 
E,  Tenth  Regiment  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teers; and  after  serving  until  August,  1863, 
he  was  detailed  as  a  fifer  in  the  drum  corps, 
which  position  he  held  until  March,  1864. 
He  was  in  five  or  six  important  engagements, 
as  follows:  Orleans,  November  5,  1862; 
Waterloo,  November  10,  1862;  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  November  15,   1862;   Fredericksburg, 


^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


257 


December  13,  1S62;  siege  of  Suffolk,  hegiii- 
niiig  April  10,  1863;  Hills  I'oint,  April  18, 
1863,  all  in  \'irginia.  For  fifteen  months 
previous  to  liis  discharge,  June  12,  1865,  he 
was  in  the  Hampton  Hospital  at  Fortress  Mon- 
roe, Va.  On  entering  the  hosjiital  he  was  a 
patient  for  about  three  months,  afterward 
being  detailed  as  nurse,  as  assistant  ward  mas- 
ter, ward  master,  and  as  acting  hospital 
steward. 

Returning  to  Franklin  in  July,  1865,  Mr. 
Pike  entered  the  machine  shop  of  Walter 
Aiken,  and  there  learned  the  machinist's 
trade.  In  the  fall  of  1866  he  came  to  Lake- 
port,  where  he  was  employed  in  15.  J.  Cole's 
machine  shop  imtil  June,  1S67.  For  a  short 
time  thereafter  he  was  in  the  Pacific  Mills  in 
Lawrence,  Mass.  ;  but  he  subsequently  returned 
to  Mr.  Cole's  shop,  being  engaged  there  until 
1S72.  He  then  formed^  a  copartnership  with 
Eben  F.  Woodman,  under  the  style  of  Wood- 
man &  Pike  in  Lakeport,  where  they  engaged 
in  tlie  manufacture  of  light  machinery.  In 
1872  Mr.  W.  L.  Chase  was  admitted  to  part- 
nership, the  firm  name  becoming  W.  L.  Chase 
&  Co.  They  occupied  a  flourishing  plant  in 
New  York  at  93,  95,  and  97  Liberty  Street,  and 
also  leased  a  factory  in  Newark,  N.J.  Four- 
teen months  later  Mr.  Pike  sold  out  to  his 
partners,  taking  the  contracts  to  build  ma- 
chines, continuing  the  enterprise  until  1881. 
F"or  nearly  a  year  afterward  he  officiated  as 
foreman  in  the  salesroom  of  W.  L.  Chase  & 
Co.,  his  recent  partners,  in  New  York.  Dur- 
ing that  time  he  conducted  a  private  swimming 
bath,  which  he  sold  in  March,  1882.  In 
April  he  returned  to  Lakeport;  and  on  June 
6,  1S82,  he  entered  the  machine  shop  of  J.  S. 
Crane  &  Co.,  where  he  began  experimenting 
on  Charles  Young's  Knitting  Machine,  which 
he  continued  for  about  si.x  months.  Afterward 
he    assembled    and    tested    knitting    machines 


until    Jaiuiar)',     1 89(:i,    when    he    was   appointed 
foreman,  which  position  he  still  retains. 

On  December  30,  1865,  Mr.  Pike  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary,  a  daughter  fif 
Horace  Carlisle,  of  Hartford,  Vt.  The  mar- 
riage was  solemnized  at  White  River  V'illage 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ray.  Mr.  Carlisle  was  a 
farmer,  and  for  several  years  a  hotel  projirie- 
tor  in  Ouechee,  Vt.  He  married  Lucinda 
Morse,  and  had  four  children,  of  whom  Mrs. 
Pike  is  the  eldest.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pike  have 
one  daughter,  Emma  Fva  Pike,  who  was  grad- 
uated from  Tilton  Seminary  in  the  class  of 
1887.  Miss  Pike  has  decided  musical  ability, 
and  plays  the  organ  in  church,  besides  teaching 
music.  She  often  plays  as  an  accompanist 
here  and  in  surrounding  towns.  Miss  Pike 
has  studied  vocalization  with  Professor  Dick- 
inson, of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. 

In  politics  Mr.  Pike  is  a  loyal  Republican, 
but  he  refuses  to  hold  any  civic  offices.  Fra- 
ternally, he  is  a  charter  member  of  Chocorua 
Lodge,  No.  51,  I.  0.  O.  F. ,  of  which  he  was 
the  finst  presiding  officer.  He  has  passed  all 
the  chairs,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  Hampshire.  He  is  a  Past 
Chief  Patriarch  of  Laconia  Encampment  No. 
9.  Religiously,  he  affiliates  with  the  Free 
Baptists,  having  joined  that  church  in  June, 
1867.  While  in  Newark,  N.J.,  he  served  as 
assistant  I^ible  class  teacher,  also  as  teacher 
in  the  Sunday-school  for  four  years. 


EDGAR  McDUFFEE.  The  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Rochester, 
N.  H.,  September  8,  1863,  he  being  a 
son  of  P'ranklin  and  Mary  Frances  (Hayes) 
McDuffee,  and  descended  from  old  and  influ- 
ential families.  He  attended  the  local  public 
schools,  and  was  for  a  few  months  a  special 
student     at     the     well-known     Chauncy     Hall 


^S8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Schodl  in  l?<)stiin.  At  the  ngc  of  sixteen,  he 
entered  the  Chnn(]ler  Scientific  Department  at 
Dartmouth  College,  where  he  rcniained  for 
two  years. 

From  childhood  he  showed  unmistakable 
evidence  of  a  natural  love  and  gift  for  music, 
and  at  the  age  of  eight  he  began  the  study  of 
the  pianoforte.  Mis  first  teacher  was  his 
cousin,  Mary  V.  Whitehouse.  Lessons  by 
other  local  teachers  followed,  and  for  a  consid- 
erable time  he  was  under  the  instruction  of 
James  W.  Hill,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.  He  also 
pursued  the  study  of  harmony  with  the  late 
.Stephen  A.  I'2mery,  of  Boston.  Without 
underestimating  the  work  of  teachers,  much  of 
his  knowledge  and  development  is  the  result  of 
personal  investigation  and  the  comparison  of 
methods  of  the  great  musical  artists.  He  has 
improved  every  opportunity  of  listening  to  the 
best  of  music  of  every  form  and  department, 
his  experiences  in  this  country  being  supple 
mented  by  a  six  months'  tour  abroad,  during 
which  he  heard  many  of  the  great  organs  and 
organists,  singers  and  players,  of  Europe. 

For  fourteen  years  Mr.  McDuffee  has  taught 
jManoforte  playing,  and  pupils  come  from 
many  adjacent  towns  to  his  studio  in  Roches- 
ter. For  six  years  he  has  been  organist  at  the 
First  Congregational  Church  of  Rochester, 
and  is  director  of  its  choir.  He  also  receives 
pupils  in  organ  and  harmony. 

Mr.  McDuffee's  chief  ambition,  however,  is 
in  the  line  of  com])osition.  A  rhapsodic  for 
the  pianoforte,  a  brilliant  concert  piece,  has 
met  a  large  sale.  Its  publishers,  the  White- 
Smith  Company,  of  Boston,  have  also  issued 
several  songs  written  by  Mr.  McDuffee,  and 
the  Miles  &  Thompson  firm,  of  the  same  city, 
have  published  others.  These  productions 
have  met  with  marked  favor,  and  have  been 
complimentarily  reviewed  by  various  critics. 
They    are    characterized     by    classic     feeling. 


thorough  originality,  and  a  happy  fitness  of 
music  to  words.  Many  songs,  part-songs, 
piano  and  organ  pieces  that  still  remain  in 
manuscript  are  highly  spoken  of  by  those  who 
have  heard  them  publicly  performed..  Some 
of  these  only  wait  the  composer's  final  touches 
in  editing,  to  be  brought  out  in  print. 

Mr.  McDuffee  chose  music  as  a  profession 
from  a  pure  love  of  the  art,  and  has  pursued  it 
on  that  line,  aiding  in  nearly  every  important 
musical  event  in  his  vicinity.  His  influence 
in  musical  matters  has  always  been  exerted  to 
the  utmost  for  the  upbuilding  of  a  true  taste 
for  that  which  is  highest  and  best.  Through- 
out the  State  his  name  is  familiar  to  musi- 
cians. He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  is  an 
honorary  member  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Music  Teachers'  Association,  in  which  he  has 
held,  at  different  times,  the  offices  of  vice- 
president,  secretary,  and  acting  treasurer,  and 
on  the  programme  committee  has  given  the  so- 
ciety the  benefit  of  his  extended  knowledge  of 
musical  literature. 

In  other  than  musical  lines  Mr.  McDuffee 
is  influential.  He  has  social  and  literary 
prominence.  As  dramatic  and  musical  critic, 
his  opinions  published  in  the  Rochester 
Conriej;  of  whose  editorial  staff  he  is  a  mem- 
ber, and  in  other  papers,  carry  weight,  while 
his  articles  of  travel  at  home  and  abroad  are 
widely  read.  Frankness  and  facility  distin- 
guish his  style  as  a  writer.  He  has  been  the 
executive  member  of  the  ]5oard  of  Trustees  of 
the  Rochester  Public  Library  from  its  organ- 
ization, and  he  holds  office  in  various  literary 
and  social  clubs  in  his  own  city  and  elsewhere. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  still  a  young 
man,  and  much  may  be  expected  from  him. 
So  high  an  authority  as  Mr.  H.  G.  Blaisdell, 
of  Concord,  N.  H.,  concludes  an  appreciative 
article  on  Mr.  McDuffee,  published  some  time 
ago   in  the  Gianitc  Motithly,  in   the   following 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


259 


terms:  "A  man  we  hope  to  hear  more  from  in 
tlie  fiitnio.  He  is  especially  blessed,  as  he 
has  every  means  to  gratify  his  wishes;  and, 
while  he  leads  a  quiet  life  in  his  native  town, 
vet  we  jiredict  his  work  will  be  closely  identi- 
fied with  the  musical  history  of  our  State,  and 
when  called  to  final  account  we  trust  he  will 
hear,  'Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,' 
for  making  so  much  of  a  divine  talent  so 
lovingly  bestowed  by  the  Giver  of  all  good." 


(sTVMASA  ALLEN,  a  prosperous  agricult- 
ls«  urist,  and  one  of  the  oldest  residents 
-^  '*V._  of  Rochester,  was  born  in  1820  on 
the  homestead  where  he  now  resides,  son  of 
William  and  Sarah  (Nutc)  Allen.  He  comes 
of  substantial  English  stock,  and  is  the  lineal 
descendant  of  a  pioneer  family  of  this  town. 
His  great-great-grandfather,  John  Allen,  was 
the  original  owner  of  the  homestead  property, 
on  which  he  settled  in  Colonial  days.  John's 
son  William  was  the  father  of  Major  Samuel 
Allen,  who  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

William  Allen  continued  the  improvements 
already  begun  on  the  homestead,  each  year 
clearing  a  few  acres,  and  carried  on  mixed 
husbandry  after  the  fashion  of  his  time.  In- 
heriting the  patriotic  spirit  of  his  ancestors, 
he  served  in  the  War  of  1S12  as  quarter- 
master. His  house  was  used  as  a  sort  of  fort 
by  the  people  of  this  vicinity,  seventy-two 
persons  having  therein  received  protection 
from  the  Indians  during  one  winter.  By  his 
wife,  Sarah,  who  was  a  native  of  Milton,  he 
became  the  father  of  eight  children,  of  whom 
Levi  W.,  the  occupant  of  a  farm  adjoining 
the  old  homestead,  is  the  only  other  sur- 
vivor. He  was  a  Whig  in  politics,  but  he 
never   filled  a  public  office. 

Amasa  Allen   obtained  his  school   education 


in  Rochester.      On  the  home  farm  he  acquired 

a  practical  knowledge  of  agriculture.  After 
following  shoemaking  for  some  3'ears  he  aban- 
doned that  business,  and  has  since  devoted 
himself  to  general  farming,  including  lumber- 
ing, stock-raising,  and  dairying,  having  the 
assistance  of  his  son,  John  II.,  who  resides 
with  him.  He  raises  some  fruit.  The  farm 
contains  about  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  all 
of  which  is  in  Rochester.  Besides  three 
horses  and  a  few  sheep  there  is  a  handsome 
dairy  of  twenty-six  fine  milch  cows,  which 
add  materially  to  the  proprietor's  income.  In 
politics  Mr.  Allen  is  a  Republican.  With 
the  exception  of  the  -Surveyorship,  which  he 
filled  for  a  few  terms,  he  has  not  held  any 
public  office.  For  the  past  ten  years  he  has 
been  Deacon  of  the  Walnut  Grove  Free  Will 
Baptist  Church. 

The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Allen,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Clarrisa  Roberts,  died  about  sixteen 
months  after  the  marriage,  leaving  no  chil- 
dren. In  January,  185 1,  he  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  Blaisdel,  of  Milton,  who  lore  him 
four  children.  These  were:  Charles  W. ,  f)f 
whom  a  brief  sketch  may  be  found  elsewhere 
in  this  volume;  Clara  A.,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Charles  II.  Seavey,  and  died  A|>ril  19, 
1894;  Martha  E.,  now  the  wife  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  of  Rochester;  and  John  A.,  who 
lives  on  the  home  farm. 


"ON.  MARTIN  ALONZO  HAYN1':S, 
of  Lakeport,  Belknap  County,  is  one 
of  the  foremost  citizens  of  the 
Granite  State,  having  won  an  enviable  rejaut;!- 
tion  as  a  soldier,  a  journalist  and  a  Congress- 
man. He  was  born  in  .Sjiringfield,  .Sulliv.in 
County,  N.IL,  July  30,  1842,  a  son  of 
Elbridgc  Gerry  and  Caroline  (Knowlton) 
Haynes,    and   is  of  the  eighth   generation   in 


26o 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


descent  from  Samuel  Hayncs,  who  came  from 
Sliropshire,  I'jiglaiKl,  to  this  country  in  1635. 
A  passenger  in  the  ship  "Angel  Gabriel," 
Samuel  Ilayncs  was  wrecked  at  Pemaquid 
(now  Ikistol,  Me.),  in  the  great  hurricane  of 
August  15,  1635.  In  1650  he  settled  in 
what  is  now  Greenland,  N.IL,  then  a  part  of 
Portsmouth,  and  in  165 1  and  later  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  of  that 
place,  also  holding  other  offices  of  trust.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church  of  Portsmouth,  which  was 
gathered  in  1670,  and  was  Deacon  of  the  same 
for  a  number  of  years.  His  posterity  lived  in 
Greenland,  N.H.,  until  two  generations  ago. 

Brave  and  active,  the  Haynes  family  have 
been  prominent  in  war  and  peace.  The  great- 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  a  ranger,  fighting  in  the  French  and  In- 
dian War;  and  his  great-grandfather  was  a 
Revolutionary  soldier.  His  grandfather  also, 
James  Haynes,  who  was  born  in  Allenstown, 
N.ll.,  was  in  the  United  States  army,  being 
enrolled  as  a  drummer  during  the  War  of 
1 81 2.  James  Haynes  was  a  farmer,  residing 
during  his  later  years  in  Newbury,  N.H.  He 
married  Sally,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Clark,  of  Epsom,  N.H.,  and  reared  a  family 
of  seven,  two  daughters  and  five  sons.  El- 
bridge  G.  being  the  eldest. 

Elbridge  Gerry  Haynes  was  born  in  Epsom, 
N.H.,  his  parents  removing  at  an  early  day  to 
Newbury,  N.H.  During  the  years  of  his 
mature  manhood  he  worked  as  a  stone  mason  in 
Manchester,  this  State,  where  he  was  one  of 
the  prominent  and  highly  respected  citizens. 
He  served  on  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  the 
city,  and  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate.  In 
religious  belief  he  was  a  Universalist.  He 
died  in  Manchester,  at  the  age  of  sixty -five. 
His  widow,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Nathaniel 
Knowlton,  of   Sutton,  N.H.,    is   now   seventy- 


four  years  of  age.  F"our  children  were  born  to 
them,  only  two  of  whom,  a  son  and  a  daugli- 
tcr,  are  living,  Martin  A.  being  the  elder. 

Martin  Alonzo  Haynes  was  four  years  old 
when  his  parents  became  residents  of  Man- 
chester, and  in  that  city  he  was  educated, 
graduating  from  the  high  school  at  the  age  of 
seventeen.  After  leaving  school  he  started  to 
learn  the  printer's  trade,  but  his  apprentice- 
ship was  cut  short  by  President  Lincoln's  call 
for  volunteers  in  1861.  Though  only  eigh- 
teen years  of  age  at  the  time,  Mr.  Haynes 
enlisted,  and  was  mustered  into  the  Abbott 
Guard,  the  first  company  to  enter  the  camp  of 
the  First  Regiment  at  Concord.  This  com- 
pany was  transferred  before  leaving  the  State 
to  the  Second  Regiment,  in  which  it  was  in- 
corporated as  Company  I,  enrolled  for  three 
years.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  regiment 
at  Washington,  Mr.  Haynes  was  appointed 
Commissary's  Clerk ;  but  he  was  an.xious  for 
active  service,  and  when  the  first  advance  was 
made  into  Virginia,  learning  that  the  duties 
of  his-  position  were  liable  to  keep  him  in 
camp,  he  resigned  in  disgust,  demanded  his 
musket,  and  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  of  the 
company.  Serving  as  a  private  soldier  for 
three  years,  he  participated  in  every  engage- 
ment of  the  regiment,  from  Bull  Run  to  Cold 
Harbor,  never  losing  a  day  from  duty,  and 
never  answering  to  "surgeon's  call,"  though 
he  was  wounded  three  times.  At  the  first 
Bull  Run,  late  in  the  day,  while  defending  the 
sunken  road  near  the  Henry  House,  he  was 
slightly  injured  in  the  neck;  at  Glendale  he 
received  a  severe  contusion  from  a  spent  ball; 
and  at  the  Second  Bull  Run,  at  the  famous 
bayonet  charge  of  Grover's  Brigade,  when  the 
Second  Regiment  broke  the  two  rebel  lines  of 
battle,  he  received  a  savage  blow  in  the  face, 
and  bled  profusely;  but  he  maintained  his 
stand,  and  it  was  he  that  carried  from  the  field 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  wounded  Lieutenant  Rogers,  who  died  in 
his  arms.  In  tlie  famous  "peach  orchard"  of 
Gettyshurg,  wliere  out  of  thix'c  h\ni(h"ed  and 
fifty-four  of  his  comrades  engaged,  one  liun- 
(hx'd  and  ninety-three  were  killed  or  wounded, 
tlie  three  men  nearest  Mr.  Haynes  were 
struck  by  fragments  of  one  shell,  hut  he  was 
unharmed.  Me  was  offered  a  commission,  but 
declined.  Discharged  in  June,  1S64,  he  re- 
turned to  Manchester,  and  was  employed  for 
some  time  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Daily 
Mirror  and  the  Daily  Union.  Resigning  this 
position  to  accept  that  of  clerk  and  ]iaymaster 
of  the  Rockingham  Mills  at  Portsmouth,  he 
remained  there  about  a  year,  until  the  sus- 
pension of  the  mills.  In  January,  1S68,  he 
returned  to  journalism,  founding,  with  Benja- 
min F.  Stanton,  The  Lake  Village  Tinics,  of 
which  three  years  later  he  became  sole  pro- 
prietor. In  the  meantime  public  duties  of 
increasing  responsibility  were  being  crowded 
upon  him,  and  in  1888  he  left  the  editorial 
chair  of  the  Times.  Mr.  Haynes  is  the  author 
of  "The  History  of  the  Second  Regiment," 
copies  of  which  are  now  eagerly  sought  for. 

One  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  Republican 
party  in  his  native  State,  he  was  elected  from 
the  town  of  Gilford  to  the  New  Hampshire 
legislature  in  1872,  and  served  two  years,  the 
first  year  presiding  as  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Fisheries,  and  the  second  year  as 
Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee.  Dur- 
ing Governor  I'rescott's  administration  he  was 
aide-de-camp  on  his  staff,  with  the  rank  of 
Colonel.  In  1876  he  was  appointed  Clerk  of 
the  Circuit  Court  and  the  Superior  Court  of 
Judicature  for  Belknap  County,  and  was  in 
office  until  1883,  when  he  resigned  to  take  a 
seat  in  the  National  Congress.  In  the  fall 
election  of  1882  his  old  comrades  in  arms 
brought  his  name  forward  as  nominee  from 
the  First  New  Hampshire  District,  and  after 


a  canvass  memorable  in  the  history  of  New 
Hampshire  politics  he  was  nominated  in  the 
convention  at  Dover,  and  was  elected  in  No- 
vemlier  by  an  unprecedented  ]iluralily  of  nearly 
three  thousand,  eight  liundreil.  In  1S84  he 
was  renominated  for  Congress  i)y  acclamation 
at  the  Wolfboro  convention,  his  opponent 
being  the  Rev.  L.  V .  McKinney,  one  of  llu' 
ablest  and  most  popular  men  of  his  party  in 
the  State;  and  Mr.  Haynes  received  nearly 
twenty-five  hundred  plurality.  In  both  elec- 
tions he  went  far  ahead  of  his  ticket,  receiv- 
ing hundreds  of  Democratic  votes.  While  in 
Congress  he  was  on  the  Invalid  Tensions  Com- 
mittee, the  Labor  Committee,  and  the  V.\- 
penditure  Committee.  In  18S8  he  was  ap- 
pointed special  agent  of  the  Treasury,  under 
President  Harrison,  and  served  until  1892. 
He  has  been  active  in  all  the  recent  Presi- 
dential campaigns,  "stumping  "  for  Harrison 
in  1888  and  1892,  and  for  McKinley  in  1896. 

As  a  Grand  Army  man  Mr.  Haynes  has  ilis- 
tinguished  himself  In  peace  as  well  as  in  war. 
In  iSSi-82  he  was  President  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Veteran  Association,  and,  when  he 
resigned  the  chair  to  his  successor,  the  associa- 
tion was  not  only  free  from  debt,  but  owned 
valuable  buildings  for  its  annual  reunions  at 
Weirs.  He  was  Commander  of  the  Grand 
Army  Department  of  New  Hampshire  at  the 
same  time.  He  has  delivered  many  addresses 
and  poems  at  soldiers'  reunions  and  gather- 
ings. As  an  Odd  Fellow,  too,  he  is  very 
prominent,  having  held  all  the  chairs  in 
Chocorua  Lodge,  No.  51,  I.  O.  O.  V.\  and 
belonging  to  Laconia  I£ncampment,  No.  9. 

He  was  married  in  1863  to  Cornelia  T. 
Lane,  of  Manchester,  and  has  two  daughters, 
both  residing  at  liome.  Mr.  Haynes  is  a  man 
of  commanding  presence,  si.x  feet  (less  half  an 
inch)  in  height,  and  ajipearing  much  taller,  an<l 
tips    the    scales    at    two   hundred    and    twenty 


262 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


pounds.  Erect  and  soldierly,  with  a  strong, 
hearty  voice,  he  makes  friends  by  his  personal 
magnetism  wherever  he  goes.  He  is  a  thor- 
ough gentleman,  courteous  and  kindly  to  all. 
He  delights  in  the  rod  and  gun,  and  spends 
much  of  his  leisure  time  hunting  and  fishing. 


'RAXKLIN  ROSWELL  SARGENT, 
proprietor  of  Pleasant  View  Stock 
l'"arni,  Tilton,  Iklknap  County,  is  a 
native  of  the  Granite  State.  He  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Littleton,  Grafton  County,  Sep- 
tember lO,  1S59,  son  of  Roswell  and  Mary 
(Morse)  Sargent.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
Elihu  Sargent,  was  a  resident  for  many  years 
of  Littleton;  and  there  his  father,  Roswell, 
was  born  July  28,   18 13. 

Roswell  Sargent,  having  acquired  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools,  was  engaged  in 
farming  until  after  his  marriage,  when  he 
started  in  the  hotel  business.  He  was  pro- 
prietor of  hotels  in  Northumberland,  Strat- 
ford and  Stanstead  Plain,  Province  of  Quebec, 
and  tlicd  in  the  last-named  place,  June  12, 
1866.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Obadiah 
Morse,  and  the  following  named  children  were 
born  to  them:  Milo  P.;  Laura  H.  ;  Harvey; 
Martha;  Franklin  Roswell,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  and  Charles  H.  Mrs.  Sargent's 
father  was  born  in  Methuen,  Mass.  He  was  a 
soldier  in  the  P'rench  and  Indian  War,  and 
was  in  General  Wolfe's  command  at  the  tak- 
ing of  Quebec.  Later  he  enlisted  in  a  Massa- 
chusetts regiment,  and  fought  during  the  Rev- 
olution; and  in  the  War  of  181 2  he  fought 
side  by  side  with  his  eldest  son,  Webster 
Morse,  then  a  lad  of  seventeen.  Obadiah 
Morse  married  Sarah  Webster,  a  relative  of 
Daniel  Webster. 

Franklin  Roswell  Sargent  was  taken  by  his 
parents  to  Stanstead  when  but  four  years  of 


age.  As  he  grew  older  he  was  sent  to  the 
common  schools  and  to  the  academy.  A  vent- 
urous lad,  desirous  of  seeing  something  of  the 
world,  when  only  eleven  years  old  he  ran  away 
from  home  with  another  boy  of  about  his  own 
age,  taking  along  a  bull-dog  that  he  had  re- 
ceived in  exchange  for  a  shot  gun.  When 
about  nine  miles  from  home  the  boys  met  a 
circus,  and  one  of  the  men  offered  to  buy  the 
boys'  dog  if  it  could  whip  his  dog.  The  boys 
agreed,  and,  as  their  dog  won  in  the  scrim- 
mage, the  circus  man  handed  over  a  ten-dollar 
bill.  Although  Sargent  was  so  young,  he  had 
handled  considerable  money,  and  he  iiad 
shrewd  suspicion  that  genuine  ten-dollar  bills 
were  not  so  easily  obtained.  He  therefore 
took  the  bill  to  a  hotel  near  by  and  showed  it 
to  the  proprietor,  who,  seeing  that  it  was  a 
counterfeit,  and  being  a  man  desirous  of  see- 
ing fair  play,  went  back  with  the  boys,  and 
obliged  the  circus  man  to  give  them  a  genuine 
bill.  The  boys  went  on  to  Wells  River, 
where  they  stayed  a  few  days  visiting  relatives 
of  the  Sargents.  They  finally  reached  Boston, 
and  parted  company.  Young  Sargent  put  up 
at  the  Merrimack  House,  and  secured  a  situa- 
tion at  a  dollar  a  day  riding  horses  for  the 
sale  stable.  Even  at  that  age  his  fondness  for 
animals,  especially  for  horses,  had  developed 
to  a  considerable  extent;  and  there  has  not 
been  a  day  since  when  he  has  not  been  thor- 
oughly interested  in  horses,  and  most  of  the 
time  connected  in  some  business  capacity, 
either  with  buying  and  selling  or  raising  and 
training  them.  After  staying  in  Boston  for  a 
month  he  was  glad  to  go  back  to  Stanstead  to 
see  his  father  and  mother.  He  was  only  home 
a  week  when  he  ran  away  to  Sweetsburg,  P.Q. , 
though  he  remained  there  only  a  short  time. 

After  these  youthful  travels  he  was  content 
to  settle  down  at  home  and  go  to  school  — 
when  he  was  unable  to  find  anybody's  horse  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


=63 


look  out  for  —  until  he  was  thirteen  years  old. 
In  his  fourteenth  year  he  went  to  Washington, 
D.  C,  in  eharge  of  two  horses,  and  remained 
there  driving  horses  at  races.  ]"(ir  the  ne.xt 
dozen  years  he  rode  horses  at  all  the  great 
races  in  Canada  and  Northern  New  England. 
His  career  has  been  a  varied  one,  and  his  work 
has  taken  him  over  many  sections  of  the  coun- 
try. During  those  twelve  years  he  worked  in 
Boston,  where  at  first  he  got  only  three  dollars 
a  week.  He  then  worked  successively  in 
Stanstead,  P.  O.  ;  Stoneham,  North  Bridge- 
water,  and  Lowell,  Mass.;  Concord  and  Plym- 
outh, N.H.;  and  Bangor,  Me.  He  ne.xt  went 
to  Lowell  to  manage  the  race  track  and  train- 
ing stables;  again  to  Stanstead;  and  thence 
back  to  Bangor,  where  he  trained  horses. 
After  driving  races  through  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode  Island,  he  went  back  to  Bangor  in  the 
fall.  This  was  about  1877.  In  the  spring  of 
1879  he  went  to  Stanstead  to  break  and  ride 
the  mare  Zeta,  and  then  went  to  race  at  Three 
Rivers,  and  won  the  queen's  plate  with  her. 
After  this  he  went  with  horses  to  Barton,  Vt., 
and  remained  there  for  about  two  years  en- 
gaged in  handling  horses. 

Not  long  after,  he  went  to  work  for  Mr. 
G.  K.  Foster,  and  later  for  his  brother,  Mr. 
V.  H.  P"oster.  He  has  since  remained  in 
charge  of  Mr.  Foster's  stables,  and  has  trained 
horses  that  have  made  records  as  low  as  Adra 
Belle,  2:13;  and  Lady  Kenset,  2:21  1-4,  to 
high  wheels;  l?essic,  17  3-4,  to  high  wheels; 
Wilkins,  15  1-2,  to  high  wheels;  Viking,  ig 
1-4,  high  wheels.  Mr.  Sargent  now  has 
George  A.,  owned  by  Foster  &  Sargent,  with 
a  record  of  18  1-4.  He  is  by  Glencoe  Wilkes, 
and  dam  by  Godfrey  Patchen.  In  18S8  Mr. 
Sargent  came  to  Tilton,  being  in  Mr.  Fos- 
ter's employ. 

About  1S92  Mr.  Foster,  wishing  to  express 
in  practical  form  his  appreciation  of   Mr.  Sar- 


gent's services,  and  to  give  him  at  the  same 
time  an  enduring  mark  of  his  esteem,  pre- 
sented him  with  the  line  property  which  he 
now  controls.  Pleasant  View  h'arni  is  one  of 
the  best  grass  farms  in  this  part  of  the  State. 
It  has  about  sixty-five  acres,  and  from  twenty- 
five  of  these  an  annual  crop  of  sixty  tons  of 
hay  is  harvested.  The  stable,  erected  at  a 
cost  of  four  thousand  dollars,  has  seventeen 
extra  large  box  stalls.  The  residence  situated 
upon  this  property  is  a  handsome  one,  and  is 
occupied  by  Mr.  Sargent  and  his  family.  Mr. 
Sargent  intends  to  keep  upon  his  place  the 
finest  breeders  to  be  secured.  He  owns  the 
mare  Sonata,  seven  years  old,  for  which  lie 
paid  two  thousand  dollars;  also  Cleveland,  a 
stallion  with  a  record  of  2  :  20. 

Mr.  Sargent  married  Miss  Emma,  daughter 
of  John  Dyson,  of  Richmond,  P.  Q.,  and  has 
had  two  children  —  Norma  May  and  Franklin 
R.,  Jr.  In  politics  Mr  Sargent  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  is  a  member  ui  Belknap  Lodge, 
A.  I.  O.  U.  W.  He  has  been  quite  an  exten- 
sive traveller.  In  1SS6,  his  health  having 
failed,  he  went  to  Jacks(jnville,  h'la. ,  where 
he  remained  for  a  month,  then  going  to  En- 
terprise, where  he  was  successful  in  shooting 
a  large  number  of  alligators.  He  brought 
home  thirteen  skins,  and  one  stuffed  specimen 
over  twelve  feet  in  length.  The  following 
autumn  he  went  to  Los  Angeles  and  Pomona, 
Cal. 


TT^OLONEL      JOSEPH      BADGER,      a 

I  jy  progressive  farmer  of  Belmont,  15elk- 
vJ2_-^  nap  County,  N.I  I.,  son  ol  William 
and  Hannah  P.  (Cogswell)  Badger,  was  born 
here,  June  27,  18 17,  Belmont  then  being  a 
part  of  Gilmanton. 

His  paternal  ancestors  were  of  English  ex- 
traction, and  were  tiistinguished  for  wealth, 
prominence,    and    nobility   of   character,    posi- 


:64 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


tioiis  uf  honor  and  trust  apparently  coming  to 
them  by  natural  ri-ht.  Gilos  Badger,  the 
early  progenitor,  settled  in  Newbury,  Mass., 
prior  to  June  30,  1643,  dying  there  July  17, 
1647.  His  son,  John,  who  was  born  June  30, 
1643,  was  made  a  freeman  in  1674,  and  was 
a  Sergeant  of  the  militia.  He  became  the 
father  of  four  children:  John,  who  died  in 
early  life;  John,  second;  Sarah;  and  James, 
who  died  in  1693.  By  Sergeant  John's  sec- 
ond marriage,  to  Hannah  Swett,  there  were 
ten  more  children;  namely,  Stephen,  Hannah, 
Nathaniel,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Ruth,  two  sons 
whose  names  are  lost,  Abigail,  and  Lydia. 
John  Badger,  Jr.,  second,  son  of  Sergeant 
John,  married  Rebecca  Brown,  by  whom  he 
had  seven  children,  namely,  John,  third, 
James,  Elizabeth,  Stephen,  Joseph,  Benjamin, 
and  Dorothy. 

Joseph,  son  of  John,  Jr.,  was  twice  married. 
His  first  wife,  Hannah,  was  a  daughter  of 
Colonel  Nathaniel  Peaslee,  of  Haverhill, 
Mass.,  where  Mr.  Badger  removed,  engaging 
in  general  merchandise  business  the  rest  of 
his  life.  By  this  alliance  there  were  seven 
children — ■  Joscjjh,  second,  Judith,  Mehitable, 
Mary,  Nathaniel,  Mary,  and  one  other,  but 
only  two  of  them  lived  to  settle  in  life,  Jo- 
seph (second)  and  Judith.  Mr.  Joseph  Badger 
married  Mrs.  Hannah  Pearson,  a  widow,  for 
his  second  wife.  Three  children  were  the  re- 
sult of  their  union  —  Enoch,  Nathaniel,  and 
Moses. 

Joseph  (second),  who  was  born  January  11, 
1722,  married  his  stepmother's  daughter,  Han- 
nah Pearson.  Their  children  were:  William, 
Hannah,  Mehitable,  Joseph  (third),  Rebecca, 
Ruth,  Peaslee,  Ebenezer,  Mary  and  Na- 
thanfel  (twins),  Sarah,  and  Judith.  Joseph 
Badger  (second)  settled  in  Bradford,  Mass., 
where  he  engaged  in  farming,  but  owing  to  his 
natural   ability  and   a   good   education   he   was 


soon  called  upon  to  take  part  in  public  affairs. 
At  the  age  of  twenty  three  he  became  Deputy 
Sheriff  of  Esse.x  County^  Massachusetts,  and 
in  the  militia  he  served  as  Ensign,  Lieuten- 
ant, and  Captain.  In  1763  he  removed  to 
Gilmanton,  N.H.,  being  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers and  a  proprietor.  He  liekl  the  office  of 
Selectman,  and  he  frequently  served  as  Mod- 
erator in  town  meetings.  On  March  10, 
1768,  he  was  appointed  Justice  of  the  Peace; 
July  10,  1 77 1,  he  was  made  Colonel  of  the 
Tenth  Regiment,  and  June  27,  1780,  was 
made  Brigadier-general;  in  1784  was  com- 
missioned Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum 
tiiroughout  the  State;  December  6,  17S4,  was 
made  Judge  of  I^robate  for  Strafford  County ; 
and  in  1784,  1790,  and  1791  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Council. 

In  politics  Judge  Badger  was  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Republican  school,  and  was  a  firm 
and  ardent  patriot.  He  was  conscientious  in 
the  discharge  of  every  duty,  and  his  life  was 
marked  by  prudence,  integrity,  firmness,  and 
benevolence.  Institutions  of  learning  and  re- 
ligion were  generously  supported  by  him. 
He  officiated  as  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  Gilmanton  Academy  the  rest  of 
his  life.  Judge  Badger  was  present  at  the 
capture  of  Burgoyne,  and  was  on  the  attach- 
ment which  escorted  the  vanquished  army  to 
Boston.  After  the  war  he  served  as  Repre- 
sentative to  the  legislature,  being  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  convention  which  adopted  the  Con- 
stitution. He  died  Ai^ril  4,  1803,  in  his 
eighty-second  year. 

Joseph  Badger  (third)  was  also  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  serving  as  Lieutenant  of  his 
regiment  during  the  campaign  against  Bur- 
goyne, also  rendering  efficient  aid  under  Gen- 
eral Gates.  After  the  war  he  returned  to 
Gilmanton,  and  engaged  in  farming.  His 
worth   and   ability   were   duly   recognized,  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


^6S 


lie  officiated  as  Representative  several  years, 
and  was  for  eight  years  Councillor  for  Strafford 
district.  In  the  State  militia  he  was  also 
jironiinvnt,  being  a]ip<iinted  to  commanil  the 
Tenth  Regiment  in  1795,  becoming  ]?rigadier- 
general  of  the  Second  lirigade  the  ensuing 
year.  A  brave  soldier  and  an  honored  citizen 
was  laid  to  rest  when  he  died,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-three,  January  14,   1809. 

William  Badger,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  biography,  was  born  in  1779,  and  in- 
herited the  wealth,  ability,  and  popular  favor 
of  his  father,  Joseph,  third.  In  his  youth  he 
attended  Gilmanton  Academy.  His  first  wife, 
Martha,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1803,  was 
a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Smith,  the  first 
settled  minister  in  Gilmanton.  She  had  two 
children:  John,  who  died  while  a  student  at 
Bowdoin  College  in  1824;  and  Martha,  who 
also  died  in  early  life.  By  his  second  mar- 
riage with  Hannah  P.  Cogswell,  who  belonged 
to  a  distinguished  family,  there  were  also  two 
children — Joseph  and  William.  William 
Badger  served  as  Colonel  on  Governor  Lang- 
don's  staff,  and  for  a  number  of  years  in  the 
legislature.  The  year  he  married  his  second 
wife  he  was  elected  Senator  from  District  Six, 
and,  being  re-elected  twice,  served  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Senate  the  last  year,  1S16.  The 
same  year  he  was  appointed  Justice  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  holding  that  office 
until  1820,  when  he  was  appointed  Sheriff  of 
Strafford  County,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
ten  years. 

Colonel  William  Badger  was  a  Democrat  of 
the  Jacksonian  school.  In  1834  he  was  tri- 
umphantly elected  Governor  of  the  State,  and, 
proving  himself  a  very  efficient  Chief  Magis- 
trate, he  was  re-elected.  At  the  close  of  his 
second  gubernatorial  term  he  refused  a  renom- 
ination,  and  retired  to  his  farm.  In  1844  he 
served  as  Presidential  Elector.      After  his   re- 


tirement from  public  life  he  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing, owning  a  cotton  factory,  a  saw  and 
grist  mill.  The  present  i)ros])erity  of  Bel- 
mont is  largely  ilue  to  his  energy  and  enUr- 
prise.  He  ilieil  September  21,  1.S52,  at  the 
age  of  seventy  -  three  years.  William,  his 
younger  son  by  the  second  marriage,  was 
Major  in  the  regular  United  States  Army. 

Joseph  Badger,  elder  son  of  Colonel  Will- 
iam by  his  second  wife,  prcjiared  for  college 
at  Gilmanton  Academy,  ant!  was  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  in  1839.  Not  being  in  robust 
health,  he  returned  to  the  homestead,  and 
turned  his  attention  to  farming.  In  1842  and 
1S43  he  served  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Hub- 
bard, with  the  title  of  Colonel,  and  he  has 
twice  officiated  as  Representative  to  the  legis- 
lature; but  with  these  exceptions  he  has  led  a 
quiet,  retired  life  on  the  Badger  homestead 
and  estate,  of  which  he  is  the  owner.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat,  and  since  attaining  his 
majority  he  has  never  missed  an  election. 

On  October  11,  1865,  Colonel  Badger  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Hannah  IC.  Ayers. 
Their  union  has  been  blessed  by  four  children  : 
Mary,  who  died  in  early  life;  Francis;  John 
Cogswell;   and  Harriet  P'lizabeth. 


LLIAM  DANIEL  KNAPP,  a 
prominent  lawyer  of  Somerswortli, 
and  the  Judge  of  the  local  police 
court,  was  born  in  Parsonsfield,  Me.,  October 
17,  1830,  son  of  Daniel  and  Bet.sy  (Neal) 
Knapp.  The  first  ancestor  of  the  Knapj)  fam- 
ily of  whom  there  is  any  knowledge  was 
William  Knapp,  who  was  btjrn  in  the  county 
of  Suffolk,  England,  in  1578.  He  joined  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  in  1630,  settling 
in  Watertown,  where  his  tleath  occurred  in 
1658.  His  descendants  continued  to  reside  in 
Massachusetts  up  to  tiie  beginning  of  the  pres- 


266 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


cut  century.  Juilgc  Knapp's  grandfather, 
John  Knapp,  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  Daniel  Knajjp  was  born  in 
Salisbury,  Mass.,  in  17S5.  When  fifteen 
years  old  he  went  to  Parsonsfield,  Me.,  and, 
learning  the  carpenter's  trade,  followed  it  in 
connection  with  farming  through  the  active 
period  of  his  life.  He  died  F"ebruary  g,  1S59. 
William  Daniel  Knapp  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  and  the  Parsonsfield  Seminary. 
-At  the  age  of  eighteen,  with  a  view  of  provid- 
ing sufficient  means  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
a  collegiate  course,  he  began  teaching  school, 
and  subsequently  followed  that  occupation  in 
Conway,  Jackson,  and  Tamworth,  of  this 
State,  and  in  Ipswich,  Newbury,  and  Groton, 
of  Massachusetts.  He  matriculated  at  Dart- 
mouth College  in  185 1,  graduating  in  due 
course  in  1855.  At  the  reunion  of  the  class 
of  1855,  held  in  Hanover,  N.H.,  June  25, 
1895,  in  celebration  of  its  fortieth  anniver- 
sary, there  were  present  of  the  living  mem- 
bers one-half  the  number  of  lawyers,  one-half 
the  number  of  doctors,  one-fourth  of  the  jour- 
nalists, and  one-fourth  of  the  clergymen,  repre- 
senting Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Massachu- 
setts, Illinois,  and  Washington,  D.C.  ;  and  at 
the  banquet  President  Dingley  filled  the  chair, 
and  Judges  Field,  Hardy,  and  Knapp  were 
conspicuous  on  either  side.  After  leaving 
Dartmouth,  Mr.  Knapp  resumed  educational 
work,  teaching  for  a  time  at  the  academy  in 
West  Lebanon,  Me.,  and  at  the  New  Hamp- 
ton Literary  Institute.  He  studied  law  with 
Messrs.  Wells  and  Eastman  in  Somersworth, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  York  County, 
Maine,  September  22,  1858,  and  subsequently 
located  for  practice  in  Somersworth.  His 
legal  ability  soon  placed  him  in  possession 
of  a  profitable  general  law  practice.  In  the 
course  of  bis  professional  life,  besides  con- 
ducting many  important  cases,  he  has  settled 


a  large  number  of  estates.  Public  affairs 
have  i)rofited  by  his  interest  in  them.  He 
was  elected  County  School  Commissioner  in 
July,  1S60,  and  served  two  years;  was  Secre- 
tary of  the  New  Hampshire  Board  of  Educa- 
tion from  July,  1861,  to  July,  1862;  served 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  for  si.x 
years;  and  was  Town  Treasurer  for  nineteen 
years.  In  1870  and  1871  he  was  a  Repre- 
sentative to  the  State  legislature.  He  was 
chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention in  i88g,  and  he  has  presided  over  the 
Somersworth  police  court  since  1S70.  He  is 
a  Director  of  the  Somersworth  National  Bank, 
and  he  has  been  one  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Fire  Insurance  Company  since  its  organiza- 
tion in  1870. 

On  November  29,  1866,  Judge  Knapp  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Susan  Hale  Hussey, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Thomas  and  Susan  (Hale) 
Hussey,  of  Barrington,  N.H.  As  a  lawyer 
Judge  Knapp  has  long  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  community,  who  thoroughly  appreciate 
his  character  and  ability.  His  work  in  public 
capacities  has  received  deserved  commenda- 
tion, while  in  a  literary  way  his  historical 
sketch  of  Somersworth,  which  appeared  in  the 
first  annual  report  of  the  city  government  in 
1894,  is  an  excellent  piece  of  work,  showing 
much  careful  research.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church,  is  President  of  the 
Pascataqua  Congregationalist  Club;  and  in 
politics  he  acts  with  the  Republican  party. 


(shr      LESTER   FAI 

f^X        and  successful 
/JlsV^  ersworth,     St 


'AUNCE,  an  undertaker 
business  man  of  Som- 
Strafford  County,  was 
born  P'ebruary  3,  1S42,  in  O.xford,  O.xford 
County,  Me.,  son  of  Aaron  D.  and  ICmily  J. 
(Lennell)  Faunce.  The  father  was  also  a 
native  of  O.xford,  where  he  spent   the  greater 


BIOGRAPHICAL    KEVIKW 


267 


[xirt  of  his  life  engaged  in  the  woollen  busi- 
ness. In  1IS67  he  went  to  East  Rochester, 
where  he  followed  the  same  business.  Ten 
years  later  he  came  to  (ireat  Kails,  now  Som- 
ersworth,  anil  started  an  undertaking  establish- 
ment, in  which  he  was  interested  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  August  31,  1893,  at  the 
age  (jf  seventy-two  years.  In  ptjlitics  he  sup- 
])orted  the  Republican  party,  but  was  not  an 
office-holder.  His  wife,  another  nati\'e  of  O.x- 
ford  County,  Me.,  died  July  29,  1888,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-nine.  They  were  active  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They 
had  seven  children,  of  whom  Eveline,  Edwin, 
and  Clarence  are  deceasetl.  A.  Lester,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  Frank  A. ,  VVillard  H., 
and  Charles  H.,  and  Delia  M.,  are  living. 

A.  Lester  Faunce  was  an  attendant  of  the 
Oxford  public  schools  until  sixteen  years  of 
age.  He  then  went  to  Amesbury,  Mass.,  and 
worked  in  the  woollen  mills  there  for  two  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  his 
native  town  and  was  employed  in  the  woollen 
mills  there  up  to  1866.  Then  he  removed  to 
East  Rochester,  N.  H.,  and  worked  in  the 
woollen  mills  of  that  place  until  1873.  He 
next  went  to  Stoneham,  Mass.,  and  was  there 
engaged  in  a  machine  shop  for  a  year  or  two. 
Having  again  returned  to  Oxford,  he  had  fol- 
lowed the  painting  and  undertaking  business 
for  about  thirteen  years,  when  he  sold  out, 
came  to  Somersworth,  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  father.  This  relation  continued 
until  the  death  of  the  latter,  when  Mr.  Faunce 
bought  his  father's  interest,  since  which  time 
he  has  carried  on  the  business  alone.  On 
l'"ebruary  5,  1863,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Sibelia  Garcelon,  who  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  Alonzo  Garcelon,  of  Levviston, 
Me.  She  died  August  20,  1886.  Two  years 
later  Mr.  Faunce  contracted  a  second  marriage 
with   Miss   Alice    A.    Littlewood,    of   Oxford. 


Two  children  are  the  fruit  of  this  marriage; 
namely,  Clyde  L.  and  Nina  ]}.,  both  living  at 
home.  In  January,  1865,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany 1',  Thirty-second  Maine  Regiment,  with 
which  he  did  guard  duty  at  Washingtnn  until 
the  close  of  the  war. 

Mr.  Faunce  is  a  standi  Republican.  In 
Oxford  he  was  Selectman  for  six  years,  and 
was  Deputy  Sheriff  of  Oxford  County  for  eight 
years.  In  Somersworth  he  was  Selectman  of 
the  Second  Ward  for  two  years;  and,  ha\-ing 
been  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years  in 
March,  1896,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Council 
and  President  of  that  body.  He  is  a  member 
of  Paris  Lodge,  No.  94,  !•'.  &  A.  M.,  of  Paris, 
Me.  ;  of  the  Edwards  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No. 
21,  of  Somersworth;  of  Orjjhan  Council  of 
Royal  and  Select  Masters;  of  the  St.  Paul 
Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of  Dover, 
N.  H.  ;  and  of  Prospect  Lodge,  K.  of  P.,  of 
Somersworth.  He  is  quite  prominent  in 
Grand  Army  circles,  being  a  I'ast  Com- 
mander of  Littlefield  Post,  No.  8,  of  Somers- 
worth, and  Past  Assistant  Adjutant  General  of 
the  department  of  New  Hampshire. 


ARON  SANBORN  CI.OUGH,  one  of 
the  able  farmers  ami  piominent  resi- 
dents of  Meredith,  was  born  in  this 
town,  June  6,  1834,  son  of  Phili[3  and  Martha 
(Shaw)  Clough.  His  grandfather,  Philiii 
Clough  (first),  was  a  native  of  Canterbury, 
N.H.  Philip  Clough  (second),  also  a  native 
of  Canterbury,  born  in  1799,  was  educatetl  in 
a  district  school  and  brouglit  up  on  a  farn). 
When  a  young  man  he  bought  a  piece  of  agri- 
cultural property  in  Meredith,  where  he  tilletl 
the  soil  successfully  for  many  years.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  originally  a  Whig;  but  later  he 
united  with  the  Republican  party.  Of  a 
studious  turn,  he  was  an   extensive   reader  and 


!68 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


well-informed  upon  all  current  topics.  Subse- 
quently, having  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his 
si'dit,  the  last  four  or  five  years  of  his  life 
were  passed  with  his  son,  Aaron  S.  ;  and  he 
died  July  27,  18S7.  He  married  Martha  Shaw, 
a  native  of  Meredith,  and  a  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel and  Louisa  (Sanborn)  Shaw,  of  Chiches- 
ter, Merrimack  County,  the  former  of  whom 
died  when  his  daughter  was  very  young.  She 
became  the  mother  of  three  children  —  Martha 
S. ,  Aaron  S. ,  and  John  H.  John  is  no  longer 
living.  Martha  S. ,  who  has  been  three  times 
married,  is  now  the  wife  of  Eli  Ikmker,  of 
New  Hampton,  N.  II.  Her  first  husband  was 
Ezra  Avery,  of  Campton,  N.  H.,  by  whom  she 
had  one  child.  Aaron  S.  dough's  mother 
died  May  29,  18S6.  Both  parents  were  origi- 
nally members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church,  but 
in  their  later  years  they  united  with  the  Sec- 
ond Adventists. 

Aaron  Sanborn  Clough  began  his  education 
in  the  district  schools  and  advanced  by  attend- 
ing the  New  Hampton  Institute.  After  com- 
l^leting  his  studies,  he  taught  school  for  some 
time.  He  then  engaged  in  the  cattle  business, 
buying  and  selling  both  cattle  and  hogs,  and 
making  Brighton,  Mass.,  his  headquarters. 
He  travelled  through  New  York  State  and 
Canada,  and  as  far  west  as  Chicago ;  and  he 
became  well  known  in  the  cattle  trade.  Dur- 
ing the  Rebellion,  he  was  employed  upon  a 
htjspital  steamer  on  the  Potomac  River,  but 
was  forced  to  leave  that  service  on  account  of 
failing  health.  In  1866  he  bought  a  farm  in 
liammonton,  N.J.,  which,  after  raising  fruit 
on  it  for  two  years,  he  sold  again.  Resuming 
his  former  business  of  buying  and  selling 
cattle,  he  continued  it  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  was  engaged  in  the  meat  business  in  Bos- 
ton for  two  years.  Returning  to  Meredith,  he 
opened  a  meat  and  provision  store  and  carried 
it  on  successfully  for  some  years.      In   1890  he 


commenced  to  take  summer  boarders,  which 
business  has  so  increased  since  as  to  make  it 
impossible  for  him  to  entertain  all  who  desire 
accommodations  at  his  pleasant  home.  He 
carries  on  general  farming  with  profit,  supply- 
ing his  table  with  dairy  and  garden  products. 
Possessing  considerable  inventive  genius,  he 
has  patented  several  useful  implements,  among 
which  are  a  grain  sieve,  a  moulding  board  for 
school  use,  and  an  improved  plough.  He  was 
one  of  the  original  members  of  the  defunct 
Know  Nothing  party  in  Meredith,  and  was  one 
of  the  three  persons  who  canvassed  the  town 
when  the  Republican  party  was  organized 
here.  While  he  has  never  sought  office,  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  School  Board,  and 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  directed  the 
building  of  the  water-works,  which  rank  among 
the  best  in  this  State. 

On  February  15,  1852,  Mr.  Clough  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Ellen  N.  Knowles, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Knowles,  of  Moultonboro, 
N.  H.  Bessie  M.  Clough,  the  only  child  of 
the  union,  died  in  September,  1892,  aged  fif- 
teen years.  Mr.  Clough  was  made  a  Mason 
in  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge  of  Laconia,  N.  H., 
and  was  demitted  to  Chocorua  Lodge,  of  Mere- 
dith. He  is  particularly  interested  in  the 
development  of  the  public  library,  of  which  he 
has  been  trustee  and  a  member  of  the  commit- 
tee on  the  selection  of  books.  A  considerable 
share  of  his  time  is  devoted  to   biblical    study. 

Mrs.  Clough  is  a  member  of  the  I'ree  Bap- 
tist church,  and  he  attends  it  and  is  a  teacher 
in  the  Sunday-school. 


ON.    GEORGE    H.    EVERETT,  Jus- 
tice of  the  Police  Court  of   Laconia, 

^  V --  '^    "i    well-known     public    nian     of 

Belknap    County.      Born     in     Boston,     Mass., 
September    5,     1S33,    a    son    of    George    and 


\ 


■>rr*   -1 


GEORGE    H     EVERETT. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


-7' 


Sarali  (l^lms)  Everett,  he  is  of  the  same  stock 
as  Etlward  Everett,  who  was  a  distant  connec- 
tion of  his  father. 

His  grandfather,  Aaron  Everett,  was  one  of 
the  early  butchers  of  Brighton,  Mass.,  remov- 
ing there  from  Watertown ;  and  his  father, 
George  Everett,  son  of  Aaron,  was  born  in 
Watertown,  Mass.,  in  1799.  George  Everett 
in  his  early  years  applied  himself  to  his 
studies,  and  prepared  for  college  with  a  view 
to  adopting  a  profession,  but  changed  his  plans 
and  went  into  trade,  winning  his  first  experi- 
ence in  a  grocery  store;  and  he  was  subse- 
ijuently  engaged  in  the  sale  of  wall  papers  on 
Washington  Street,  Boston,  until  1835.  After 
that  he  spent  a  number  of  years  on  a  farm  in 
Chester,  N.  H.,  owning  there  an  estate  of  fifty 
acres,  which  yielded  a  comfortable  income. 
He  sold  his  farm  in  1870,  and  removed  to 
Methuen,  Mass.,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-si.x.  His  first  wife,  Sarah  Elms,  who 
was  a  native  of  Boston,  died  when  her  son, 
George  H.,  was  two  years  old,  leaving,  besides 
him,  two  little  daughters.  The  father  subse- 
quently married  Ruth  E.  Uiulcrhill,  of  Ches- 
ter, N.  H.,  who  bore  him  five  children,  three 
girls  and  two  boys.  She  also  has  passed 
away. 

George  H.  Everett,  having  acquired  his 
primary  education  in  Boston,  attended  school 
in  Chester,  N.  H.,  and  was  graduated  at  the 
Brighton,  Mass.,  High  School.  As  a  young 
man  he  was  employed  for  about  two  years  as 
clerk  in  a  grocery  and  provision  store  in  Bos- 
ton, and  then  went  on  the  road  as  travelling 
salesman  for  the  wholesale  fancy  goods  house 
of  L.  S.  Leonard  &  Co.,  taking  orders  in  the 
Western  States  and  part  of  New  England.  In 
iS6g  he  purchased  Willard's  Hotel  in  Laconia, 
and  until  1882  he  managed  a  successful  hotel 
business  with  livery  in  connection.  He  after- 
ward leased  the  hotel  for  four  years,  but  event- 


ually converted  it  into  a  private  residence  for 
himself,  and  now  makes  his  home  here.  Judge 
Everett  is  now  in  the  general  insurance  busi- 
ness, representing  the  Royal  Liverpool,  the 
Orient  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  the  l-'itchburg 
Mutual,  the  Cheshire  IMutual,  the  Traveler's 
Life  and  Accident,  the  United  ]-"iremen's  of 
Philadelphia,  and  the  American  l-'ire  Insur 
ance  Company  of  Boston,  and  other  well- 
known  insurance  companies.  As  a  clear- 
headed, capable  business  man,  he  was  one  of 
the  five  chosen  to  form  a  building  committee 
for  the  Masonic  Temple. 

Li  1S72  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Sarah  F.  Gray,  of  Jackson,  N.  H.,  a  lady 
of  taste  and  ability,  who  has  managed  a  suc- 
cessful millinery  business  since  1868. 

Judge  Everett  cast  his  first  I'residential 
ballot  for  John  C.  Fremont  in  1856,  and  has 
been  loyal  to  the  Republican  jjarty  ever  since. 
He  was  appointed  High  Sheriff  of  Belknai) 
County  by  Governor  Cheney,  July  18,  1S76, 
and  served  until  1S80;  was  As.sociate  Judge 
of  the  Laconia  Police  Court  from  .April  9, 
1892,  to  May  22,  1895;  and  since  the  latter 
date  has  presided  efficiently  as  Justice  of  the 
Police  Court.  He  was  City  Collector  of 
Ta.xes  in  1893  and  1S94. 

Judge  Everett  has  held  all  the  chairs  in 
Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  A.  V.  & 
A.  M.,  Union  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  No.  7,  and 
Pythagorean  Council,  No.  6,  Royal  anil  Select 
Masters;  was  elected  to  the  Grand  Council, 
and  was  Grand  Master  of  State  two  years ;  has 
been  treasurer  of  Pilgrim  Commandery,  K.  T. , 
since  it  started;  and  belongs  to  ICdward  A. 
Raymond  Consistory,  of  Nashua  (thirty-second 
degree).  As  a  member  of  the  order  of  the 
Eastern  .Star,  he  has  presided  as  Grand  Patron 
of  the  State.  He  has  held  all  the  chairs  in 
.Aurora  Lodge,  No.  708,  Knights  of  Honor, 
has  served  as  Grand  Dictator  of  the  State,  and 


;72 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


was  representative  to  the  Supreme  Lodge  two 
years;  and  he  has  held  all  the  chairs  in  Enter- 
prise Lodge,  No.  452,  Knights  and  Ladies  of 
Honor.  He  has  been  a  member  of  Amoskeag 
Veterans  of  Manchester,  N.H.,  for  about 
twenty  years.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  is 
a  very  popular  member  of  society.  The  Judge 
is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  First  Unitarian 
Church  of  Laconia. 


UGUSTINE  S.  PARSHLEY,  a  prom- 
inent insurance  and  real  estate  man 
of  Rochester,  was  born  June  21, 
1840,  in  the  town  of  Strafford,  Strafford 
County,  son  of  John  VV.  and  Mary  A.  (Foss) 
I'arshley,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Straf- 
ford. The  father  spent  his  life  in  that  town, 
where  he  followed  both  farming  and  carpen- 
try. He  was  an  active  Free  Soiler,  but  would 
accept  no  political  office.  Both  parents  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years,  and  both  were 
esteemed  members  of  the  Free  Will  l^aptist 
church.  They  had  five  children,  namely : 
Charles,  who  died  in  infancy;  John  D.,  who 
died  in  1894,  at  Rochester;  Sarah  J.,  who 
married  A.  C.  Hall,  and  lives  with  him  in 
Georgetown,  Mass.  ;  George  C. ,  a  resident  of 
Haverhill,  Mass.  ;  and  Augustine  S. ,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Augustine  S.  Farshley  remained  at  home 
and  worked  with  his  father  on  the  farm  and  at 
the  carpenter's  trade  until  after  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  War.  In  August,  1862,  he 
enlisted  for  three  years  in  Company  F,  of  the 
Thirteenth  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  and 
afterward  served  until  June,  1S65,  during 
which  time  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
First  Corporal.  At  the  battle  of  Fredericks- 
burg, he  received  wounds  that  prevented  his 
resuming  his  place  in  his  regiment  for  about 
a  year,  the  time  being  spent   in   different   hos- 


pitals. When  once  more  fit  for  service  he 
was  transferred  to  the  Veteran  Reserve  Corps, 
and  with  them  was  in  the  defences  of  Wash- 
ington. At  the  close  of  the  v/ar,  he  returned 
to  his  home  in  Strafford,  and  was  engaged  in 
carpentry  for  a  time.  In  1870  he  came  to 
Rochester  and  opened  an  insurance  office, 
which  he  has  prosperously  conducted  since. 
At  present  he  represents  twenty-one  of  the 
leading  insurance  companies  of  the  country, 
and  is  doing  a  large  business.  He  is  also 
considerably  interested  in  real  estate,  and  has 
been  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Roches- 
ter Building  and  Loan  Association  since  its 
organization  in  1891. 

In  April,  1866,  Mr.  Farshley  married  Miss 
Ellen  Buzzell,  of  Strafford.  By  her  he  has 
three  children,  namely:  Lillian  F. ,  living  at 
home,  who  is  librarian  of  the  Rochester  Li- 
brary; Charles  A.,  who  is  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  insurance  business;  and  MaryFl, 
also  living  with  her  parents.  Mr.  Farshley 
is  a  stanch  Republican.  In  1SS3  he  was  a 
Representative  to  the  State  legislature.  In 
1873  he  was  elected  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen,  and  subsequently  re-elected  con- 
tinuously until  1882.  For  a  part  of  that  time 
he  was  Town  Treasurer.  Of  the  twelve  hun- 
dred votes  cast  at  the  time  of  his  re-election 
in  1875,  he  received  all  but  forty-five.  In 
18S4  he  was  again  elected  Chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  to  serve  for  two  years. 
Though  re]5eatedly  urged,  he  has  declined  to 
accept  the  nomination  for  Mayor.  An  iten) 
of  his  services  that  won  him  much  favor  with 
the  people,  was  the  fact  that,  although  he 
found  the  town  burdened  with  a  war  debt  of 
sixty-two  thousand  dollars  in  1873,  when  he 
relinquished  its  treasurership  it  had  been  en- 
tirely freed  from  debt  without  a  special  appro- 
priation, and  it  had  some  money  to   its  credit. 

Mr.    Farshley   belongs   to  Motolinia   Lodge, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


n.^ 


No.  1 8,  I.  O.  O.  F.  ;  to  Humane  Lodge,  No. 
2  1,  A.  1-".  &  A.  M.  ;  to  Temple  Cha|)ter,  No. 
20,  R.  A.  ;\I.  ;  tci  Runnaawitt  Tribe,  No.  g. 
Improved  Order  of  Red  Men;  and  to  Sampson 
Post,  No.  18,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
all  of  Rochester.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church. 


REDERICK  LEWIS  HAWKINS, 
M.  D. ,  a  prominent  physician  of  Mere- 
dith, was  born  in  this  town,  April  14, 
1 86 1,  son  of  William  H.  and  Helen  M. 
(I'jiicry)  Hawkins.  His  grandfather  was  Ste- 
phen Hawkins,  a  native  of  Holderness,  N.  H. 
Stephen  Hawkins  was  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, when,  in  spite  of  his  advanced  age,  he 
manifested  his  patriotism  by  enlisting  in  the 
lughth  New  Hampshire  Regiment.  Unfitted 
to  bear  the  fatigue  and  exposure  of  army  life, 
he  died  from  disease  contracted  in  the  service. 
He  married  Jane  B.  Plaisted,  whose  father  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  She  had 
si.\  children  by  him  ;  namely,  Clara,  William 
H.,    Lorenzo,    James,    Melissa,    and   Jonathan. 

William  H.  Hawkins,  born  in  Holderness 
in  1839,  was  educated  in  the  district  schools. 
After  finishing  his  studies,  he  began  to  learn 
the  shoemaker's  trade.  Before  ccmipleting 
his  apprenticeship,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Company  I,  Twelfth  Regiment,  New  Hamp- 
shire Volunteers,  and  died  June  16,  1863, 
from  wounds  received  in  the  battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville.  This  second  life  given  to  defend 
the  Union  was  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  that 
patriotism  has  been  a  characteristic  of  the 
Hawkins  family.  William  H.  Hawkins  mar- 
ried Helen  M.  Emery,  daughter  of  Jonathan 
Emery,  of  Meredith;  and  Frederick  L.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  is  her  only  child. 

The  education  of  Frederick  Lewis  Hawkins, 


begun  in  the  common  schools,  was  continued 
in  the  Meredith  High  School,  and  the  Tillon 
Seminary.  Being  desirous  of  entering  the 
medical  profession,  his  evenings  and  summer 
vacations  were  spent  at  a  drug  store,  where  he 
read  some  medical  text-books  and  obtained  a 
good  knowledge  of  drugs  and  chemicals.  In 
1 886  he  graduated  from  the  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  Philadelphia,  where  he  completed  his 
professional  studies,  having  had  the  advantage 
of  a  course  of  clinical  instruction  in  the  col- 
lege hospital.  It  was  not  his  original  inten- 
tion to  locate  in  Meredith;  but  while  spending 
a  vacation  in  his  native  town,  his  professional 
services  were  in  such  demand  as  to  cause  him 
to  change  his  mind.  He  opened  an  office  here 
then,  and  has  remained  in  the  town  since. 
His  skill  and  reliability  have  gained  for  liim 
a  wide  reputation  throughout  this  section,  and 
his  regular  practice  extends  over  a  radius  of 
eight  or  ten  miles.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Medical  Society,  and  a  Coun- 
sellor of  the  Winnepesaukee  Academy  of  Med- 
icine. In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  not 
a  partisan.  He  was  elected  Town  Clerk  in 
1894,  serving  until  1897,  and  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  eleven 
years. 

On  October  19,  1889,  Dr.  Hawkins  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Geneva  Moses, 
daughter  of  Thaddeus  Moses,  of  Meredith,  and 
now  has  three  children  —  Helen,  Ruth,  and 
Marguerite.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in  Cho- 
corua  Lodge  in  1887,  of  which  he  was  subse- 
quently Worshipful  Master  for  three  years. 
He  is  connected  with  Belknap  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  is  Past  Chancellor  of  Meredith 
Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  was  formerly 
First  Lieutenant  of  William  11.  Hawkins 
Cami),  Sons  of  Veterans.  He  attends  the 
Baptist  church,  of  which  Mrs.  Hawkins  is  a 
member. 


274 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■AMI'S  FRANK  ROHERTS,  who  owns 
nml  occupies  the  old  Roberts  homestead 
on  Meredith  Neck,  within  the  township 
of  Meredith,  was  Inirn  November  7,  1852,  in 
the  house  where  he  now  resides,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Nancy  C.  (Wiggin)  Roberts.  Both  of 
his  paternal  families  are  well  known  in  this 
town,  and  representatives  of  each  are  prosper- 
ous and  useful  citizens  of  Meredith.  His 
grandfather,  Leavitl  Roberts,  was  a  pioneer 
farmer  of  the  town.  Thomas  Roberts  was 
born  in  Meredith,  September  11,  1S12.  In 
his  younger  days  he  was  a  stone-cutter  in 
Ouincy,  Mass.,  and  later  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  died,  December  i,  1886,  upon  the 
farm  where  his  son,  Oren  N.,  now  resides. 
His  wife  Nancy  became  the  mother  of  four 
children,  namely:  Oren  N.,  the  Supervisor  of 
Roads  in  Meredith;  George  Smith  Roberts,  a 
resident  of  Chicago;  Eben  Fisk,  of  Medford, 
Mass.  ;  and  James  F. ,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  VoY  an  account  of  Mr.  Roberts's  ma- 
ternal ancestry  the  reader  is  referred  to  a 
sketch  of  Oren  N.  Roberts,  which  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work. 

James  Frank  Roberts  acquired  such  an  edu- 
cation as  was  afforded  by  the  public  school 
system  of  his  day,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
two  summers,  his  whole  life  has  been  spent  at 
the  homestead.  His  farm  contains  fifty-three 
acres,  all  of  which  is  under  cultivation,  and 
it  yields  large  crops  of  general  farm  products. 
On  December  23,  1893,  Mr.  Roberts  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Avis  E.  (Shattuck)  Ferry,  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  Calvin  S.  Shattuck,  an  evangelist 
of  the  Second  Advcntist  faith.  Mr.  Shattuck 
has  resided  in  Pittsfield,  N.  H.,  for  many 
years.  He  married  Phillis  Gray,  who  bore 
him  four  children,  of  whom  three  are  living. 
These  are:  the  Rev.  Frank  Shattuck,  of  Roch- 
ester, N.H.  ;  Avis  E.,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Rob- 
erts; and   the  Rev.    Charles  W.    Shattuck,   of 


Eakeport,  N.H.  In  politics  Mr.  Roberts  is  a 
Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of  Winnepesau- 
kee  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 


RANK     D.     RANDALL,    a    successful 

farmer  of  Lee,  Strafford  Comity,  N.H., 

was   born   on    the    farm    which    he   now 

owns   and   occupies,  August   27,    1853,   son    of 

John  and  Mary  J.   (Demerritt)  I^tandall. 

His  great-grandfather,  Simon  Randall,  the 
earliest  known  ancestor,  settled  on  this  farm 
in  the  year  1700.  Simon,  grandfather  of 
Frank  D.,  was  also  engaged  in  farming  most 
of  his  life. 

John,  son  of  Simon  Randall  (second),  was 
born  on  the  homestead  in  1S21.  He  and  his 
wife  Mary  were  the  parents  of  seven  children; 
namely,  I'rancis,  Israel,  Fallen,  Martha,  Frank 
D.,  Amanda,  and  Herbert,  of  whom  Israel  and 
Herbert  are  now  deceased.  Mr.  Randall  spent 
his  whole  life  on  the  farm,  and  was  a  highly 
esteemed  citizen.  He  contributed  liberally 
to  the  support  of  the  church.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  May,   1875. 

Frank  D.  Randall  acquired  a  good  prac- 
tical education,  attending  the  common  school, 
Coe's  Academy,  and  Manchester  Commercial 
School.  On  the  death  of  his  father,  he  re- 
turned home  and  took  charge  of  the  homestead. 
Its  present  flourishing  condition  attests  his 
knowledge  of  agriculture  as  well  as  his  prac- 
tical business  ability.  He  owns  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  acres  of  land,  and  carries  r)n 
general  farming. 

In  September,  1877,  Mr.  Randall  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Laura  A.  Chesley,  of 
Durham,  N.H.  They  have  one  son,  John  L. 
Mr.  Randall  belongs  to  the  Republican  party, 
and  had  the  honor  to  serve  as  Representative 
to  the  legislature  in  i  S96,  winning  his  elec- 
tion against  a  strong   Democratic  ticket. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


275 


LONZO  riCKKINS,  well  kiidwn  as  a 
thrifty  farmer  and  the  proprietor  of 
a  summer  boarding-house  in  Centre 
Harbor,  was  born  in  his  present  home,  July 
23,  1S32,  son  of  Timothy  and  Sally  (Jones) 
Perkins.  His  grandfather,  Lemuel  Perkins, 
who  was  born  in  1751,  was  a  prosperous  farmer 
of  Strafford,  N  H. 

Timothy  Perkins  was  also  a  native  of  Straf- 
ford, born  September  11,  1789.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools  and  at  Lincoln 
Academy,  and  after  the  completion  of  his 
studies  he  taught  school  for  several  winter 
terms.  His  summers  were  passed  at  the  home 
farm  until  after  his  marriage,  when  he  settled 
upon  a  tract  of  wild  land  in  Holderness, 
N.H.,  which  he  cleared  and  improved.  After 
residing  here  for  some  years,  he  sold  the  prop- 
erty and  bought  the  farm  in  Centre  Harbor 
where  his  son  now  resides.  The  rest  of  his 
life  was  spent  in  this  town,  and  he  died  P^eb- 
ruary  i,  1881.  He  was  one  of  the  pillars  of 
the  local  Democratic  party  organization  in  his 
day,  and  his  influence  was  felt  in  all  its  move- 
ments. He  served  as  a  Selectman  for  eighteen 
years;  was  the  Chairman  of  that  body  for  the 
greater  part  of  that  time;  was  Town  Treasurer 
a  number  of  years;  represented  Centre  Harbor 
in  the  legislature  for  three  terms,  and  was  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  for  about  forty  years. 
He  was  noted  throughout  this  section  as  an 
auctioneer,  and  also  did  a  great  deal  of  busi- 
ness before  the  Probate  Court,  settling  many 
estates.  His  wife,  Sally,  was  born  in  Straf- 
ford, January  8,  1795,  daughter  of  John  Jones, 
who  was  an  industrious  farmer  and  quite  an 
extensive  landowner.  She  became  the  mother 
of  nine  children,  eight  of  whom  are  li\'ing, 
namely:  William  J.,  a  resident  of  Centre 
Harbor;  P^meline  R.,  now  a  widow;  Paul, 
who  resides  in  Ashland;  John  S.,  of  Holder- 
ness; George    S. ,    of   Lakeport;  Ebenezer   F., 


now  deceased;  Alonzo,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Timothy,  who  died  in  infancy;  and 
Charles  H.,  also  deceased,  (iooding  Piper, 
who  was  the  husband  of  Kmeiine  R.,  enlisted 
in  Company  I,  Twelfth  licgiment.  New  Hamp- 
shire Volunteers,  and  died  while  serving  in 
the  late  war.  Mrs.  Timothy  Perkins  diet! 
March  23,   1867. 

Alonzo  Perkins  acquired  a  [lublic  school 
education.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  went 
to  Lowell,  Mass.,  where  he  learned  the 
mason's  trade.  Subsequently  he  followed 
that  calling  until  1866,  when  his  mother's 
illness  caused  him  thereafter  to  remain  at  the 
homestead.  After  her  death  he  concluded  to 
engage  in  agricultural  pursuits,  which  he  has 
since  followed;  and  he  eventually  succeeded 
to  the  ownership  of  the  property.  His  farm 
contains  eighty  acres  of  fertile  land,  twenty- 
five  of  which  are  under  cultivation.  He  win- 
ters an  average  of  eight  head  of  cattle.  In 
1890  he  began  to  entertain  summer  boarders, 
having  accommodations  for  si.xteen  at  one 
time.  His  pleasant  house  is  now  well  patron- 
ized during  the  heated  term. 

On  April  7,  1857,  Mr.  Perkins  married 
Henrietta  C.  Keyser,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Keyser,  of  Shirley,  Mass.  He  ha.s  one  daugh- 
ter, Carrie  Etta,  now  the  wife  of  Ned  15.  San- 
born, of  Meredith.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  was  a  Selectman  for  two  years.  Tax 
Collector  and  Highway  Surveyor  for  a  number 
of  terms,  was  a  delegate  to  the  Constitutional 
Convention  ;  and  he  has  been  Town  Clerk  for 
the  past  four  years.  Mrs.  Perkins  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church. 


AMUI:L    F.     DKMFRITT,     a    prac- 
tical     farmer     of      Lee,      Strafford 
^—m^^       County,    was     born    in    Tuftonboro, 
Carroll     County,     N.H.,     October     18,     1829, 


ijG 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


son  of  lulmiind  and  Lois  (l)omcriitt)  Dcmoiitt. 
lie  removed  to  Wolfboro,  in  the  same  county, 
when  he  was  but  eight  years  of  age,  and 
there  acquired  his  education  in  public  and 
l)rivate  schools,  remaining  until  early  man- 
hood. In  1S54  he  left  the  charming  scenery 
of.  Lake  Winnepcsaukce,  and  came  to  Lee, 
where  he  was  employed  by  his  uncle,  Andrew 
]•'..  Demerritt,  on  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides.  Si.\  months  later  he  went  to  Boston, 
Mass.,  being  engaged  for  five  months  there- 
after in  the  commission  business  in  that  city, 
("loing  then  to  Dover,  N.  H.,  he  worked  three 
years  in  the  shoe  factories  there,  subsequently 
returning  to  Lee,  where  he  has  since  resided. 
Mr.  Demeritt  owns  one  hundred  and  ninety 
acres  of  land,  and  successfully  carries  on  a 
genera!  farming  and  dairy  business.  In  poli- 
tics he  supports  the  principles  of  the  Demo- 
cratic part}-.  In  uSSi  he  had  the  honor  to 
serve  his  party  and  the  town  of  Lee  as  Rep- 
resentative to  the  legislature. 

On  September  13,  i860,  Mr.  Demeritt  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lucy  A.  Dockum,  of 
Wolfboro,  N.H. 


[OSIAH  TOWLE  STURTEVANT,  a 
retired  business  man  of  Meredith,  was 
born  June  22,  1S27,  at  Centre  Harbor, 
N.  II.,  son  of  Ward  Cotton  and  Lucetta 
(Dalton)  Sturtevant.  His  great-grandfather, 
Church  Sturtevant,  who  was  a  native  of  Hali- 
fa.\,  Mass.,  and  a  pioneer  settler  in  Centre 
Harbor,  reared  several  sons,  one  of  whom, 
Ilosea  Sturtevant,  served  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary     War.  Joseph      Sturtevant, 

grandfather  of  Josiah  T.,  was  born  in  Halifax 
in  1770.  When  fourteen  years  old  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  New  Hampshire,  and 
settled  with  them  upon  a  tract  of  wild  land  at 
Centre   Harbor.      At   that  time  there  were  but 


two  small  houses  and  a  grist-mill  up<in  the 
site  of  the  present  city  of  Laconia.  ,  Ouite  a 
settlement  had  sprung  up  at  what  is  known  as 
Meredith  Parade,  however;  but  the  town  of 
Meredith  contained  only  two  farm  houses,  a 
grist-mill,  and  a  dugout  that  served  as  tlie 
abode  of  the  miller.  The  farm  which  Joseph 
Sturtevant  assisted  in  reclaiming  from  the 
wilderness  eventually  fell  to  him,  and  be 
resided  there  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He 
married  Dorothy  Tovvle,  and  reared  thiee  chil- 
dren—  W^ard  C,  Elsie,  and  Olive.  Elsie 
married  Jonathan  Clarke,  of  Moultnnboro; 
and  Olive  became  the  wife  of  James  Jackson, 
of  Eaton,  N.H.  The  father  was  a  Whig  in 
politics;  while  both  he  and  his  family  be- 
longed to  the  Congregational ist  church. 

Ward  Cotton  Sturtevant,  the  father  of  Jo- 
siah T.  Sturtevant,  born  at  Centre  Harbor  in 
1798,  was  reared  at  the  homestead,  succeeded 
to  its  ownership  after  his  father's  death,  and 
followed  general  farming  during  the  rest  of 
his  active  period.  In  politics  he  supported 
the  Whig  party.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Congregational  church  at  Centre 
Harbor,  and  served  it  as  a  Deacon  for  many 
years.  Ward  C.  Sturtevant  died  in  US79. 
His  wife  Lucetta,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Dalton, 
of  Deerfield,  N.H.,  became  the  mother  of  five 
children;  namely,  Julia  A.,  Josiah  T. ,  Mar- 
tha, Henry,  and  Mary.  Julia  A.,  now  de- 
ceased, became  the  wife  of  Abner  Z.  C.  True, 
of  Centre  Harbor.  Martha  is  the  wife  of 
William  Gordon,  of  Boston.  Henry  is  resid- 
ing at  the  old  homestead;  and  Mary  died  at 
the  age  of  two  years.  The  mother  lived  to  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  years. 

Josiah  Towle  Sturtevant  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  schools  of  Centre  Harbor  and 
Meredith.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  began  to 
learn  the  blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  subse- 
quently followed  for  seven  years.      During  the 


i 


MOSES    CRAFT     LATHROP. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


270 


succeeding];  three  years  he  wns  employed  in  a 
pianii  factory  as  a  painter  and  varnisiier.  In 
185.S,  while  visiting  at  the  homestead,  he  met 
a  travelling  photographer,  who  had  a  studio 
upon  wheels.  On  finding  that  the  migratory 
artist  was  desirous  of  selling  out,  Mr.  Sturtc- 
vant  hought  the  entire  outfit,  and  after  receiv- 
ing a  little  instruction  started  in  the  Inisiness 
for  himself.  A  short  time  later  he  went  to 
Concord,  where  he  obtained  a  more  jiractical 
knowledge  of  the  business.  After  this  he 
continued  to  move  about  with  his  travelling 
studio  between  Centre  Harbor  and  Meredith 
until  i860,  when  he,  in  turn,  found  a  jiur- 
chaser  for  the  outfit.  He  then  erected  a  per- 
manent gallery  in  Meredith,  where  he  re- 
mained continuously  until  1864.  In  this  year 
he  began  to  pass  his  winters  in  Laconia.  He 
continued  in  the  photograph  business  until 
failing  health  caused  him  to  relinquish  it  in 
I  S67,  and  after  his  recovery  he  was  employed 
in  a  drug  store  in  this  town  for  three  years. 
Since  1870  he  has  carried  on  quite  an  exten- 
sive business  in  real  estate.  He  also  deals  in 
sewer  pijie,  being  the  only  one  to  handle  that 
article  north  of  Laconia. 

Some  time  ago,  after  having  acquired  con- 
siderable property,  Mr.  Towle  retired  from 
active  occupation.  He  is  connected  with 
Winnepesaukee  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of  La- 
conia, and  with  Winnepesaukee  Grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican.  On  September  ig,  1871,  he 
wedded  Mary  A.  Perley,  daughter  of  Dr.  J.  L. 
I'erley,  of  Laconia. 


kOSKS  CRAFT  LATHROI',  M.D., 
son  of  William  and  IClizabeth 
(Drake)  Lathrop,  came  to  Dover, 
N.H.,  in  May,  1S66,  and  purchased  and  occu- 
pied his  present  residence,  16  St.  John  Street, 


where  he  has  since  devoted  himself  exclusively 
to  his  profession.  II is  birthplace,  Tolland, 
Conn.,  was  through  six  generations  the  ances- 
tral home  of  the  Lathrops,  whose  lineage 
reaches  back  unbroken  over  three  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  In  his  admirable  "Genealogical 
Memoir"  of  the  Lo-I.athrop  family,  the  Rev. 
K.  H.  Huntington,  A.M.,  says:  — 

"I.owthorpe  is  a  small  parish  in  the  wajien- 
take  of  Dickering,  in  the  ICast  Riding  of 
York,  four  and  a  half  luiles  north-east  from 
Great  Driffield,  having  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  inhabitants.  It  is  a  per]ietual  curacy  in 
the  archfleaconr)'  of  \'ork.  This  parish  gave 
the  name  to  the  family  of  Lovvthrop,  Lothrop, 
or  Lathrop.  The  church,  which  was  dedicated 
to  St.  Martin,  and  had  for  one  of  its  chaji- 
lains,  in  the  reign  of  Richard,  the  second 
Robert  de  Lovithorj),  is  now  parly  ruinatec', 
the  tower  and  chancel  being  almost  entirely 
overgrown  with  ivy.  It  was  a  collegiate 
church  from  1333,  and  from  the  style  of  its 
architecture  must  have  been  built  about  the 
time  of  Edward  III.,"  1312-77. 

From  the  many  notices  of  the  I.owthorpes 
in  that  English  parish  we  take  this  curious 
record:  "1292  Walter  de  Lovvthorpe  is  sum- 
moned to  answer  to  the  king,  Edward  I.,  for 
attempting  to  regulate  the  "assize  of  beer"  on 
all  of  his  tenants  in  Lowthori:)e,  and  fither 
places,  without  a  license  from  the  king." 
He  stoutly  defended  him.-elf,  insisting  upon 
his  unquestioned  right  "anent  custom  thro  his 
ancestors  without  interruption,  beyond  the 
memory  of  man." 

It  was  a  descendant  of  this  ancii'Ut  and 
honorable  family,  whose  arrival  in  America  is 
recorded  on  page  seventy-one  of  Governor 
\Vinthrop"s  journal,  un<ler  date  of  .September 
iS,  1634:  "The  'Griffin"  and  another  ship 
now  arriving  with  about  two  hundred  ]ias- 
sengers,  Mr.  Lathrop  and  Mr  Sims,  two  godly 


28o 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


ministers,  comint;  in  the  same  ship."  The 
Rev.  John  Lathrop,  this  "godly  minister," 
who  fled  from  the  persecutions  of  Laud,  was 
welcomed  by  a  little  flock,  with  whom  later 
he  founded  the  first  church  in  Barnstable, 
Mass.  The  first  home  of  Mr.  Lathrop  was 
small  and  uncomfortable,  but  in  1644  he  oc- 
cupied a  more  substantial  structure,  the  frame 
of  which,  after  more  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  is  not  only  still  standing,  but,  ac- 
cording to  a  local  historian,  "is  now,  in  its 
rcmodelleil  form,  one  of  the  prettiest  build- 
ings in  the  village,  and  is  occupied  for  a  par- 
sonage and  a  public  library."  Rev.  John 
Lathrop  was  an  independent  thinker,  a  man 
"distinguished  for  worldly  wisdom  as  well  as 
for  piety." 

From  him  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  in 
the  eighth  generation  descended.  His  grand- 
father, the  Rev.  Rowland  Lathrop,  of  Tolland, 
Conn.,  married  Hannah  Craft,  sixth  in  descent 
from  Lieutenant  GrifTin  Craft,  of  Ro.xbury, 
Mass.,  emigrant  from  England  in  1630,  and 
for  eight  sessions  delegate  to  the  Massachu- 
setts  General  Court.  His  father,  William 
Lathrop,  who  was  born  in  1806,  and  died  in 
1877,  was  a  Christian  gentleman  of  sterling 
worth  and  integrity,  proi)rietor  of  land  in  Tol- 
land, Conn.,  and  of  certain  mill  interests  in 
Ellington,  Conn.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Wolcott  Drake,  daughter  of  Francis  Drake,  of 
East  Windsor,  Conn.,  who  died  in  her  son's 
infancy. 

His  grandfather  on  his  mother's  side  was 
the  daughter  of  Dr.  Simon  Wolcott,  military 
surgeon  through  the  Revolutionary  War, 
whose  father.  Dr.  Alexander  Wolcott,  was  the 
son  of  Major-general  Roger  Wolcott,  Gover- 
nor of  Connecticut,  brother  of  Major-general 
Oliver  Wolcott,  LL.D.,  Governor  of  Connect- 
icut, and  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence;    uncle     of     Major-general     Oliver 


Wolcott,  second,  LL.D.,  Governor  of  Con- 
necticut. 

Dr.  Lathrop  is  an  alumnus  of  the  acatlemies 
of  Wilbraham  and  Munson,  Mass.  He  stud- 
ied medicine  with  Dr.  Marshal  Calkins,  now 
of  Springfield,  Mass.,  late  Professor  of  Physi- 
ology in  the  Vermont  University,  and  with 
the  late  Dr.  G.  M.  Nichols,  of  Worcester, 
Mass.,  and  graduated  from  the  Worcester 
Medical  College  in  1852.  The  expenses  of 
his  education  were  met  by  his  own  exertions 
in  manual  labor  and  in  teaching. 

In  1853  he  married  Elizabeth  Babcock, 
widow  of  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Mathews,  and  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  William  S.  ]?abcock,  of  Bar- 
rington,  N.H.,  who  was  a  graduate  of  Yale, 
she  being  a  grand-daughter  of  Adam  Babcock, 
of  Boston,  and  great-grand-daughter  of  Judge 
Joshua  Babcock  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Rhode  Island,  a  co-founder  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity. By  this  marriage  Dr.  Lathrop  assumed 
what  has  proved  to  be  the  very  happy  relation 
of  stepfather  to  the  following  named  children: 
the  now  eminent  musician,  W.  S.  B.  Mathews, 
of  Chicago;  the  late  Lieutenant  John  W. 
Mathews,  who  in  1862,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, enlisted  as  private  in  the  Twenty-first 
Iowa  Infantry;  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Mathews,  who 
founded  and  for  ten  years  was  pastor  of  the 
Boylston  Church,  Boston,  and  is  now  jiastor 
of  the  Hanover  Street  Congregational  Church, 
Milwaukee,  Wis. ;  Martha  A.,  widow  of  the 
late  Dr.  T.  J.  W.  Pray,  of  Dover;  and  Mary 
E.,  wife  of  W.  A.  Burnap,  Esq.,  of  Iowa. 

In  early  professional  life  Dr.  Lathrop  hatl 
experience  of  the  rougher  side  of  country  prac- 
tice, both  among  the  hills  of  New  England 
and  on  the  prairies  of  upper  Des  Moines. 
There  where  the  log  stockade  was  still  a  ne- 
cessity against  marauding  Indians,  two  hun- 
dred miles  from  a  railroatl,  in  the  now  popu- 
lous and  ever  lovely  Algona,  he,  with  some  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


281 


the  clioicc'st  of  liome-scekcrs  the  I'"ast  has  sent 
out,  lived  fora  short  time  the  rude,  hut  iiealth- 
ful,  happy,  life  of  the  pioneer  doctor. 

In  July,  1S63,  Dr.  Lathrop  began  army  ser- 
vice in  the  Nineteenth  Iowa  Infantry  on  a 
commission  as  Assistant  Sur<;eon  from  (lovcr- 
nor  Kirkvvood.  In  the  following  October  he 
was  [jromoted  to  be  Surgeon,  Fourth  I'^ngi- 
neers  "Corps  d'Afrique,"  Colonel  Charles 
L.  Norton  commanding.  The  designation 
of  this  regiment  was  later  changed  to  Ninety- 
eighth  U.  S.  C.  I.  ant!  in  the  autumn  of  1865 
was,  by  consolidation,  merged  in  the  Sixty- 
eigiith,  whose  surgeon,  much  against  his 
inclination,  he  was  appointed  to  replace. 
By  incessant  care  and  effort,  through  many 
difficulties,  Surgeon  Lathrop  succeedetl  in 
raising  the  sanitary  condition  of  his  regi- 
ment to  the  highest  degree,  and  was  informed 
from  headquarters  that  its  health  record  stood 
first  in  the  Department  of  the  Gulf.  During 
her  husband's  absence,  Mrs.  Lathrop,  too,  did 
efficient  service  for  the  soldiers  as  travelling 
agent  of  the  N.  W.  Sanitary  Commission, 
under  the  direction  of  its  President,  Mrs. 
Mary  A.  Livermore,  whose  intimate  friend- 
ship she  still  enjoys.  At  Brashear  City,  La., 
Dr.  Lathrop  was  for  several  months  Post  Sur- 
geon; and  at  New  Iberia,  La.,  by  appointment 
of  General  T.  W.  Sherman,  he  served  as  Judge 
Advocate  of  a  General  Court  Martial  for  the 
trial  of  several  capital  cases. 

Through  the  winter  and  spring  of  1 866, 
upon  a  complimentary  ticket  from  Dean  Shat- 
tuck,  of  Harvard  Medical  School,  he  pursued 
clinical  studies  in  Boston. 

In  1880  Dr.  Lathrop  went  to  Europe,  and 
when  in  London,  under  the  skilful  guidance 
of  a  hospital  attache,  made  the  tour  of  its  hos- 
pitals, attending  clinics  of  Lister,  Bryant,  ami 
other  celebrities.  Accompanied  by  his  wife, 
he  has  made  the  following  excursions:  in  1886 


to  California;  in  18S7  to  W'asiiington,  D.C, 
to  the  Ninth  Triennial  Meeting  of  the  Inter- 
national Medical  Association;  in  18SS  to 
I'uget  Sound  over  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
road; in  1892  to  Mexico,  as  member  of  the 
American  Public  Health  Association. 

In  1850  Dr.  Lathro])  joined  the  i'lea.sant 
Street  Baptist  Church  of  Worcester,  Mass., 
and  to  this  time  has  been  a  regular  attendant 
and  supporter  of  religious  services.  He  is  a 
Knight  Templar  of  St.  Paul's  Commandery, 
and  a  member  of  various  other  social  orders, 
including  the  G.  A.  R.  Of  the  Knights  of 
Honor  he  has  served  as  State  Medical  P.x- 
aniiner.  He  has,  however,  in  every  otiier 
circle  but  medical  persistently  withluld  liini- 
self  from  the  honors  and  duties  of  office.  He 
is  ex-President  of  the  Dover  and  of  the  .Straf- 
ford District  Medical  Societies.  In  June, 
i8g6,  he  was  elected  Vice-President  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Medical  Society,  which  he 
had  previously  represented  to  various  other 
medical  societies,  inchulingthe  American  and 
the  Canadian. 

Dr.  Lathrop's  decision  of  thirty  years  ago  to 
settle  in  Dover,  though  reluctantly  taken  in 
the  face  of  strong  attractions  elsewhere,  and 
because  of  family  sickness,  has  in  its  recollec- 
tion no  regrets  over  the  "might  have  beens  " 
that  are  not  more  than  offset  by  the  retrospect 
of  a  very  busy  life  and  the  beauty  of  its  friend- 
ships. And  now,  after  forty-five  years"  ex- 
perience of  its  toils  and  pleasures,  he  still 
jnirsucs,  with  unabated  vigor,  the  study  and 
practise  of  his  vocation  con  niiioir,  and  with  a 
satisfactory  degree  of  substantial  success. 


nrXANH-.L     WADSWORTH     COP:,     a 

I        I      farmer  of    Centre    Harbor,    lulkn.ip 

('—I*!*/      County,   was   born   there,  April    28, 

1838,    son   of  John   and    Lavinia   T.    (Scnter) 


2R2 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Coe.     The  genealogy  of  the  family  dates  back 
to    the   sixteenth    century.      Robert    Coe,    the 
earliest  paternal  ancestor  of  whom  there  is  any 
recortl,  was  born    in   Suffolkshire,  England,  in 
1596.       In    April,     1634,    with    his    wife    and 
three  sons,  Robert   Coe   sailed   from    Ipswich, 
Suffolkshire,    in   the  ship  "I'rancis,"   and   ar- 
rived at   Boston    in    the   following   June.      He 
settled    in   Watertown,    Mass.,    where    in    the 
same  year  he  was  made  a  freeman.      In    1635 
he  and  his  family  emigrated   to  VVethersfield ; 
anil  there,  as  was  tlie  custom   of  the  early  set- 
tlers,   they   traded    largely   with    the    Indians. 
On   October   30,    1640,  in   pursuance   of   a   de- 
cision  to  divide  the  church   society,  owing  to 
a  dispute  among  its  members  that  the  church 
at    Watertown    and    Mr.    Davenport,    of    New 
Haven,  had  fruitlessly  tried  to  settle,  Andrew 
Ward    and    Robert    Coe,    representing    them- 
selves and   about   twenty   other   planters,   pur- 
chased Reppowans  (Stamford),  of   New  Haven 
Colony,    for  the    sum   of    thirty-three   pounds. 
In    1643  a  General   Court  was   established  at 
Stamford,  and   Robert  Coe,    now   one    of    the 
foremost  men   of  the  colonies,  was   appointed 
an    assistant   Judge.      Next   year,    in   company 
with  several  other  persons,  he  formed  the  first 
English    settlement    at   Hempstead,    Long  Is- 
land.    Eight  years  after,  he  removed  to  what 
is  now   called   Newtown,    Long   Island,  where 
he  became   Magistrate,  and   took   a  prominent 
part  in  all  town   affairs.      P"our  years   later  he 
was  one  of  a  party  to  establish  a  settlement   in 
Jamaica,  Long  Island.      The  land  occupied  by 
the    settlers    was    purchased    of    the    Indians, 
March   21,    1656,    and   the   certificate   of  pur- 
chase was  signed  by  Robert  Coe  and  seventeen 
others.     In  1659  he  was  appointed  Magistrate 
of    this   town;   and    in    May,    1664,   he   repre- 
sented Jamaica  at  the   General   Convention  at 
Hartford,    by   which    body   he    was    appointed 
Commissioner     for    his     town.        Thereafter, 


until  1672,  he  continued  to  be  one  of  the  most 
prominent  men  in  that  district. 

Robert  Coe,  Jr.,  who  was  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, born  in  1627,  and  accompanied  his  father 
to  America,  settled  in  Stratford,  Conn.,  and 
died  in  1659.  His  only  son,  born  in  1658, 
who  grew  to  manhood  in  New  Haven,  at  the 
age  of  thirty  returned  to  Stratford,  mar- 
ried Mary  Hawley,  became  the  father 
of  ten  children,  and  died  in  1741.  One  of 
these  children,  Joseph  Coe,  born  in  1686, 
married  Abigail  Robinson,  and  died  in  1754. 
Joseph  Coe,  Jr.,  born  in  17 13,  married  Han- 
nah Parmell,  who,  with  her  child,  died  in  the 
following  year.  He  contracted  a  second  mar- 
riage in  1739  with  Abigail  Curtis,  and  died  at 
Middlefield,  Conn.,  in  1784,  leaving  ten  chil- 
dren. These  children  were:  James,  Hannah, 
Abigail,  Anne,  Joseph,  the  Rev.  Curtis,  Eben- 
ezer,  Joel,  Abigail,  and  Elisha.  The  Rev. 
Curtis  Coe,  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  July  21,  1750.  After  re- 
ceiving his  education  at  Brown  University, 
where  he  graduated  in  1776,  he  was  ordained 
at  Durham,  N.H.,  November  i,  1786,  and 
afterward  preached  in  the  Congregational 
church  there  for  many  years.  He  was  honor- 
ably dismissed  from  the  ministry  in  1806,  and 
died  in  1829.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Anne  Thompson,  bore  him  eight  children 
—  Joseph,  Abigail,  Ebenezer,  Polly,  Curtis, 
Anne,  John,  and  Benjamin. 

John  Coe,  who  was  born  in  Durham,  No- 
vember 3,  1797,  obtained  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  town,  and  worked  for 
his  brother  in  a  country  store  until  he  was 
twenty  years  old.  He  then  started  in  busi- 
ness for  himself,  and  thereafter  carried  it  on 
successfully  for  ten  years.  He  next  engaged 
in  ship-building  at  Durham  with  his  brother 
Joseph.  This  was  in  the  early  days  of  the 
temperance  movement,  when  it  was   customary 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


^83 


among  ship-builders  to  serve  lic|uor  in  the 
ship-yard  every  day  at  eleven  o'elock.  The 
new  firm,  having  decided  to  discontinue  the 
practice,  posted  notices  to  that  effect,  but  an- 
nouncing that  in  lieu  of  drink  its  money 
value  would  be  added  to  the  pay  of  each  man. 
The  result  was  a  strike,  but  Messrs.  Coe 
Brothers  secured  new  men  from  Portsmouth  to 
fill  the  places  of  the  strikers.  A  few  years 
after  his  marriage  John  Coe  purchased  of  his 
father-in-law  the  old  Senter  House,  which  he 
remodelled  and  improved  in  various  ways. 
Later  he  left  the  Senter  House  in  charge  of 
his  son  Curtis,  and  leased  the  old  Marlboro 
Hotel  in  15oston,  which  he  conducted  for  many 
years.  After  this  he  went  extensively  into 
the  real  estate  business  in  Boston.  His  wife, 
Lavinia,  who  came  from  Centre  Harbor,  bore 
him  six  children;  namely,  Curtis  S.,  Annie 
L. ,  John  Lyman,  Ellen  L. ,  Rufus  L.,  and 
Daniel  W.  Curtis  S.  married  Laura  Merrill; 
Annie  L.  married  Charles  P.  Towle ;  Ellen  L. 
married  S.  J.  Ouimby,  M.  D.  ;  Rufus  L.  mar- 
ried M.  J.  Canney;  and  Daniel  W.  married 
Fannie  Ladd.  The  wife  of  John  Coe  was  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  M.  and  Lettice  Alls 
(Hean)  Senter,  and  she  had  three  sisters  and 
one  brother.  John  Senter,  one  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  Londonderry  in  1719,  was  the  first  rep- 
resentative of  the  Senter  family  in  Centre 
Harbor.  He  was  of  English  birth,  but  he 
went  from  Long  Island,  New  York,  to  Lon- 
donderry. His  son  Moses,  of  Centre  Harbor, 
was  the  grandfather  of  Lavinia.  In  his 
younger  days  Mr.  John  Coe  was  a  Democrat ; 
but  at  the  time  of  his  death,  April  2,  1861, 
he  was  a  stanch  Republican.  He  was  ex- 
tremely active  in  politics,  but  had  no  time  to 
fill  public  offices. 

Daniel  Wadsworth  Coe  spent  his  boyhooil 
in  Centre  Harbor,  laying  the  foundation  of  his 
education  in  the  public   schools   of   this  place. 


He  sidisecpiently  attended  Gilmanton  Acad- 
emy, Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  and 
the  New  Hampton  Biblical  Seminary  and 
Literary  Institute.  He  has  always  lived  on 
the  home  farm,  which  he  has  successfully 
carried  on  since  taking  up  the  real  work  of 
life.  He  has  given  his  attention  chieHy  to 
general   farming. 

On  July  I,  iS/S,  Mr.  Coe  married  Miss 
Fannie  Ladd,  daughter  of  Seneca  Ladd,  of 
Meredith,  N.H.  Politically,  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican. In  1895  he  was  elected  Selectman  of 
the  town,  and  was  re-elected  in  1896.  He  is 
a  prominent  member  of  Garnet  Hill  Grange. 
The  sterling  qualities  of  his  ancestors  are 
repeated  in  Mr.  Coe,  who  is  a  most  public- 
spirited  citizen  and  a  very  genial  and  hospita- 
ble man. 


(^OHN  DEMERITT,  of  Madbury,  Straf- 
^^  I  ford  County,  Sergeant-at-arms  of  the 
vcj/  New  Ham[)shire  Senate  din-ing  the  late 
session  of  the  legislature  (1897)  is  the  worthy 
representative  of  substantial  Colonial  stock 
planted  in  the  soil  of  the  Granite  State  more 
than  two  hundred  years  ago. 

In  1694  there  came  to  the  little  town  of 
Madbury,  then  a  parish  in  Dover,  one  Eli  de 
Merit,  who,  according  to  tradition,  was  a 
Huguenot  refugee,  fleeing  from  France  soon 
after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
and  settling  in  the  Isle  of  Jersey,  where,  as 
his  will  shows,  being  still  extant,  he  left  an 
estate.  He  is  supposetl  to  have  descended 
from  a  Saxon  thane  of  Somersetshire, 
Eadnoth,  whose  son  was  surnamed  de  Meriet, 
mention  of  whom  is  to  be  founil  in  ancient 
records  of  1084  and  1  140.  Sir  John  tie 
Meriet,  a  descendant,  was  born  in  132S,  and 
ilietl  in  Calais,  P'rance,  in  1369;  and  his  son, 
Thomas  de  Meriet,  lived  in  Caen.  lili  de 
Merit  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  great  force 


284 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


of  character  cngciulered  by  the  stormy  period 
in  which  he  lived.  Some  of  his  descendants 
still  preserve  the  French  form  of  speJlinj,^  the 
name,  but  it  is  more  commonly  written  De- 
merit or  Demcritt. 

Eli  de  Merit  had  five  sons,  four  of  whom  — 
namely,  Eli,  John,  William,  and  Job  —  mar- 
ried and  had  families.  From  them  has  sprung 
a  race  which  is  scattered  throughout  New  Eng- 
land and  other  parts  of  the  United  States. 
One  of  the  name  and  kin  is  the  subject  of  the 
present  sketch,  John  Demeritt,  son  of  Ezra 
Edrick  and  Louisa  (Demeritt)  Demeritt,  who 
traces  his  descent  on  both  sides  of  the  house 
through  six  generations.  The  paternal  an- 
cestral line  is  as  follows:  first,  Eli  de  Merit; 
second.  Eli,  Jr.;  third,  Ebenezer;  fourth, 
Jonathan,  who  married  his  cousin  Deborah, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Demeritt,  his  father's 
brother;  fifth,  Ebenezer  Thompson,  who  mar- 
ried Hannah  Demeritt,  daughter  of  Ebenezer, 
brother  of  Jonathan ;  and  si.xth,  Ezra  Edrick 
Demeritt.  In  the  maternal  line  the  second 
generation  was  represented  by  Eli  de  Merit's 
son  John;  the  third  by  Major  John,  known  as 
"Powder  Major";  the  fourth  by  another 
Major  John;  and  the  fifth  by  Hopley  De- 
meritt, who  married  Abigail  Snell,  and  was 
the  father  of  Eouisa,  the  wife  of  Ezra  Edrick 
Demeritt.  There  was  a  John  Demeritt  in  the 
fifth  generation  in  this  line,  Hopley's  brother, 
who  died  a  young  man;  and  one  in  the  si.xth, 
John  \V.,  Hopley's  son,  who  died  in  child- 
hood. 

John  Demeritt,  the  sixth  of  the  name,  who 
is  thus  shown  to  be  of  the  seventh  generation 
from  the  immigrant  ancestor,  was  born  in 
Madbury,  August  8,  1856,  on  the  farm  that 
was  mostly  acquired  by  his  grandfather,  Eben- 
ezer Thompson  Demeritt.  A  portion  of  this 
land  was  also  owned  by  his  great-grandfather 
Jonathan,    who   inherited    it    from    his    father. 


Ebenezer,  its  possession  in  the  family  thus 
covering  a  period  of  great  length.  The  farm 
now  consists  of  about  two  hundred  acres  of 
land,  charmingly  situated  at  the  foot  of 
Moharimet's  Hill,  so  called  from  an  Indian 
sagamore,  who  made  it  his  stronghold  in  the 
early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century;  and  it 
stretches  away,  in  beautiful  and  varied  expanse 
of  field,  meadow,  and  pasture,  to  another 
wooded  height  known  as  Beech  Hill,  which  is 
the  boundary  between  Madbury  and  the  ad- 
joining town  of  Durham.  The  spot  where  the 
present  house  now  stands,  shaded  by  majestic, 
wide-spreading  trees,  marks  the  site  of  an  old 
garrison  which  stood  as  a  refuge  in  the  )5eril- 
ous  times  of  Indian  warfare,  and  was  called 
the  "Tasker  garrison"  from  the  Taskett  or 
Tasker  family,  who  were  the  early  settlers. 

Mr.  Demeritt's  father,  Ezra  Edrick  De- 
meritt, was  for  many  years  one  of  the  promi- 
nent and  influential  residents  of  this  section 
of  Strafford  County,  being  widely  known  in 
all  the  surrounding  towns,  and  an  important 
factor  in  the  agricultural  interests  of  Mad- 
bury, where  his  death  occurred  June  26, 
1890,  at  the  age  of  sixty -five  years.  He  was 
a  firm  adherent  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
served  in  various  official  capacities,  being  a 
member  of  the  State  legislature  in  1861  and 
1862,  Postmaster  three  years,  Justice  of  the 
Peace  several  terms;  Selectman  and  Town 
Clerk  twenty  years,  besides  holding  many 
offices  of  minor  importance.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  political  sagacity,  and  was  well  versed 
in  all  the  impending  cjuestions  of  national  and 
local  importance,  being  a  deep  reader,  and 
jjossessing  sound  judgment  and  a  penetrative 
mind.  He  married  May  30,  1855,  Louisa 
Maria  Demeritt,  who  is  a  woman  of  individual 
worth  and  character.  To  them  were  born  two 
children  —  John  and  Jennie  Mabelle.  The 
daughter  is  now  a  library  assistant  at  the  Bos- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


2S5 


ton  Athena;uni,  ami  tlic  mother  resides   at   tlie 
Matlbury  home. 

!\Ir.  Denieritt's  great-great-graiuUallier  on 
tlie  mat'jrnal  side,  Major  John  Dcmeritt  of 
Revolutionary  fame,  was  one  of  the  party  of 
patriotic  men  who  went  by  boat  from  Durham 
to  aid  in  securing  the  ammunition  at  Fort 
William  and  Mary  in  December,  1774.  The 
account  of  the  capture  of  the  fort  is  too  well 
known  to  need  repetition.  Certainly  it  was  a 
brave  act  on  the  part  of  each  man,  as  all  im- 
perilled their  lives  in  the  attempt.  It  was  a 
very  important  step,  also,  as  seen  now  in  the 
historic  light  of  over  one  hundred  years;  for  it 
was  the  first  armed  resistance  against  Great 
Britain.  The  throwing  overboard  of  the  tea 
in  lioston  Harbor  and  the  burning  of  the 
"Gaspee"  in  Narragansett  Bay  were  prior  to 
this;  but  in  those  exploits  no  arms  were  used 
openly  and  in  warlike  manner,  as  was  done  at 
the  fort.  The  little  party  from  Durham  re- 
turned safely  with  their  spoils,  which  con- 
sisted of  guns,  balls,  and  powder,  most  of  the 
latter  being  taken  up  the  Piscataqua  and 
Oyster  Rivers,  and  secreted  at  first  under  the 
Durham  meeting-house,  which  stood  directly 
on  the  bank  of  Oyster  River.  Owing  to  the 
accessibility  of  the  place,  as  the  river  then 
was  a  thoroughfare  for  crafts  of  all  kinds,  it 
was  thought  unsafe;  and  Major  Demeritt  re- 
moved it  to  his  own  premises  in  Madbury. 
There  he  had  a  magazine  constructed,  where  it 
remained  several  months,  until  in  that  event- 
ful June,  1775,  it  being  needed  by  the  forces 
in  Massachusetts,  he  took  the  most  of  it  there 
himself  in  an  o.\  cart,  arriving  in  season  for 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  thus  rendering  an 
important  service  to  the  country  at  a  critical 
time.  Some  of  this  ammunition  has  been 
preserved  and  passed  down  as  a  precious  heir- 
loom to  the  present  John,  who  has  been  so 
generous  as   to   present   a   few  balls   from    his 


little  hoard  In  the  NVw  Hampshire  Historical 
Society,  anil  a  few  to  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society,  at  whose  rooms  oi  exhibition 
they  may  be  seen.  It  was  doubtless  in  recog- 
nition of  his  gallant  services  that  the  Fourth 
Provincial  Congress  at  K.xeter  voted,  Novem- 
ber 9,  1775,  "that  Captain  John  Demeritt  be 
First  Major  of  the  -Second  Regiment  of  mili- 
tia in  this  colony"  (New  Hampshire  Pro- 
vincial Papers,  vol.  vii.  p.  655).  Thirty- 
three  years  afterward  Major  Denieritt's  son 
John  was  appointed  First  Major  in  the 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment,  receiving  his  com- 
mission   from    Governor    John    Langdon. 

The  seat  of  the  John  branch  of  the  family, 
and  the  place  on  which  the  powder  was  so 
carefully  stored,  is  situated  about  one-half 
mile  from  the  ancestral  home  on  the  paternal 
side.  This  land  was  acquired  in  169S  by  Fli, 
and  was  given,  as  shown  by  his  will,  datetl  in 
1739,  to  his  second  son,  John,  who  was  the 
father  of  Major  John  Demeritt,  Sr.  It  is  now 
in  possession  of  three  daughters  of  IIo|)ley 
Demeritt;  namely,  Louisa,  Mr.  John  De- 
meritt's  mother,  and  her  sister  P^lizaheth 
(Mrs.  John  C.  Hanson),  and  Miss  Abbie  Jane 
Demeritt,  who  still  reside  there.  For  a 
period  of  a  little  over  fifty  years  previous  to 
this  time,  it  was  held  by  Mrs.  Abigail  Snell 
Demeritt,  whose  husband,  Hopley  Demeritt, 
died  at  an  early  age.  She  was  a  woman  of 
rare  ability  and  industry,  and  during  her  long 
stretch  of  useful  years  —  for  she  reached  tlie 
advanced  age  of  ninety-one  —  she  was  nnied 
for  her  many  good  qualities  of  heart  and  mind. 
Under  her  skilful  management  the  farm  in- 
creased greatly  in  productiveness  and  value. 
It  is  an  undulating  tract  of  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  land,  of  great  beauty  anil  fer- 
tility. There  are  broad  fields,  in  a  remote 
corner  of  one  of  which  the  mortal  remains  of 
all  the  early  Johns  peacefully  sleep  in  the  old 


286 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


fiimily  burial-grouml.  Hills  gently  rise  in 
every  (.lirection,  and  the  house  itself  stands 
on  an  eminence  commanding  an  extensive 
view  of  all  the  surrounding  country.  A  part 
of  the  present  large  mansion  is  the  original 
house,  which  in  external  appearance,  as  well 
as  its  antique  furniture,  testifies  of  its  age  and 
historic  worth. 

Mr.  Demeritt  began  life  with  good  educa- 
tional advantages,  as,  after  leaving  the  district 
school  in  his  boyhood,  he  was  sent  first  to 
the  academy  at  Norlhwood  Centre,  thence  to 
Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  after 
which  he  finished  his  studies  at  New  London, 
N.ll.  On  leaving  school,  Mr.  Demeritt  ac- 
cepted a  position  with  the  Boston  &  Maine 
Railroad  Company,  becoming  station  agent  at 
Madbury  and  likewise  serving  in  various  ca- 
pacities. Here  he  proved  himself  so  thor- 
oughly trustworthy  and  able  that  in  iSgo  he 
was  promoted  to  the  office  of  city  passenger 
and  ticket  agent  in  Boston,  where  he  dis- 
charged his  duties  with  the  same  fidelity  and 
precision  that  marked  his  previous  record, 
continuing  there  until  his  resignation  in 
1895,  after  continuous  service  with  the  com- 
pany for  seventeen  years. 

In  politics  Mr.  Demeritt  invariably  sup- 
ports the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 
In  1887  he  represented  the  town  in  the  State 
legislature,  where  he  distinguished  himself  in 
the  memorable  contest  of  railroad  factions,  by 
his  faithful  labor  in  his  adopted  cause.  Since 
then  he  has  attended  every  session  of  the 
legislature  in  the  interest  of  railroad  legisla- 
tion; and  during  the  last  session  (1897)  he 
filled  the  office  of  Sergeant-at-arms  of  the 
Senate  with  his  usual  activity,  earnestness, 
and  efficiency.  Mr.  Demeritt  has  always 
made  the  ancestral  place  at  Madbury  his  home, 
anil  at  present  he  spends  much  of  his  time 
there.      Standing  as  the  only  male  representa- 


tive of  two  long  lines  of  a  race  so  noteworthy, 
his  many  friends  wish  him  success  in  all 
future  endeavors. 


-f^TON.  WILLIAM  FRANKLIN 
1-^  KNIGHT,  of  Laconia,  Belknap 
Ji®  V  County,  N.H.,  has  won  success  in 
business,  distinction  in  politics,  and  popular- 
ity in  society.  Son  of  Edwin  Perry  and  Eliz- 
abeth W.  T.  (Vaughan)  Knight,  he  was  born 
on  October  13,  1847,  in  Hanover,  Grafton 
County,  this  State.  Mr.  Knight  comes  of 
patriotic  stock,  and  numbers  among  his  ances- 
tors several  of  the  early  colonists  of  New 
England.  His  great-grandfather,  William 
Knight,  and  that  gentleman's  brother  were 
Revolutionary  soldiers,  the  latter  receiving  a 
captain's  commission  for  conspicuous  gallantry 
on  the  bloody  field  of  Bennington.  William 
Knight,  who  served  throughout  the  Revolu- 
tion, was  one  of  the  Massachusetts  contingent 
in  the. Continental  army.  He  removed  from 
Worcester,  Mass.,  to  Hanover,  N.H.,  in 
1808;  and  the  homestead  which  he  established 
was  subsequently  occuiiied  by  his  son  Will- 
iam, Jr.,  and  his  grandson,  Edwin  Perry,  and 
was  the  birthplace  of  his  great-grandson, 
William  P".,  the  direct  subject  of  this  sketch. 
William  Knight  had  a  family  of  eleven  chil- 
dren. 

William  Knight,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Worces- 
ter, Mass.  His  active  mature  years  were 
spent  in  cultivating  the  farm  in  Hanover, 
N.H.  There  he  died  January  28,  i860,  aged 
seventy-two.  His  wife.  Avis  Ladd,  to  whom 
he  was  married  January  24,  1S15,  was  born  in 
Haverhill,  N.H.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
Daniel  Ladd,  who  came  to  this  country  in  the 
"Mary  and  John"  of  London,  Robert  Sayers, 
master,  in  1633  or  1634,  and  settled  in  Ips- 
wich, Mass.,   i;i    1637,  being  granted   six  acres 


mOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


287 


of  land  there,  on  which  he  erected  a  dwelling. 
He  subsequently  liveil  for  a  short  time  in 
Salisbury;  and  later  he  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Pentucket,  now  Haverhill,  Mass., 
where  also  he  had  a  land  grant.  He  was  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  farming,  and  he  built  the 
first  saw -mill  in  I'entiicket.  In  local  affairs 
iic  was  a  leader,  holding  many  offices  of  trust. 
His  son  Daniel  was  killed  by  the  Indians, 
I'^ebruary  22,  1698;  and  the  second  Daniel 
Ladtl's  son,  Daniel,  Jr.,  was  taken  prisoner  by 
the  savages,  and  carried  to  Penacook,  where 
he  was  held  for  several  years.  Soon  after 
reaching  Penacook  he  escaped,  but  was  re- 
taken by  the  savages,  and,  bound  hand  and 
foot  for  fourteen  days,  was  subjected  to  the 
most  excruciating  tortures,  gunpowder  being 
poured  into  his  wounds.  The  scars  of  these 
wounds  always  remained.  He  finally  made 
good  his  escape,  and  returned  to  Haverhill. 
His  son  John  was  Mrs.  Avis  Ladd  Knight's 
father.  Mrs.  Knight  died  March  26,  1856, 
aged  sixty-eight.  She  was  the  mother  of  three 
children — -Edwin  Perry,  John,  and  Francis, 
all  now  deceased. 

Pldwin  Perry  Knight  was  born  in  Hanover, 
August  15,  1816.  Thinking  to  qualify  for 
the  profession  of  medicine,  he  studied  at  Nor- 
wich University,  but  changeil  his  plans,  and 
turned  his  attention  to  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  He  owned  some  three  hundred  acres 
of  land,  and  was  very  successful  in  his  chosen 
pursuit.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and  a  strong 
sup[)orter  of  Buchanan  anil  Breckenridge.  He 
died  October  22,  1857.  On  April  17,  1845, 
Mr.  Pldwin  P.  Knight  was  married  to  Eliza- 
beth W.  T.  Vaughan,  daughter  of  Silas  T. 
and  Polly  (Ingalls)  Vaughan.  She  was  born 
in  Hanover,  September  27,   1825. 

The  Vaughan  and  Ingalls  families  figured 
conspicuously  in  Colonial  times.  To  Will- 
iam Vaughan,    of   Portsmouth,    N.H.,   son    of 


Lieutenant  Governor  George  Vaughan,  history 
gives  much  credit  for  the  capture  of  Louis- 
burg  in  1745,  as  it  was  at  his  suggestion  that 
the  enterprise  was  undertaken.  Captain  Jabez 
Vaughan,  who  is  thought  to  have  been  a  con- 
nection of  the  Portsmouth  Vaughans,  and  who 
was  born,  it  is  said,  in  Middlebury,  Mass.,  in 
October,  1763,  rendered  long  and  valued  ser- 
vice to  his  country  at  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  He  died  in  June,  1S13.  His 
son,  Silas  T.,  William  F.  Knight's  grand- 
father, was  born  August  28,  1797,  ;ind  died 
April  20,  1862;  and  Polly  Ingalls,  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  Silas  T.  Vaughan,  was  born 
April  8,  1797.  The  Ingalls  family  are  a 
scholarly  and  refined  race.  In  the  history  of 
Lynn,  Mass.,  we  find  that  the  first  known 
white  settlers  there  were  Edmund  Ingalls  and 
his  brother  Francis,  who  came  from  Lincoln- 
shire, tlngland,  to  Lynn  in  1629.  The  tle- 
scendants  in  the  direct  line  to  and  includinjr 
the  grandmother  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
were:  Edmund;  Henry,  born  in  1656;  Henry, 
born  1697;  Joseph,  born  1723;  Luther,  born 
1758;  Polly  Ingalls,  born  1797.  Mrs.  KUz- 
abeth  W.  T.  Vaughan  Knight  died  May 
4,  1872,  aged  forty-six  years.  She  was  the 
mother  of  five  children :  P^dwin  I^".  (deceased); 
William  Franklin,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Charles  E.  (deceased),  who  owned  an  extensive 
sheep  ranch  in  Kansas,  and  was  ticket  agent 
for  the  Wabash,  St.  Louis  &  Pacific  Railroad 
at  Moberly,  Mo.  ;   Emma  E. ;  and  Myra  V. 

William  Franklin  KniglU  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  of  Hanover  and  at  West 
Randolph  Academy.  In  June,  1S64,  he  en- 
tered the  employ  of  Parker  Brothers,  of  La- 
conia,  general  grocers,  as  clerk;  and  in  1867 
he  was  practically  in  control  of  the  business. 
He  eventually  bought  out  the  original  firm, 
and  in  company  with  Mrs.  Hull,  under  the 
firm  name  of  W.  F.  Knight  &  Co.,  conducted 


288 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


a  flourishing  trade  for  ten  years.  The  follow- 
in-;  ten  years  he  was  sole  proprietor,  and  then 
Mr.  George  Tetreaii  became  his  associate,  the 
tirm  name  becoming  W.  V.  Knight  &  Tetreau. 
Mr.  Tetreau  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Huntress; 
and  the  style  was  changed  to  Knight  & 
Huntress,  the  present  firm.  In  addition  to 
his  dry-goods  business,  Mr.  Knight  in  1S73 
was  a  member  of  the  furniture  house  of 
Mansur  &  Knight,  which  in  1S87  became 
Knight  &  Robinson.  He  is  a  Trustee  of  the 
Belknap  Savings  Bank,  a  Director  in  the  La- 
conia  National  Bank,  and  a  Director  in  the 
Laconia  liuilding  and  Loan  Association.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  local  Board  of  Trade,  and 
has  been  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  the  Laconia  Public  Library 
some  thirteen  years. 

Mr.  Knight  was  married  in  1872  to  Fannie 
l-:. ,  daughter  of  James  Taylor,  of  Franklin, 
N.H.  Though  the  Knights  were  loyal  for 
generations  to  Democratic  traditions,  the  Civil 
War  and  its  attendant  circumstances  caused  a 
change  in  the  sentiments  of  the  family;  and 
William  V.  Knight  has  been  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican since  he  was  qualified  to  vote,  casting 
his  first  Presidential  ballot  for  Ulysses  S. 
Grant  in  1868.  He  was  elected  Town  Clerk 
of  Laconia  in  1875,  and  served  two  years;  is 
now  Chairman  of  the  Republican  City  Com- 
mittee; was  elected  County  Treasurer  in 
1883,  and  re-elected  in  1885;  was  in  the  State 
legislature  in  1889,  serving  on  the  Railroad 
Committee  and  Committee  on  National 
Affairs;  was  elected  State  Senator  from  Dis- 
trict No.  6  in  1894,  for  the  term  of  two  years; 
was  a  member  of  the  Committees  on  Finance, 
Military  Affairs,  and  Insane  Asylum;  and  in 
1896  he  was  appointed  Quartermaster-general 
on  the  staff  of  Governor  C.  A.  Busiel.  At 
the  time  of  his  nomination  for  the  State 
Senate  the  Boston  Journal  said  of  him,  "Mr. 


Knight  is  a  .straight,  clean  fellow  in   every  re- 
spect and  exceedingly  popular  as  a  citizen.'' 

A  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  & 
A.  M.;  Union  R.  A.  Chapter,  No.  7; 
Pythagorean  Council,  No.  6,  R.  and  S.  M.  ; 
Pilgrim  Ct)mmandery,  K.  T. ;  the  Scottish 
Rite  bodies  at  Concord;  and  the  Consistory  at 
Nashua.  He  has  filled  all  the  chairs  in  Chap- 
ter and  Council  and  Grand  Chapter,  and  is  at 
present  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  last-named 
body.  An  attendant  at  the  Unitarian  church, 
he  has  held  various  positions,  and  is  at  this 
time  President  of  the  Society. 


^EHEMIAH   CAVERLY  TWOMBLY, 
M.D. ,    a   prominent   New   Hampshire 

^  X^  physician,  residing  at  Centre  Straf- 
ford, was  born  near  the  academy  in  Strafford, 
February  26,  1835,  son  of  Silas  and  Sally 
(Caverly)  Twombly.  The  men  of  his  family 
have  been  identified  with  the  history  and  de- 
velopment of  the  town  almost  since  its  settle- 
ment. His  early  ancestor,  Ralph  Twombly, 
from  whom  he  is  the  seventh  in  lineal  descent, 
had  land  laid  out  in  1656,  and  was  taxed  that 
year  at  Cocheco  (Dover),  N.H.  From  the 
contents  of  his  will,  dated  February  28,  1684, 
which  is  still  in  existence,  it  is  seen  that  he 
must  have  been  a  very  prosperous  farmer.  He 
names  separately  each  of  his  children,  as  fol- 
lows—  John,  Ralph,  Joseph,  Mary,  Elizabeth, 
Hope,  Sarah,  Esther,  and  William  —  and  be- 
queaths to  them  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  the 
bulk  of  his  property. 

The  second  Ralph  Twombly  had  a  son  Will- 
iam, who  settled  in  Madbury,  N.H.,  and  be- 
came the  father  of  four  sons.  Moses,  the  eld- 
est, married  Sarah  Wentworth,  a  descendant 
of  Governor  Benning  Wentworth.  Moses 
Twombly's  son  Samuel  was  grandfather  to  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


289 


Doctor.  Samuel  Tvvombly  was  born  in  1766, 
and  became  a  well-known  farmer  and  basket- 
maker  of  Strafford.  He  married  Olive 
Ihnitres.s,  ant!  by  this  union  had  eleven  chil- 
ilren,  of  whom  the  following  is  a  brief  men- 
tion: Hannah  married  James  Roe;  Silas  was 
tiie  father  of  Dr.  Twombly;  William  married 
Ik'tsy  Rollins,  and  settled  in  Gilmanton; 
Deborah  became  Mrs.  Nicholas  Evans,  of 
Holderness;  Samuel,  a  stone  mason,  married 
Susan  Durgin,  and  settled  in  New  Market, 
N.H.,  ant!  has  two  grandchildren,  one,  Belle 
Bryant,  a  remarkable  organist,  the  other, 
Virginia,  noted  as  an  elocutionist;  Enoch,  the 
sixth  child,  married  Lucretia  Daniels;  Moses 
married  a  Miss  Parker,  of  Holderness,  and 
settled  in  Maine;  Daniel,  born  July  25,  181 1, 
married  Miss  Julia  Reed,  of  New  Bedford, 
Mass.,  and  has  two  children — -Maria  and 
Daniel;  John  married  Sarah  I5erry,  and  set- 
tled in  Maine;  Smith  died  in  Charleston, 
S.C.  ;  and  the  eleventh  child,  Mesheck,  lived 
and  died  in  Lowell,  Mass.  Andrew  J.  was  a 
child  by  a  second  marriage. 

Silas  Twombly  was  born  in  old  Barrington 
(now  Strafford),  December  22,  1798.  When 
a  lad  he  worked  for  a  time  in  Charlestown, 
Mass.  ;  and  later,  returning  to  his  native  town, 
he  became  a  farmer  and  cattle  raiser.  He  was 
an  industrious  man,  universally  esteemed,  and 
dying  left  an  honorable  name  to  his  descend- 
ants. His  wife,  Sally  Caverly,  was  a  de- 
scendant of  Governor  Benning  Wentworth. 
The  seven  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Silas 
Twombly  were:  John,  Hazen,  Harrison,  Silas, 
Sally  A.,  Nehemiab,  and  Viany,  of  whom 
John,  Hazen,  Silas,  Sally  A.,  and  Viany  are 
now  deceased.  John  Twombly,  born  Decem- 
ber 22,  1822,  was  a  prominent  lawyer  and 
citizen  of  ^Mamaroneck,  N.Y.,  and  a  member 
of  the  New  York  legislature;  Harrison,  born 
September    25,     1826,     married    Harriet    A. 


Caverly,  and  has  one  child,  Charles  H.,  who 
has  been  Treasurer  of  Strafford  since  1895, 
and  who  married  Ada  Moody,  and  has  one 
child,  Charles  Whiler;  Silas  married  Ann 
M.  Twombly,  and  had  one  child,  Roxanna, 
now   Mrs.    William   Shepard. 

Nehemiah  C.  Twombly  passed  his  boyhood 
on  his  father's  farm,  and  attended  the  [lubiic 
schools  of  the  town.  Later  he  was  sent  to 
what  is  now  Austin  Academy,  where  he 
studied  diligently,  and  exhibited  an  unusual 
aptitude  for  learning.  He  was  afterward  ap- 
pointed master  for  the  winter  terms  in  the 
schools  of  Strafford  and  Barrington.  While 
teaching  he  made  quite  a  rejjutation  for  him- 
self; and,  had  he  chosen  to  remain  in  the  jjro- 
fession,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  would  now 
have  been  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  the 
country.  In  1861  he  began  the  study  of  med- 
icine with  Dr.  Charles  Palmer,  of  Strafford, 
and  for  fifteen  years,  as  he  had  opjiortunity, 
was  a  close  student.  In  1875  he  was  enabled 
to  enter  the  University  of  Vermont  at  Burling- 
ton, where  he  was  graduated  the  following 
year,  carrying  off  the  highest  honors  in  his 
class.  The  persistency  with  which  he  clung 
to  his  resolution  to  prepare  himself  for  the 
practice  of  medicine,  and  the  patience  he  dis- 
played in  waiting  so  many  years  before  cir- 
cumstances enabled  him  to  secure  his  diploma, 
merited  all  the  success  he  has  since  obtained. 
An  example  of  such  tenacity  of  purpose  in  a 
good  cause  is  stimulating  and  gratifying  in 
these  modern  days  of  rush  and  hurry.  By 
means  of  his  personality  and  by  his  great  skill 
in  his  profession  Dr.  Twombly  has  built  up 
an  extensive  practice,  and  has  made  a  name 
and  fame  for  himself,  not  only  in  his  native 
town  and  county,  but  throughout  the  whole 
State.  He  is  recognized  by  the  medical  pro- 
fession as  one  of  the  leatling  physicians  in 
New   Hampshire. 


190 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


He  is  a  member  of  Strafford  District  Medi- 
cal Society,  aiui  has  been  a  member  of  the 
State  Pharmaceutical  Association  since  lS/Q. 
lie  holds  a  State  certificate,  which  gives  him 
the  authority  to  open  a  drug  store  anywhere  in 
Xcw  Hampshire. 

Dr.  Twombly  owns  and  cultivates  Hillside 
Farm,  an  estate  of  eighty  acres,  and  has  been 
much  interested  in  the  work  of  the  various 
agricultural  societies.  He  is  Master  of  Bow 
I,ake  Grange,  No.  80.  and  a  member  of  Eastern 
New  Hampshire  Pomona  Grange,  No.  2,  and 
of  the  State  grange.  His  extensive  knowl- 
edge of  the  natural  sciences  and  his  well- 
known  ability  on  the  platform  have  led  to  his 
often  being  asked  to  lecture  before  these 
bodies  on  chemistry,  botany,  and  kindred  sub- 
jects. He  is  a  very  pleasing  speaker,  and  his 
addresses  are  always  listened  to  with  marked 
attention. 

Dr.  Twombly  has  held  a  commission  as 
Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum  throughout 
the  State  since  his  twenty-first  year,  and  in 
that  capacity  has  done  a  large  amount  of  pro- 
bate business,  although  he  has  eschewed  trial 
cases.  He  also  has  settled  many  pension 
claims,  and  there  are  many  veterans  who  have 
reason  to  be  grateful  to  him  for  having  been 
the  means  of  securing  them  an  income. 

Politically,  Dr.  Twombly  has  always  been 
more  or  less  of  an  Independent.  He  believes 
in  using  his  influence  on  the  side  of  justice 
rather  than  in  giving  blind  adherence  to  party 
jjlatforms.  In  1S65  he  was  chosen  to  repre- 
sent the  town  in  the  legislature,  and  while 
there  was  a  member  of  several  committees. 
He  has  refused  to  accept  the  nomination  for 
Town  Treasurer,  but  has  served  for  a  number 
of  years  on  the  School  Board,  and  has  always 
been  greatly  interested  in  all  educational 
movements.  Of  a  vital,  sanguine  tempera- 
ment, possessing  keen  powers  of  analysis  and 


fine  command  of  language.  Dr.  Twombly  is 
active  and  energetic  in  the  advocacy  of  any 
movement  which  he  deems  to  be  for  the  wel- 
fare and  improvement  of  society.  His  lect- 
ures cover  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  embrac- 
ing politics,  science,  and  religion.  He  is  a 
facile  writer,  and  has  made  a  large  number  of 
contributions  to  the  press.  He  has  been  for 
years  a  prominent  supporter  of  Christianity 
as  represented  by  the  Second  Adventist  de- 
nomination, with  which  he  is  connected;  and 
he  never  hesitates  to  express  his  religious 
views  unequivocally,  mindful  of  the  apostolic 
injunction  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  that 
is  in  him.  He  is  a  member  of  Bow  Lake 
Y.  P.  S.  C.  E. 


APTAIN     STEPHEN     S.    AVER,    an 


enterprising  farmer  of  Lakeport,  Bel- 
knap County,  was  born  in  Gilford, 
this  county,  P'ebruary  5,  182S,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Sally  (Gale)  Ayer.  His  paternal  grand- 
father, "Winthrop  Ayer,  was  a  highly  respected 
resident  of  Barnstead,  this  county.  Thomas 
Ayer,  in  his  early  manhood,  came  from  Barn- 
stead  to  Gilford,  and  there  afterward  worked  at 
the  trade  of  ship-carpenter.  His  wife,  Sally, 
who  was  born  in  Gilmanton,  November  17, 
1789,  became  the  mother  of  four  children,  of 
whom  Stephen  S.  is  the  only  survivor. 
Thomas  Ayer  died  in  1S56,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five,  while  his  wife  lived  until  1883, 
when  she  passed  away  in  the  ninety-fifth  year 
of  her  age. 

Stephen  S.  Ayer  received  his  education  in 
the  common  school  and  at  the  Gilford  and 
Wolfboro  Academies,  being  obliged  to  alter- 
nate study  with  work  to  pay  his  expenses. 
Thereafter  he  taught  school  in  his  native 
town  for  twelve  terms,  and  for  one  term  in 
Norton,    N.H.      Subsequently   in    1S51,    after 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


291 


working  at  the  trade  of  carpenter  for  some 
time,  he  came  to  Weirs.  Here,  on  a  farm  of 
eighty  acres,  he  has  since  been  engaged  in 
stock-raising  and  general  farming.  From  the 
time  he  first  voted  until  1S64  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat, but  since  that  time  he  has  affiliated  with 
the  Republican  party.  In  Gilford  he  has  been 
officially  prominent  He  was  its  Collector  in 
1864  and  1865.  Beginning  in  1868,  he  was 
Selectman  for  four  consecutive  years.  In 
1S71-72  he  was  its  legislative  Representa- 
tive, serving  on  the  Committee  of  Agriculture 
and  on  the  Board  of  I-lqualization.  From 
1870  to  1879  he  served  it  as  Treasurer.  In 
1880  he  was  Census-taker  for  twelve  outlying 
districts.  In  1S82  he  was  again  elected  Col- 
lector. He  served  again  as  Selectman  from 
1883  to  1886  inclusive,  and  he  was  again  ap- 
pointed Collector  in  1889,  and  next  year  was 
once  more  the  Census-taker.  In  1889,  1890, 
and  1 89 1,  he  served  on  the  Gilford  School 
Board,  and  in  1894  he  was  appointed  Assessor 
of  Laconia,  being  reappointed  in  March,  iSg6, 
for  three  years.  He  has  also  settled  several 
estates. 

On  July  10,  1851,  Captain  Ayer  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  E.,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Rowel  1, 
of  Gilford.  They  have  had  four  chilch'cn, 
three  of  whom  are  living.  These  are:  Mrs. 
R.  B.  Priest,  of  Lakeport,  whose  husband  has 
been  foreman  in  B.  J.  Cole's  machine  shop  for 
several  years;  Mrs.  Walter  F.  Thompson, 
whose  husband  is  a  member  of  the  firm,  Plum- 
mcr  &  Thompson,  druggists  of  Lakeport;  and 
George  R.  Ayer,  who  resides  with  his  parents. 
Mr.  Ayer  and  family  live  on  the  old  Rowell 
homestead.  He  is  a  member  of  Chocorua 
Lodge,  No.  51,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Lakeport, 
which  he  joined  in  1870.  From  the  time  he 
was  seventeen  years  of  age  until  the  old  mili- 
tia law  was  abolished,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Gilford   Rifle  Company,    serving   as  Sergeant 


and  Captain.      He  is   in   communion    witli    Ihc 
Free  Baptist  church. 


UVVIN  COX,  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
.Selectmen  of  Meredith,  and  an  e.\- 
mcmbcrof  the  New  Hampshire  legis- 
lature, was  born  in  Holderncss,  N.H.,  Au- 
gust 13,  1844,  son  of  Andrew  Smith  and  Mary 
(Cummings')  Cox.  His  grandfather  was  Jona- 
than Cox,  who  followed  agricultural  [lursuits 
in  Holderness  tluring  the  active  jicriod  of  his 
life.  Andrew  .Smith  Cox,  born  in  Holder- 
ness, was  reared  to  farm  life,  and  afterward 
tilled  the  soil  with  iirt)fit  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1851.  His  wife,  Mary, 
was  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  (Craw- 
ford) Cummings.  The  former,  wiio  prosper- 
ously followed  farming  in  New  Hampton, 
N.H.,  was  accidentally  killed  in  the  jirime  of 
life  by  an  infuriated  bull.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  An- 
drew S.  Cox  were  the  parents  of  five  children, 
four  of  whom  reached  maturity,  namely: 
George  and  Albert,  who  are  no  longer  living; 
Clara,  who  is  the  wife  of  George  H.  Gay,  of 
Boston;  and  lulwin,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

Edwin  Cox,  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
was  seven  years  old  when  he  came  with  his 
mother  to  this  town.  He  began  his  education 
in  the  district  schools,  and  later  attended  a 
private  school.  When  ready  to  begin  life  for 
himself  he  worked  in  a  hosiery-mill  for  a 
time,  ami  then  entered  the  employ  of  Daniel 
S.  Bedee  in  the  livery  and  express  business. 
In  1867,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  jkdee,  he  was 
appointed  local  agent  of  Cheney  &  Co. 's  I^x- 
press,  and  is  now  acting  in  that  caj)acity  for 
their  successors,  the  American  I'^xpress  Com- 
pany. He  also  carries  on  a  profitable  livery 
business,  keeping  an  average  of  ten  good  driv- 
ing  horses.      His   popularity   and   success  arc 


292 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


the  result  of  his  genial  manners,  and  his  read- 
iness to  accommodate  his  neighbors  and  fel- 
low-townsmen upon  all  occasions  to  the  extent 
of  his  ability.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat, 
and  his  connection  with  the  public  affairs  of 
Meredith  has  been  of  a  nature  to  receive  the 
hearty  commendation  of  the  entire  community. 
For  twenty  years  he  has  served  as  Moderator 
at  town  meetings.  While  representing  the 
town  in  the  legislature  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Corporations.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  for  the 
past  seven  years,  and  is  now  in  his  fourth  year 
as  Chairman  of  that  body.  On  December  7, 
18^)7,  Mr.  Co.x  married  Arzelia  J.  Pease, 
daughter  of  Simeon  D.  and  Betsey  (Batch- 
elder)  Pease,  of  Meredith.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Co.\  have  one  son,  Clarence  Edwin,  who  grad- 
uated at  the  New  Hampton  Institute,  and  is 
now  in  business  with  his  father.  Mr.  Cox 
was  made  a  Mason  in  Chocorua  Lodge,  No. 
83.  He  has  been  a  Good  Templar  for  thirty 
years,  and  has  several  times  filled  the  chief 
Templars'  chairs  in  Waukewan  Lodge.  Mrs. 
Cox  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church,  and  Mr.  Cox  attends  religious  worship 
there. 


^AMUEL  H.  BELL,  the  pleasant 
and  accommodating  ticket  agent  at 
the  Boston  &  Maine  Railway  sta- 
tion in  Dover,  was  born  April  11,  1S64,  in 
Springfield,  Lot  No.  67,  Prince  Edward 
Island,  son  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Hard- 
ing) Bell.  Both  ])arents  are  also  natives  of 
Prince  Edward  Island.  When  Samuel  H. 
was  fourteen  years  old,  they  moved  to  Mount 
Pleasant,  Lot  No.  13,  where  they  still  reside. 
The  father  follows  tbe  callings  of  blacksmith 
and  farmer. 

Samuel    H.    Bell    remained    on    his    native 
island,   attending   the   public   schools  and   as- 


sisting his  father  in  the  forge  or  on  the  farm 
until  he  was  twenty  years  old.  Then,  believ- 
ing that  better  opportunities  for  advancement 
were  to  be  found  in  the  States,  he  came  to 
New  lingland,  and  for  two  years  was  employed 
at  an  undertaking  establishment  in  West  New- 
ton, Mass.  Here  he  served  as  a  hack  driver, 
and  assisted  in  the  general  work.  He  next 
obtained  a  situation  with  the  West  End  Street 
Railway  Company  of  Boston,  being  stationed 
at  Maiden,  Mass.,  for  a  while.  Going  then 
to  Lowell  Junction,  Mass.,  he  spent  four 
months  in  learning  telegraphy,  after  which 
he  was  assistant  station  agent  at  Cliftondale, 
Mass.,  for  a  year.  He  was  subsequently 
located  for  a  few  weeks  at  Windham  Junction, 
N.H.,  as  spare  operator  and  relieving  agent, 
going  thence  to  Salmon  Falls,  this  county, 
where  he  remained  four  years.  At  Salmon 
Falls  he  was  night  operator  at  the  station  for 
the  first  five  weeks,  and  for  the  residue  of  the 
time  he  was  general  utility  man,  serving  as 
day  operator,  baggage  master,  and  an  assistant 
to  the  agent  in  general  office  work,  proving 
himself  faithful  and  efficient  in  every  capac- 
ity. In  April,  1893,  the  company,  appreciat- 
ing his  ability  and  trustworthiness,  promoted 
him  to  his  present  responsible  position,  in 
which  he  is  giving  general   satisfaction. 

Mr.  Bell  was  married  June  5,  1894,  to  Miss 
Hattie  E. ,  daughter  of  William  and  Abbie 
(Rolfe)  Davis,  of  Salmon  Falls.  Having 
become  a  naturalized  citizen  in  due  time  after 
coming  to  Dover,  he  is  identified  with  the 
Republican  party.  A  Mason  of  the  thirty- 
second  degree  and  the  Scottish  Rite,  he  be- 
longs to  Strafford  Lodge,  No.  29,  Belknap 
Chapter,  Orphan  Council,  and  the  command- 
ery  of  Knights  Templar.  Both  he  and  Mrs. 
Bell  are  active  workers  in  the  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  Mrs.  Bell  is  a  member.  Mr. 
Bell  is  the  owner  of  a   fine  farm   of  one   hun- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


293 


(Irod  and  seventy  acres  in  Prince  lulwarci 
Island.  Of  strictly  temperate  habits,  of  good 
moral  principles,  he  is  held  in  high  considera- 
tion throughout  the  community,  where  he  has 
a  large  circle  of  warm  friends. 


ILLIAM  S.  STEVENS,  late  an  es- 
fs\l  teemed  resident  of  Dover,  Strafford 
County,  N.H.,  of  which  city  he 
was  formerly  Mayor,  was  born  June  21,  1816, 
in  Canterbury,  Merrimack  County,  this  State. 
His  father,  Kdinuntl  Stevens,  a  farmer  by  oc- 
cupation, married  Betsey  Shepherd,  who  bore 
him  two  children. 

William  S-  Stevens  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm,  and  acquired  the  rudiments  of  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  his  district. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  became  clerk 
in  the  village  store,  where  he  remained  long 
enough  to  acquire  some  practical  knowledge 
of  business.  His  ne.xt  experience  was  as  a 
student  in  the  Pembroke  and  Gilmanton  Acad- 
emies successively,  one  year  being  spent  by 
him  in  each.  He  intended  to  further  pursue 
his  studies  at  the  New  Hampton  Literary  In- 
stitution, going  there  for  that  purpose,  but 
being  offered  the  position  of  teacher  in  one  of 
the  Kingston  schools  he  accepted  it,  and 
taught  for  a  year.  Returning  then  to  the  pa- 
rental homestead,  Mr.  Stevens  stayed  there  but 
a  short  time  before  he  obtained  a  situation  as 
travelling  salesman  for  the  Platform  Scale 
Company,  in  which  he  bought  an  interest  the 
succeeding  year,  and  continued  travelling  for 
the  firm  five  years  longer.  Locating  then  in 
Milton,  N.  H.,  Mr.  Stevens  purchased  a  saw- 
mill, and  was  there  engaged  in  the  manufact- 
ure of  lumber  for  three  years.  Going  thence 
to  Ossipee  Centre,  Carroll  County,  he  was  es- 
tablished in  that  town  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness  some   ten    years,    coming    from    there    to 


Dover  in  1S47.  After  carrying  on  a  success- 
ful wholesale  trade  in  groceries  for  three 
years,  he,  in  company  with  J?enjamin  Wig- 
gins, bought  the  Dover  Glue  Works,  which  lie 
owned  at  the  time  of  his  death.  After  tlie 
death  of  his  partner,  Mr.  Stevens  continued 
the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Wiggins 
&  Stevens  for  many  years.  In  1S52  this  en- 
terprising firm  enlarged  their  operations,  add- 
ing to  their  former  manufactures  that  of  sand, 
emery,  and  flint  paper,  and  garnet  cloth.  Si.\ 
years  later  this  addition  to  their  plant  was 
burned,  and  it  has  never  been  rebuilt,  although 
the  manufacture  of  glue  was  later  continued. 
Soon  after  the  fire  Mr.  Stevens  purchased  a 
factory  in  Maiden,  Mass.,  where,  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  his  son,  I^'verett  J. 
Stevens,  he  carried  on  an  extensive  and  lucra- 
tive manufacturing  business.  He  passed  away 
at  his  home,  713  Central  Avenue,  April  15, 
1897,  aged  eighty  years,  nine  months,  and 
twenty-five  days. 

In  politics  Mr.  Stevens  was  an  ardent  su])- 
porter  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  served  his  fellow-citizens  with 
fidelity  and  eflficiency  in  important  positions, 
having  been  a  member  of  the  State  legislature 
eight  years,  and  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  City 
of  Dover  three  years,  being  elected  to  the  latter 
ofifice  in  1S70,  and  twice  re-elected,  .serving 
until  1S73.  For  many  years  he  was  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  financial  interests 
of  this  part  of  the  county,  being  ex-Vice-Pres- 
ident of  the  South  Dover  Savings  Bank,  and 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  having  been  Presi- 
dent of  the  Strafford  National  Bank,  of  which 
he  had  previously  been  a  Director  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  Starting  in  life  with  no  special 
advantages,  save  those  accorded  to  every 
farmer's  boy,  Mr.  Stevens  met  with  success  in 
each  and  all  of  his  undertakings,  his  energy, 
thrift,    and   steadfastness   of    purpose   carrying 


294 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


him  steadily  onward  and  upward  along  life's 
]>atiuvay.  Of  a  genial  and  i<indly  nature,  he 
was  a  friend  alike  to  rich  and  poor,  and, 
though  not  connected  by  membership  with  any 
religious  organization,  was  a  liberal  supporter 
of  churches.  For  forty-five  years  he  occupied 
his  beautiful  residence  wherein  he  hospitably 
entertained  his  many  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. 

Mr.  Stevens  was  first  married  November  13, 
1839,  to  Mi.ss  Mary  Jewett,  daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel Jewett.  The  only  child  born  of  that 
union  was  a  son,  Everett  J.,  who  has  charge 
of  the  factory  at  Maiden,  Mass.,  and  is  one 
of  the  prominent  business  men  of  that  busy 
city,  of  which  he  is  ex-Mayor.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Stevens  married 
Sarah  Varney  Bangs,  of  Dover,  their  union 
being  solemnized  on  May  7,  1851.  Four  chil- 
dren were  born  of  this  marriage;  namely, 
.Mary  E. ,  Carrie  L.,  Eliza,  and  Annie  H.  (de- 
ceased). Mr.  Stevens's  third  wife,  Sarah  F. 
Chesley,  whom  he  married  in  Dover  on  Febru- 
ary 2,  1879,  died  without  issue.  Mr.  Stevens 
was  a  Director  of  the  Boston  &  Maine  Rail- 
road until  his  resignation  some  five  years  ago, 
making  twenty  years  of  consecutive  service. 


'ON.  WILLIAM  A.  PLUMMER,  of 
Laconia,  N.H.,  is  a  prominent  mem- 
ber of  the  Belknap  County  bar  and 
a  very  popular  sound  money  Democrat.  He 
was  born  in  Gilmanton,  this  county,  December 
2,  1865,  a  son  of  Charles  E.  and  Mary 
(Moody)  Plummer.  His  family  springs  from 
the  Plummers  of  Newburyport,  Mass.,  who 
trace  their  origin  to  an  early  settler  of  that 
name  there  (1635).  Governor  Plumer,  of 
New  Hampshire,  was  of  the  same  stock. 
Joseph  Pliunmer,  father  of  Charles  K.  Plum- 
mer, was   born    in   Gilmanton,  N.H.,  and    was 


for  a  number  of  years  engaged  in  farming  in 
that  town.  He  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five. 
His  wife,  who  was  Sally  Lamprey,  of  Gilman- 
ton, lived  to  be  seventy  years  old;  and  her 
mother  lived  to  see  five  generations  of  the 
family.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Plummer  had  a 
family  of  si.x  children,  four  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing, namely:  Charles  tl ,  the  Ilfju.  William 
A.  Plummcr's  father;  Ann  E. ,  who  married  a 
Mr.  Ayers,  of  Maine;  Mary  K.,  wife  of  Henry 
E.  Marsh,  of  Gilmanton;  and  Laura,  wife  of 
J.  H.  Drew,  of  Gilmanton. 

Charles  E.  Plummer  was  born  in  Gilmanton 
si.xty-five  years  ago,  and  still  resides  there. 
A  large  land-owner,  his  property  covering  one 
thousand  acres,  he  is  extensively  interested  in 
farming,  stock-raising,  and  lumbering.  He 
has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  councils  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  has  been  nominated 
for  Representative  to  the  State  legislature. 
His  wife,  who  is  a  daughter  of  Stephen 
Moody,  a  resident  of  the  part  of  Gilmanton 
now  known  as  Belmont,  is  sixty-six  years  old. 
The  following  children  have  blessed  their 
union:  Etta  J.,  who  died  in  P'ebruary,  1896, 
aged  forty-one,  wife  of  Edwin  N.  Sanborn,  of 
Laconia;  Carrie  E.,  wife  of  Frank  H.  Fur- 
ber,  of  Alton,  N.H.;  and  William  A. 

William  A.  Plummer  was  graduated  at  Gil- 
manton Academy  in  June,  1884,  and  entered 
Dartmouth  College  the  following  autumn. 
Being  in  poor  health,  however,  he  followed  his 
physician's  advice,  and  left  his  books  for  a 
while.  On  January  3,  1886,  he  entered  the 
law  office  of  J.  C.  Story  at  Plymouth,  N.H., 
with  whom  he  remained  until  the  summer  of 
1886.  On  September  13,  1S86,  he  began  to 
teach  school  at  Canaan,  N.  H.,  taking  charge 
of  the  higher  grade;  and  for  one  term  he  had 
oversight  of  all  the  schools  in  the  village. 
As  a  teacher  he  was  very  successful  and  ]3opu- 
lar.       Subsequently,    being   requested   to   take 


WILLIAM     A.    PLUMMER 


■>ii- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


297 


charge  of  a  private  schnnl,  he  consented;  and 
in  the  mean  time  he  was  diligently  pursuing 
his  law  studies.  He  read  law  with  G.  W. 
Murray,  Esq.,  until  July,  1887.  He  then 
entered  Hoston  University  Law  School,  where 
he  was  graduated  in  June,  1889;  an<l  while  a 
student  there  he  gained  a  practical  insight 
into  legal  work  in  the  office  of  C.  T.  &  T.  H. 
Russell,  of  Boston.  Passing  the  requisite 
examination,  he  was  admitted  to  the  New 
Hampshire  bar,  July  26,  1889;  and  on  Scji- 
tember  2,  1889,  he  became  the  partner  of  the 
Hon.  S.  S.  Jewett.  The  firm  of  Jewett  & 
I'lummer  has  an  extensive  business,  and  has 
gained  much  prestige  from  the  ability  of  both 
members  of  the  firm. 

Mr.  I'lummer  was  in  the  legislature  in  1S93, 
presiding  as  Chairman  of  the  Belknap  County 
delegation,  and  had  much  to  do  with  obtaining 
the  vote  to  build  the  new  court-house  in 
Laconia;  and  it  was  he  who  introduced  and 
obtained  the  passage  of  the  bill  empowering 
the  county  to  bond  the  indebtedness.  He  was 
later  Chairman  of  the  Court-house  Building 
Committee.  While  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives he  was  a  member  and  Secretary  of 
the  Judicial  Committee;  a  member  of  the 
Committee  on  I{ducation;  and  he  was  on  the 
Committee  on  the  Roll  of  the  House  during 
his  service  there  the  year  the  Laconia  city 
charter  was  adopted.  He  was  the  first  Moder- 
ator for  Ward  Four  in  the  city  of  Laconia, 
was  nominated  from  Ward  Four  for  the  Coun- 
cil in  1S91,  and  again  later;  and  though  he 
was  defeated  he  ran  far  ahead  of  his  ticket. 
In  the  spring  of  1895  he  was  nominated  for 
Mayor.  At  the  previous  election  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  the  mayoralty  was  defeated 
by  a  majority  of  between  five  and  six  Inindrcd. 
Mr.  I'lummer  was  defeated  by  only  forty-five 
votes.  He  was  again  nominated  in  the  spring 
of  1896.      In  1893   he   was  elected   to   the    La- 


conia School  Board,  and  in  1895  he  was  re- 
elected for  three  years.  In  1896  he  went  as 
delegate  to  the  Chicago  Convention  that  nomi- 
nated the  Democratic  candidate  for  President, 
and  he  is  at  present  a  member  f)f  the  .Sound 
Money  State  Committee.  In  March,  1S97,  he 
was  elected  a  Trustee  of  the  City  .Savings 
Bank  of  Laconia,  N.  H.;  and  on  April  5, 
1897,  he  was  elected  a  Director  of  the  Laconia 
National  Bank. 

On  January  i,  1890,  Mr.  I'lummer  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Lllen  F.  Murray,  of 
Canaan,  N.H.,  daughter  of  George  W.  Murray. 
They  have  one  boy,  Wayne  M.,  born  March 
2[,  1891.  In  fraternal  organizations  Mr. 
I'lummer  is  active  and  jirominent.  He  has 
been  for  two  years  Master  of  Mount  Lebanon 
Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  &  A.  M.  ;  belongs  also  to 
Union  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  No.  7;  and  is  one 
of  the  Stewards  of  Pilgrim  Commandery, 
Knights  Templar.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  In 
religious  belief  he  is  a  Congregational ist. 


lAH  B.  SULLIVAN,  M.D.,  a 
]irominent  member  of  the  medical 
"raternity  of  Strafford  County, 
has  been  in  active  practice  in  Dover  since 
1 88 1,  and  has  won  for  himself  a  wide  and 
favorable  reputation  throughout  this  vicinity. 
He  was  born  at  Winthrop,  Kennebec  County, 
Maine,  May  29,  1857,  a  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Rebecca  Gillman  Sullivan.  Having  com- 
pleted his  studies  at  the  public  schools  of  his 
native  town,  he  entered  the  Towle  Academy, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of 
1872.  During  the  succeeding  year  he  re- 
mained in  Winthrop,  where  he  was  emplo_\'ed 
as  a  clerk  in  a  drug  store.  Going  thence  to 
Portland,  he  sjient  two  years  as  a  clerk  in  the 
(h'ug  store  of  Hinds  &  Co.,  and  was   afterwaid 


298 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


locateil  in  Lcwiston,  Mc,  three  years,  part  of 
the  time  as  a  clerk,  and  the  remainder  in  con- 
(hicting  a  prescription  drug  store  on  his  own 
account.  He  then  entered  the  office  of  Dr. 
J.  A.  Donovan,  of  Lewiston,  with  whom  he 
read  medicine,  at  the  same  time  attending 
lectures  at  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  York  City.  After  three  years 
of  faithful  study  he  received  his  diploma  in 
iSSi.  Returning  to  Lewiston,  Dr.  Sullivan 
began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  com- 
pany with  his  former  teacher.  Dr.  Donovan, 
continuing  with  him  until  June,  when  he  lo- 
cated in  Dover.  Mere  the  doctor  has  met 
with  eminent  success  as  a  practitioner,  and  is 
now  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  physi- 
cians of  the  city. 

Politically,  Dr.  Sullivan  is  .a  firm  Demo- 
crat, and  one  of  the  leading  members  of  his 
party.  In  1886  he  was  a  candidate  for  mem- 
bership in  the  council  of  Governor  Sawyer, 
but  was  honorably  defeated,  the  county  being 
a  Republican  stronghold.  Two  years  later  he 
was  nominated  for  State  Senator  from  Dis- 
trict Number  Twenty-Three,  and  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
one,  having  been  the  first  Democrat  to  receive 
election  from  this  district.  Socially,  the 
doctor  is  a  member  of  Elks  Lodge,  and  has 
been  District  Deputy  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of 
the  Catholic  church. 


(HARLES  E.  WALKER,  proprietor 
of  one  of  the  first  settled  farms  in 
Rarnstead,  Belknap  County,  and  an 
ex-member  of  the  New  Hampshire  legislature, 
was  born  where  he  now  resides,  June  7,  1839, 
.son  of  John  aAd  Betsey  (Bunker)  Walker. 

The    Walker    homestead,    which    has    been 
owned  by  representatives  of  the  family  for  four 


generations,  was  cleared  and  improved  by 
"Sir"  William  Walker,  great-grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Sir  William,  who 
was  born  in  Portsmouth,  N.  PL ,  in  1759,  came 
from  that  place  to  l^arnstead  about  1804  or 
1S05,  when  this  section  was  mostly  a  wilder- 
ness. He  made  his  first  trip  on  horseback, 
accompanied  by  his  son  William,  and  after 
selecting  a  tract  of  one  hundred  acres,  he 
brought  his  family  and  resided  here  during  the 
rest  of  his  life.  Plis  wife  lived  to  be  over 
ninety  years  old.  P'or  some  time  the  Walkers 
were  the  only  white  inhabitants  in  this 
vicinity. 

William  Walker,  Jr.,  son  of  "Sir"  Will- 
iam, and  grandfather  cf  Charles  E.,  was  born 
in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  in  1786.  He  assisted 
his  father  in  clearing  the  farm,  and,  finally 
inheriting  the  property,  diligently  engaged  in 
tilling  the  soil  during  the  active  period  of  his 
life.  P'or  many  years  a  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
he  transacted  a  great  deal  of  legal  business. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  able 
citizens  "of  the  town  in  his  day;  in  politics  he 
supported  the  Democratic  party.  He  died  at 
the  age  of  sixty  years.  By  his  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Betsy  Dow,  he  had  four 
children — John,  Seth,  Ann  E.,  and  Abby. 
Seth,  known  as  Captain  Seth  Walker,  was 
born  in  Barnstead  in  181 5.  He  married 
Hannah  York,  and  settled  in  North  Barnstead, 
but  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight  years, 
leaving  no  children.  Ann  E. ,  born  in  Barn- 
stead in  1824,  married  Daniel  F.  Davis,  and 
died  P"ebruary  23,  1849.  She  had  no  chil- 
dren. Abby,  born  in  Barnstead,  November  2, 
1826,  married  John  K.  Davis.  They  reside 
in  North  Barnstead,  and  have  a  family  of  four 
children  —  Ann  E.,  Seth  \Y.,  Arthur  I{. ,  and 
Coran  H. 

John  Walker,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born   in  Barnstead,  July  11,   iSii. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


299 


lie  received  a  common-school  education,  and 
taught  several  winter  terms  of  school  in  Barn- 
stead.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  em- 
ployed at  the  lead  works  in  Salem,  Mass.,  but 
eventually  he  returned  to  the  homestead  and 
cared  for  his  parents  during  their  declining 
years.  He  improved  the  farm  by  selling  off 
some  of  the  land  and  buying  ailjoining  prop- 
erty that  was  more  desirable,  and  his  manage- 
ment of  the  place  was  attended  with  prosfjer- 
ous  results.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat, 
and  he  held  at  different  times  all  the  offices 
that  could  be  bestowed  upon  him  in  the  town. 
While  representing  Barnstead  in  the  legisla- 
ture, he  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  ap- 
jjointment  of  Squire  S.  G.  Berry  as  Warden  of 
the  State  Prison.  In  early  life  he  belonged  to 
a  military  company  in  this  town  and  was  ap- 
pointed Major,  by  which  title  he  was  gener- 
ally known,  his  brother  Seth  being  Captain  of 
the  same  company. 

Major  John  Walker  served  as  a  Selectman 
during  the  e.xciting  time  of  the  Civil  War,  and 
had  charge  of  supplying  the  town's  quota  of 
soldiers.  In  1S69  he  was  elected  County 
Commissioner  for  three  years,  being  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  the  third  year.  He  was  a 
man  of  deeds  rather  than  of  words,  and  he  was 
called  to  public  service  solely  because  of  his 
ability,  never  having  sought  for  political 
honors.  In  his  religious  opinions  and  mode 
of  worship  be  was  a  Congregational ist.  His 
wife  Betsey  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Bunker, 
of  Barnstead.  She  became  the  mother  of  four 
children;  namely,  Mary  A.,  Nancy  J., 
Charles  I{. ,  and  Sarah  E.  Mary  A.,  born 
May  12,  1834,  married  James  N.  Morrison,  of 
South  Alton,  N.  H.  She  died  May  4,  1S93, 
leaving  two  sons:  George  W.,  who  resides  in 
Cambridge,  Mass.;  and  Charles  H.,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Barnstead.  Nancy  J.,  born  July 
25.      1S37,     married    David    II.     Morrison,    of 


South  Alton,  a  brother  of  James  N.  They 
have  four  children  :  Harry;  Hattie  S.  ;  David 
A.,  who  lives  in  Cambridge,  Mass.  ;  and  John 
W.  Sarah  E.,  born  September  7,  1841,  for- 
merly taught  school,  but  is  now  a  dressmaker 
in  Dover,  N.  H.  She  is  unmarried.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  John  Walker  were  stricken  with  pneu- 
monia in  1892,  and  l)oth  died  the  same  day. 

Charles  K.  Walker  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  and  at  the  New  London  Acad- 
emy. After  teaching  one  term  of  school,  he 
went  to  New  Market,  N.  H.,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  clerk  in  a  store  for  a  year.  He 
then  engaged  in  trade  upon  his  own  account  at 
North  Barnstead,  and  continued  in  business 
there  for  five  years.  Then  selling  his  store, 
he  entered  the  employ  of  James  S.  Norris  & 
Crockett,  bakers  and  confectioners  of  Concord, 
and  was  in  charge  of  a  wholesale  team  for  the 
succeeding  ten  years.  Although  his  oppor- 
tunities for  a  successful  business  career  were 
very  promising,  he  considered  that  his  duty  to 
his  aged  parents  was  paramount  to  his  own  per- 
sonal interests,  and  he  returned  to  the  home- 
stead in  order  to  care  for  them  in  their  declin- 
ing years.  He  managed  the  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  for  several  years  previous 
to  their  death,  and,  subsequently  inheriting  it, 
has  continued  to  carry  it  on  chiefly  thmugh  a 
feeling  of  love  for  the  old  homestead.  Mr. 
Walker  was  for  several  years  a  Director  of  the 
Alton  Five  Cent  Savings  Bank,  and  its  Presi- 
dent during  the  last  four  years  of  its  existence. 
He  succeeded  his  father  as  Director,  the  latter 
having  held  that  jiosition  from  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  bank  until  increasing  infirmities 
caused  him  to  resign. 

Mr.  Charles  li.  Walker  and  Jane  Titcondi, 
of  East  Kingston,  N.H.,  daughter  of  Charles 
and  Sarah  Titcomb,  were  married  July  29, 
1866.  They  have  one  daughter,  Lizzie  K., 
born  September  10,    1869,    who   was    educated 


300 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


in  the  district  schools  and  Kingston  Academy, 
and  is  now  residing  at  home. 

rditically,  Mr.  Walker  is  a  Democrat.  He 
was  elected  Town  Clerk  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two,  and  served  three  years.  He  was  a  mem- 
i)er  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  in  1867  and 
i.SrjS,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature 
in  1 88 1,  and  served  upon  the  Committee  on 
Claims  during  the  first  biennial  .session.  He 
was  a  member  and  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen  in  1892,  1893,  and  1894,  and  for 
the  past  ten  years  has  been  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  He  was  chosen  Collector  of  Taxes 
in  March,  1886,  and  filled  that  office  for  six 
years  in  succession,  or  until  elected  Chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  in  March,  1892. 
Mr.  Walker  has  likewise  held  the  offices  of 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Barnstead  Mu- 
tual I-'ire  Insurance  Company  since  1890. 


OllN  SCALES,  A.B.,  A.M.,  of  Dover, 
N.  H.,  is  one  of  the  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege men  who  have  made  their  mark  in 
newspaper  life.  He  was  born  in  Nottingham, 
Rockingham  County,  this  State,  October  6, 
1835,  son  of  Samuel  and  Betsey  (True)  Scales. 
His  ancestry  on  both  sides  dates  back  to  the 
early  days  of  New  England.  On  the  paternal 
side  he  is  descended  from  William  Scales,  an 
I'-nglishman,  who  located  in  .Salem,  Mass., 
in  1636,  and  later  moved  to  the  neighboring 
town  of  Rowley.  William's  grandsons,  Will- 
iam and  Matthew,  settled  in  the  part  of  Yar- 
mouth, Me.,  now  the  city  of  Portland,  about 
1712;  and  in  1725  both  were  killed  there  by 
the  Indians.  Abraham  Scales  was  fourth  in 
descent  from  the  first  William.  He  pur- 
chased, in  1747,  ?onie  three  inindrcd  acres  in 
the  north-east  corner  of  Nottingham,  adjoin- 
ing the  town  of  Lee,  and  cleared  a  part  of 
it  for  farming;  and  in   1754  he  built  the  house 


in  which  his  great-great-grandson,  John 
Scales,  was  born.  This  house  is  still  stand- 
ing, well  preserved;  it  was  the  first  two-story 
house  in  the  town.  The  original  tract  of  land 
remained  in  the  possession  of  the  Scales  fam- 
ily for  over  a  century,  and  a  part  of  it  is  still 
owned  by  them.  Samuel,  the  youngest  son  of 
Abraham,  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier.  Sam- 
uel's son  Samuel  was  the  grandfather  of  Mr. 
John  Scales;  and  his  father,  the  third  Samuel 
in  line,  was  born  in  Nottingham,  July  18, 
1800.  The  owner  and  manager  of  a  large 
farm,  he  was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
town,  serving  as  moderator,  .Selectman,  and 
School  Committee,  Captain  of  a  militia  com- 
pany for  several  years,  and  in  1849-50  he  rep- 
resented the  town  in  the  General  Court. 

Mr.  John  Scales' s  mother,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Molly  (Batchelder) 
True,  was  born  in  Deerfield,  N.  H.,  January 
II,  1805.  She  was  of  the  seventh  generation 
from  Benjamin  True,  who  emigrated  from 
England  and  settled  in  Salem,  Mass.,  in  1632. 
Her  grandfather.  Deacon  Abraham  True,  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Deerfield,  moving 
there  from  Salisbury,  Mass.,  about  1750. 
Her  father,  Benjamin  True,  served  in  the 
Revolution.  Her  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  and  Molly  (Longfellow)  Batchel- 
der. The  Batchelders  trace  their  descent  from 
the  Rev.  Stephen  Bachiler,  who  was  born  in 
England  in  1561.  He  was  the  founder  of 
Hampton,  N.  H.,  and  the  first  pastor  of  the 
church  there,  taking  charge  in  1638,  and  fill- 
ing the  pulpit  until  he  was  over  eighty  years 
of  age.  He  returned  to  England,  where  he 
died  in  1660,  aged  nearly  one  hundred  years. 
Mrs.  Scales's  grandfather,  Nathaniel  liatchel- 
der,  was  the  great-great-great-grandson  of 
the  clergyman.  He  was  born  in  Hampton, 
June  9,  1732,  and  settled  in  Deerfield  about 
1752.      He  was   in   Captain   Henry  Dearborn's 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


30J 


comiwny,  iiiRlcr  Colonel  John  Stark,  at  the 
battle  of  liuiikcr  Hill,  and  also  with  Stark  at 
licnninyton,  and  there  offered  up  his  life  for 
his  country.  Two  of  his  sons,  Stephen  and 
Nathaniel,  and  four  sons  in-law — Smith  Mor- 
rill, ^Abraham,  Joseph,  and  ]5enjamin  True 
—  also  served  in  the  Continental  arni_\'. 
Smith  Morrill  married  Mr.  Batchelder's  eldest 
daughter,  Mary;  and  Justin  S.  Morrill,  the 
distinguished  United  States  Senator  from 
Vermont,  who  has  recently  been  elected  to  his 
si.xth  term,  is  their  grandson.  On  the  mater- 
nal side  Mrs.  Scales  was  of  the  same  stt)ck  as 
the  poet  Longfellow,  descended  from  William 
Longfellow,  an  linglishman,  who  .settled  in 
Newbury,  Mass.,  where  he  married  in  1676 
Anne  Sewall,  sister  of  Samuel  Sewall,  the 
famous  Colonial  judge.  Mrs.  Scales's  grand- 
mother was  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Longfellow 
and  cousin  to  Stephen  Longfellow,  the  grand- 
father of  the  poet;  and  her  grandmother's 
.sister,  Sarah  Longfellow,  was  the  wife  of 
General  Joseph  Cilley,  of  Revolutionary  fame. 

John  Scales  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Nottingham,  a  private  school  at  Lee  Mill,  and 
the  academy  at  Nottingham  Centre.  The  last- 
named  institution  was  in  charge  of  Professor 
Bart  Van  Dame,  a  remarkable  man,  and  one  of 
the  best  educators  of  the  day.  He  was  also 
a  pujjil  at  Pembroke  Gymnasium  and  Strafford 
Acatlemy,  and  in  1854  attended  the  high 
school  in  the  town  hall  in  ]5arrington  taught 
by  Thomas  A.  Henderson,  afterward  lieuten- 
ant-colonel in  the  Seventh  New  Hampshire 
Volunteer  Regiment,  who  was  killed  in  battle 
at  Charleston,  S.  C.  Miss  Adaline  ]\ice 
Parker,  daughter  of  Captain  Robert  Parker,  a 
prominent  merchant  of  Portsmouth,  was  his 
first  and  most  esteemed  teacher. 

hi  the  winter  of  1855-56,  Mr.  Scales  took 
charge  of  a  school  at  Harper's  Terry,  Va. , 
and  remained   in   that  State  until  the  summer 


of  1857.  There  he  did  his  first  newspaper 
work,  writing  to  the  Boston  J\>st  accounts  of 
the  ixilitical  rallies  held  in  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia during  the  h'renKjnt-Buchanan  canijiaign. 
In  March,  1857,  he  went  to  Washington  and 
saw  ]5uchanan  inaugurated.  In  the  siunmer 
(it  the  same  year  he  came  North  to  complete 
his  preparation  to  enter  Dartmouth  College; 
and  in  September  he  entered  the  New  London 
(N.  H.)  Academy,  then  under  the  sujiervision 
of  the  late  George  W.  (iardner,  ]),]).  By 
close  apjilication  and  hard  work  he  completed 
the  three  years'  course  in  two  years,  and  grad- 
uated with  a  rank  among  the  best  of  a  large 
class.  Among  his  classmates  here  were  the 
Hon.  Charles  A.  Pillsbury,  the  world-famous 
flour  manufacturer  of  Minnea])olis,  and  Pro- 
fessor John  R.  ICastman,  of  the  United  States 
Observatory  at  Washington.  In  the  kill  of 
1859  Mr.  Scales  entered  Dartmouth,  and  in 
1863  he  graduated  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  sec 
tion  of  his  class,  and  had  an  oration  at  com- 
mencement. During  the  college  course  he 
taught  school  m  winter  and  heljied  on  his 
father's  farm  in  summer,  wielding  the  scythe 
(which  had  not  then  been  superseded  by  the 
mowing  machine)  with  a  skill  that  put  the 
experts  on  their  best  nerve  ami  muscle. 
Among  his  instructors  at  college  were  the 
Hon.  James  W.  Patterson,  afterward  United 
States  Senator,  Professor  Brown,  afterward 
President  of  Hamilton  College,  Professor 
Aiken,  and  President  Lord,  his  class  being 
the  last  to  graduate  under  the  last-named 
gentleman;  and  among  his  classmates  were  the 
Hon.  Thomas  Cogswell,  now  pension  agent 
for  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont;  the  Hon. 
Henry  M.  Baker,  ex-member  of  Congress  from 
the  Second  Congressional  District  of  New 
Hampshire;  the  Hon.  Charles  A.  Pillsbuiy, 
of  Minneapolis;  the  Hon.  N.  H.  Clement,  one 
of  the  judges  in  the  Brooklyn   district   of   New 


302 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


York;  the  Hon.  Jesse  Johnson,  a  leading 
member  of  the  New  York  bar  in  Brooklyn; 
juilge  W*  L.  Barnap,  of  Burlington,  Vt.  ; 
tlie  Rev.  Dr.  Bernard  Paine,  of  Saybrook, 
Conn.  ;  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  W.  Hazen,  of 
Middletown,  Conn. 

During  his  college  life  l^artmouth  sent 
a  cavalry  company  to  the  war,  which  did 
valued  service  in  the  campaign  preceding  the 
battle  of  Antietam;  and  this  company's  his- 
tory^_which  appears  in  tlic  War  Record  of  New 
Hampshire,  recently  published  by  the  .State, 
was  written  by  Mr.  Scales. 

In  the  fall  of  1863  he  was  installed  as  prin- 
cipal of  the  academy  at  Centre  Strafford;  from' 
1S65  to  1867  he  was  principal  of  the  Wolf- 
boro  Academy;  in  1867  and  1868  he  was 
head  of  the  Gilmanton  Academy;  and  from  the 
-sjiring  of  1869  to  the  spring  of  1883  he  was 
principal  of  the  Franklin  Academy  in  Dover. 
As  a  teacher  he  was  successful  and  popular, 
h'ranklin  Academy  attained  its  highest  popu- 
larity and  largest  attendance  under  his  charge, 
and  the  first  woman  to  enter  college  from 
Dover  and  complete  a  full  classical  course  was 
fitted  by  him.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  Mr. 
Scales  has  advocated  the  higher  education  of 
women. 

August  2,  1880,  the  Dover  Daily  Republican 
was  started  by  a  syndicate  of  Republicans  as 
a  campaign  paper,  with  George  Wadleigh, 
Esq.,  the  veteran  newspaper  man,  as  managing 
editor,  and  Mr.  Scales  then  began  to  contrib- 
ute to  its  column.s.  In  1S83  he  purchased  a 
half  interest  in  the  Daily  Republican  and  the 
Dover  Enquirer;  and  both  papers  have  enjoyed 
increasing  prosperity  while  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  them.  The  Republican  is  noted 
for  its  vigorous  and  scholarly  editorials. 
Mr.  Scales  is  a  pronounced  protectionist  and 
has  advocated  woman  suffrage  since  1865. 
He  is  a  clear  thinker,  and  writes  in  terse  and 


forcible  style,  having  at  all  times  a  firm  grasp 
of  his  subject.  In  addition  to  his  newspaper 
work,  he  has  written  and  published  the  history 
of  the  class  of  1863,  Dartmouth  College;  and 
the  History  of  the  Dartmouth  Cavalry,  men- 
tioned above.  He  has  been  honored  with  the 
election  to  the  examining  board  of  Dartmouth 
College,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Dover 
School  Committee.  He  has  been  trustee  of 
the  State  Normal  School  at  Plymouth. 

On  October  20,  1S65,  Mr.  Scales  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Ellen,  daughter  of 
Deacon  Alfred  and  Mary  Margaret  (Hill) 
Tasker,  who  has  been  his  co-laborer  in  school 
and  newspaper  work  as  well  as  in  the  home. 
They  have  had  four  children,  two  of  whom 
are  living.  Burton  True,  born  August  10, 
1873,  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  in  1895, 
and  is  now  city  editor  of  the  Daily  Repub- 
lican ;  and  Robert  Leighton,  born  May  20, 
1880,  is  a  member  of  the  senior  class  in  the 
Dover  High  School,  expecting  to  enter  Dart- 
mouth in  1897. 

Mr.  Scales  joined  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  PYdlows  in  1856,  and  has  been  in  good 
and  regular  standing  ever  since.  He  was 
initiated  into  Virginia  Lodge,  No.  i,  at  Har- 
per's Ferry,  and  after  removing  to  Dover  be- 
came a  member  of  VVecohammet  Lodge,  No. 
3.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  higher 
branches  of  the  order  Ouocheco  Encamjjment 
and  Canton  Parker,  Patriarchs  Militant.  He 
is  a  member  of  Dover  Commandery  No.  43, 
U.  O.  G.  C,  Moses  Paul  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M., 
Belknajj  Chapter  Orphan  Council,  and  St. 
Paul  Commandery,  and  is  a  thirty-second 
degree  member  of  the  lodge  of  Perfection  in 
the  Valley  of  Dover,  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite;  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution, 
and  the  Society  of  the  Colonial  Wars  in  New 
Hampshire.      In   religious  belief  he  is  a  Con- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


303 


gregationalist,  belonging  to  the  famous  First 
Church,  whose  history  dates  back  to  163S,  the 
parish  having  been  organized  in  1633. 


<^S 


I'OKGE  SCALI-:S,  brother  of  John, 
\  1^  I  was  born  in  Nottingham,  October 
20,  1S40.  He  worked  on  the  farm 
with  his  father,  when  not  attending  school, 
till  he  joined  the  Union  army  in  September, 
i86[.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  at  New  London  Academy,  where  he 
fitted  for  college  and  graduated  in  June,  1S61, 
ranking  among  the  highest  in  scholarship  in 
his  class.  Quick  to  learn  and  studious  in 
his  habits,  he  was  very  popular  in  the  school, 
both  among  the  students  and  the  teachers. 
He  was  gifted  as  a  conversationalist  and  as 
a  speaker,  and  had  he  lived  to  mature  age 
would  undoubtedly  have  taken  high  rank  in 
the  legal  profession,  for  which  he  had  planned 
to  fit  himself  on  completing  his  college  edu- 
cation. The  tocsin  of  war  changed  his  plans. 
When  President  Lincoln  called  for  volunteers 
he  responded  promptly,  as  responded  his  grand- 
father, Benjamin  True,  and  great-grandfathers, 
Samuel  Scales  and  Nathaniel  Batchelder,  in 
the  Revolutionary  War;  not  that  he  liked  war 
per  sc,  but  that  he  was  ready  to  defend  his 
country's  honor,  to  preserve  liberty,  free  in- 
stitutions, and  the  Union.  He  was  an  expert 
marksman,  hence  he  chose  to  enlist  as  one  of 
Bcrdan's  sharpshooters. 

The  war  record  of  the  First  Regiment, 
United  States  Sharpshooters,  is  unsurpassed 
])y  that  of  any  part  of  the  grand  Union  army. 
The  originator  and  organizer  of  it  was  a  New 
Hampshire  man,  Hiram  Berdan,  then  a  resi- 
dent of  New  York.  The  qualifications  he  set 
for  each  man  were:  "That  no  man  shall  be 
accepted  who  cannot,  at  two  hundred  yards, 
put  ten  consecutive  shots  into  a  ten-inch  ring, 


or  a  string  measurement  of  fifty  inches,  l^ach 
man  can  choose  his  rifle  and  the  government 
will  allow  sixty  dollars  for  it."  (icorge 
Scales  fulfiUctl  the  demand  in  every  particu- 
lar. Amos  B.  Jt)nes,  who  had  gratluated  from 
Dartmouth  in  iSfii,  commenced  to  muster  re 
emits  from  New  Hamiishire  to  make  up  the 
quota  from  this  State.  His  company  was 
numbered  1'^,  and  on  September  9,  1X61,  it 
was  mustered  in  at  Concord. 

The  uniform  of  this  company  was  dark  green 
cap,  coat  and  trousers,  leather  leggings,  gray 
felt  havelock-shajjed  hat,  and  gray  overcoat, 
which  latter  was  afterward  changed  to  another 
color  to  avoid  its  being  mistaken  for  Con- 
federates. The  knapsack  was  of  J'rench  i)at- 
tern,  made  of  leather  with  the  hair  on,  with 
a  tin  dish  for  cooking  on  the  outsitle.  On 
September  11  they  left  for  Weehawken,  N.J., 
where  they  remained  three  days,  from  which 
place  George  wrote  his  first  letters  to  friends 
at  home,  and  after  that  he  kept  a  regular  diaiy 
of  each  day's  doings. 

Of  his  journey  to  New  Jersey  he  wmte  that 
the  weather  was  disagreeable  and  rainv;  tiiat 
they  did  not  slee]3  much  on  the  boat  from  h'all 
River  to  New  York ;  that  when  they  arrived 
at  Weehawken  they  were  given  breakfast  in  a 
very  dirty  room  ;  that  it  consisted  of  baked 
potatoes,  dry,  hard  beef,  and  sour  bread.  He 
says:  "It  made  me  think  of  home,  but  I  am 
not  homesick.  I  did  not  enlist  expecting  a 
pleasure  trip,  nor  do  I  exjiect  honors;  it  was 
pure  love  of  country  that  gave  me  manly 
courage  to  say  good-by  to  the  old  Granite 
State,  and  the  loved  ones  who  are  dearer  to  me 
than  my  own  life.  VVe  have  a  smart  company, 
all  good  fellows.  They  are  not  allowed  to 
drink  any  spirituous  liquors,  but  if  the  order 
had  not  been  given  I  do  not  think  any  one 
would  get  drunk  ;  not  one  complains  about  the 
order.      When  I  left  home  I   thought    I   shoukl 


304 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


liavc  an  opportunity  to  visit  mother  again 
bofiiro  going  to  tlio  scat  of  war,  but  circum- 
stances have  prevented;  where  duty  calls  I 
must  go." 

On  September  15,  1861,  they  left  Weehaw- 
ken  for  Washington,  D.  C. ,  and  joined  the 
l-irst  Regiment  of  Berdan's  United  States 
Sharpshooters  as  Company  E.  September 
21  they  had  their  first  reconnoissance  under 
General  Smith,  in  Virginia,  and  had  their 
firstjsiirmish  near  Lewisville,  Va. ,  September 
27,  and  then  had  the  first  sight  of  the  rebels 
and  a  taste  of  their  fire.  In  writing  home 
about  this  first  experience  in  battle,  he  says : 
"It  was  something  like  going  out  hunting  for 
game,  when  suddenly  a  thunder  shower  breaks 
forth  with  a  terrific  roar  and  flashing,  and 
gives  you  a  great  surjirise.  Our  boys  did  not 
flinch  or  manifest  the  least  fear,  but  as  soon 
as  their  first  surprise  was  over,  which  was  but 
an  instant,  took  good  aim  with  their  rifles 
and  set  the  rebels  on  the  run  for  safe  quar- 
ters. 

On  the  2gth  they  had  another  skirmish  near 
Falls  Church,  where  one  man  was  shot  in  both 
legs;  the  others  escaped  injury.  They  saw  no 
more  of  the  rebs  till  the  ne.xt  spring.  Dur- 
ing the  rest  of  the  fall  and  winter  they  were 
with  the  regiment  in  Camp  Instruction  at 
Washington.  There  the  companies  were 
thoroughly  disciplined  and  drilled  daily  at 
target  practice.  George  Scales' s  record  at 
the  target  shooting  was  among  the  very  best. 
One  of  the  letters  home  says:  "Our  camp  has 
the  appearance  of  a  small  city,  and  is  kept 
very  neat.  The  streets  are  graded  and  swept 
every  day;  they  are  as  clean  as  a  house  floor." 
One  of  the  officers  from  another  New  Hamp- 
shire regiment,  who  visited  the  sharp- 
shooters' camp  and  .saw  the  men,  says  that 
George  "appeared  like  a  man  of  high  charac- 
ter, a  noble-looking  fellow  in    his   uniform  of 


dark  green."  He  was  always  a  young  man 
of  the  best  of  habits  in  every  respect,  and 
army  life  did  not  change  him.  March  20, 
1862,  they  broke  camp,  and  on  March  21 
Company  H  joined  General  Fitz-John  Porter's 
division.  Third  Army  Corps,  near  Alexandria, 
Va. .  They  embarked  for  Fortress  Monroe, 
March  22,  arrived  there  March  24,  and  landed 
at  Hampton.  March  27  they  led  the  advance 
of  a  reconnoissance  by  Porter's  Division, 
through  and  beyond  Bethel,  Va. ,  toward  York- 
town.  In  this  move  the  sharpshooters  won 
high  ]3raise  for  their  bravery  and  for  the  work 
they  did.  They  earned  a  reputation  which 
they  ever  after  maintained  in  the  thirty-three 
battles  in  which  they  engaged,  not  counting  in- 
numerable skirmishes,  the  most  difficult  work 
of  all.  His  letters  home  were  full  of  burning 
enthusiasm  to  whip  the  rebels  and  send  them 
home  satisfied  to  keep  the  peace  forevermore. 
Of  himself  he  wrote:  "I  have  no  fear;  I  think 
I  shall  come  out  of  the  war  safe;  but  shoukl  I 
fall,  think  of  me  as  having  willingly  laid  down 
my  life  for  my  country." 

From  April  5  to  May  4  they  performed  such 
efficient  service  in  front  of  Yorktown,  in  the 
rifiepits,  in  silencing  batteries  and  sharp- 
shooters, that  they  were  complimented  in 
general  orders  by  the  commanding  general. 
In  his  letters  home  he  says:  "I  have  been 
engaged  in  a  lively  battle  and  have  come  out 
of  it  alive  and  well;  of  course  I  am  exceed- 
ing weary,  as  it  was  no  easy  job  to  crawl  along 
on  the  ground  and  drag  my  rifle  with  me,  that 
we  might  get  near  to  the  enemy's  works,  and 
then  lie  cramped  up,  taking  steady  aim  and 
making  every  shot  count  in  knocking  out  the 
rebel  gunners  and  silencing  their  batteries  by 
killing  or  driving  the  men  away.  It  was  won- 
derful how  quick  our  sharpshooters  could 
scoop  out  a  hole  and  throw  the  dirt  up  iii  front 
of  them,  on  which   they  rested   their  rifles  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


305 


picked  off  the  rebs,  while  the  rebs  could  not 
see  us.  To  any  one  looking  on,  out  of  harm's 
way,  it  might  have  seemed  a  grand  sight;  but 
to  us  fellows  who  were  in  the  front  of  the 
tight,  there  was  nothing  grand  about  it;  it 
seemed  awful,  that  is  the  whole  story.  I  can- 
not say  that  I  have  killed  a  man,  but  I  took 
deliberate  aim  and  saw  them  fall;  perhaps 
somebody's  else  bullet  hit  at  the  same  time. 
One  fellow  in  gray  was  just  on  the  point  of 
firing  when  I  took  good  aim,  fired,  and  he 
drt)pped,  not  to  rise  again.  I  came  here  to 
do  my  duty  like  a  brave  soldier,  and  I  have 
done  it  to  the  best  of  my  ability  and  I  did  not 
feel  afraid,  but  must  confess  I  could  see  no 
fun  in  being  a  target  for  rebel  bullets,  nor  in 
making  targets  of  my  fellow-men  who  are 
fighting  for  a  bad  cause." 

The  company  remained  encamped  in  front  of 
Yorktown  till  May  7.  On  the  8th  they,  with 
the  rest  of  the  army  corps,  embarked  for  West 
Point,  arriving  on  the  9th.  On  the  13th  they 
took  up  the  line  of  march  toward  Richmond. 
On  the  27th  of  May  they  took  part  in  the 
battle  at  Hanover  Court  House  and  Peake's 
Station;  June  26  they  were  in  the  fight  at 
Mechanicsville ;  June  27  at  Gaines's  Mill; 
July  I,  1862,  at  Malvern  Hill,  where  he  fell, 
killed  by  a  rebel  bullet.  What  those  battles 
were,  and  the  terrible  scenes  of  the  conflicts, 
are  vividly  described  on  the  pages  of  many  his- 
tories, which  need  not  be  repeated  here. 
Suffice  to  say  that  where  the  hardest  fighting 
was  there  was  George  Scales  and  his  company 
of  brave  men. 

John  Longfellow  Bartlett,  son  of  Judge 
Bradbury  15artlett,  and  grandson  of  Colonel 
Thomas  Bartlett,  and  great-grandson  of  Gen- 
eral Joseph  Cilley,  both  of  Revolutionary 
fame,  was  a  member  of  this  company  of  sharp- 
shooters, and  participated  in  all  of  the  thirty- 
three  pitched  battles   and   in   the    innumerable 


skirmishes  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  company. 
Strange  to  say  he  was  not  wounded,  neither 
was  he  sick  to  be  in  the  hospital  a  single  day. 
No  braver  soldier  came  out  of  the  war.  Mr. 
Bartlett  says  of  his  cousin  Scales,  when  he 
was  killed:  "We  had  fought  over  the  ground 
several  times  till  it  was  strewn  with  the  dead 
of  both  sides  so  thick  that  it  was  possible  to 
walk  on  nothing  but  bodies,  they  lay  so  near 
together.  We  were  retreating,  dodging  back 
from  tree  to  tree,  to  protect  ourselves,  when 
George  fell,  and  was  never  seen  afterward.  I 
was  familiar  with  the  click  of  his  ritle,  and 
afterward  thought  that  a  Confederate  took  and 
used  his  rifle,  and  that  I  narrowly  escaped 
being  hit  by  one  of  the  bullets  fired  by  a  rebel 
hand.  George  was  as  cool  and  apparently 
undisturbed  in  battle  as  if  he  had  been  at  a 
target  practice,  instead  of  in  one  of  the 
fiercest  battles  of  the  war." 

Another  member  of  the  company  who  saw 
him  in  that  battle  says :  "I  shall  never  forget 
George  Scales  as  I  last  saw  him  in  that  terrifTic 
clash  of  arms.  He  stood  si.N  feet  tall,  with  a 
fine  physique  and  commanding  presence  ;  black 
hair,  black  eyes,  handsome  face,  which  won 
the  confidence  and  love  of  all  who  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  him.  He  stood  as  straight 
as  an  arrow,  and  in  that  sharpshooter's  suit 
of  green  he  looked  sujjcrb ;  death  hit  no  more 
shining  mark  on  that  day;  the  rifle  which  he 
carried  was  one  of  the  best,  tried  and  true,  and 
very  effective  in  the  awful  work  to  which  it 
was  devoted  ;  a  braver  soldier  never  fought  on 
a  battlefield;  had  he  lived  to  the  end  of  the 
war  he  would  have  merited  to  ha\e  been  niaile 
a  Brigadier-general." 

His  remains  were  never  recovered.  They 
lie  with  the  innumerable  and  unnamed  dead, 
who  had  a  common  burial  on  the  battlefield  of 
Malvern  Hill,  where  Union  men  and  Confed- 
erates sleep  together.      Rcijiinscat  in  pace. 


3o6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


"ON.  CHARLES  F.  STONE.— "Gen- 
erous indeed  has  been  the  contribu- 
tion which  New  IIami)shire  has 
made  to  other  States  in  character  and  intellect, 
in  power  for  achievement  in  business,  profes- 
sional and  public  life.  Mas.sachusetts  in  par- 
ticular has  drawn  largely  from  the  best  blood 
and  brain  of  the  Granite  State,  and  the  record 
of  her  noble  men  is  in  a  great  measure  a  trib- 
ute to  New  Hampshire  energy,  ability,  and 
worth.  Nevertheles.s,  New  Hampshire  is  to 
some  extent  indebted  to  other  States  for  valu- 
able accessions  to  the  ranks  of  her  own  best 
citizenship.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in 
regard  to  the  legal  i)rofsssion,  many  of  the 
more  prominent  of  whose  members  have  been 
natives  of  the  Green  Mountain  State.  Ed- 
mund Hurke,  William  L.  Foster,  the  ]5ing- 
hams,  the  Hibbards,  Benton,  Wait,  Ray,  and 
others  who  have  attained  celebrity  at  the  New 
Hampshire  bar,  had  their  birth  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Connecticut.  So,  also,  did  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  although  his  ancestors, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  Binghams,  and  perhaps 
some  others  mentioned,  were  New  Hampshire 
people."  (H.  H.  Metcalf,  in  Granite  Moiit/i/y, 
September,   1892.) 

The  Hon.  Charles  F.  Stone  was  born  in 
Cabot,  Vt.,  May  21,  1843;  and  his  parents, 
the  Rev.  Levi  H.  and  Clarissa  (Osgood) 
Stone,  were  also  natives  of  that  town.  His 
great-grandfather,  Deacon  Matthias  Stone, 
was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Claremont, 
N.  H.  ;  and  his  grandfather,  John  Stone,  with 
three  brothers  went  from  Claremont  in  1794 
to  the  wilds  of  northern  Vermont.  Among  the 
first  settlers  in  Cabot,  they  cleared  farms  and 
all  reared  large  families  there.  John  Stone 
married  Betsey  Huntoon,  of  Unity,  N.H.,  and 
reared  seven  sons  and  three  daughters,  who  all 
attained  mature  age.  Four  of  the  sons  became 
Congregational  ministers, 


The  Rev.  Levi  H.  Stone,  who  was  John 
Stone's  second  son,  was  born  December  10, 
1806.  As  a  minister  of  the  gospel  he  had  a 
long  and  successful  career.  Though  not  lib- 
erally educated,  he  was  an  eloquent  pulpit 
orator  and  a  very  popular  and  prominent 
preacher.  He  held  several  pastorates,  his  first 
— ^  of  ten  years — being  in  Cabot,  and  his  last 
in  Pawlet,  Vt.  While  in  charge  of  the  church 
at  Northfield,  he  was  chaplain  of  the  Vermont 
Senate  at  two  sessions  of  the  legislature.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  he  made  effec- 
tive addresses  at  many  war  meetings,  and  later 
he  served  as  chaplain  of  the  First  Regiment 
of  Vermont  Volunteers.  For  several  years 
after  he  closed  his  last  pastorate,  he  was  agent 
of  the  Vermont  State  Temperance  Society. 
He  died  at  Castleton,  January  25,  1892,  aged 
eighty-five.  He  was  twice  married,  and  had 
children  by  both  wives.  Four  of  his  sons  were 
in  the  Union  service  during  the  war,  and  one 
was  confined  for  some  time  in  Libby  Prison, 
another  in  Andersonville.  His  first  wife,  Clar- 
issa Osgood,  who  was  the  mother  of  eight  chil- 
dren, died  at  the  birth  of  her  son  Charles  F. 

Charles  F.  Stone  was  reared  in  the  home  of 
his  grandfather,  John  Stone,  the  grandparents 
taking  the  motherless  infant  as  soon  as  Mrs. 
Stone  was  laid  to  rest.  He  grew  up  on  the 
farm  in  Cabot,  and,  though  the  freedom  of 
farm  life  developed  his  physical  powers  so  that 
he  attained  a  vigorous  manhood,  his  early  edu- 
cational opportunities  were  limited ;  but  he 
determined  on  a  professional  career,  and  won 
his  way  by  hard  work.  He  studied  two  years 
in  the  academy  at  Barre,  Vt. ,  then  in  charge 
of  Jacob  Spaukling,  and,  entering  Middlebury 
College  in  1865,  was  graduated  in  the  class 
of  1869.  The  funds  for  his  tuition  in  the 
academy  and  the  college  he  earned  by  teach- 
ing district  school  in  the  winter  season  and 
singing  school  at  different  times. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


307 


In  tlie  summer  of  i86g  he  read  law  in  the 
office  of  ex-Governor  John  W.  Stewart,  of 
Micldlelniry,  and  he  was  one  year  princijial  of 
the  gradetl  school  in  that  town,  pursuing  liis 
legal  studies  in  the  evening  and  at  other  times 
when  not  occupied  with  his  school  work.  In 
1870  he  entered  the  ofifice  of  the  Hon.  Ellery 
A.  Hibbard,  of  Laconia,  with  whom  he 
studied  until  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Belknap 
County  in  the  March  term,  1872.  Immedi- 
ately after  he  was  taken  into  partnership  by 
the  late  George  VV.  Stevens,  the  association 
lasting  only  about  a  year,  Mr.  Stevens's  brill- 
iant career  being  cut  short  by  insanity.  In 
1880  Mr.  Stone  became  associated  with  Eras- 
tus  P.  Jewell,  establishing  the  now  well-known 
firm  of  Jewell  &  Stone,  which  ranks  among 
the  first  in  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Stone  and 
Mr.  Jewell  are  both  "all-round  "  lawyers,  and 
their  practice  covers  a  wide  range.  It  is  said 
that  they  have  been  more  extensively  engaged 
in  criminal  causes  for  some  years  past  than  any 
other  firm  in  Belknap  County,  and  their  efforts 
in  defence  are  more  than  ordinarily  successful. 

Mr.  Stone  was  reared  a  Republican  and 
sympathized  with  that  party  in  its  anti-slavery 
princijiles;  but  about  fifteen  years  ago  he  be- 
came dissatisfied  with  its  legislation  on  finan- 
cial and  revenue  matters,  and  joined  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  In  1880  he  tt)ok  the  stump  for 
Hancock  and  English  and  spoke  effectively 
throughout  the  State,  doing  more  in  that  line 
than  any  member  of  his  party  in  the  past  de- 
cade. In  1883-84  and  1887-88,  he  repre- 
sented Laconia  in  the  State  legislature,  serv- 
ing during  his  first  term  on  the  committees 
on  national  affairs  and  railroads,  and  during 
his  second  term  on  the  judiciary  and  State 
Normal  School  committees.  During  each  of 
these  sessions  there  was  an  exciting  railroad 
contest,  and  Mr.  Stone  was  active  in  antago- 
nizing   the  "Colby   bill,"    introduced   by   the 


Hon.  Ira  Colby,  of  Claremont,  chairman  of 
the  Railroad  Committee,  in  the  session  of 
1883,  and  the  "Ilazen  bill,"  the  object  ot 
controversy  in  1887.  In  the  latter  contest 
Mr.  Stone's  speech  on  the  lioor  of  the  House 
in  the  final  debate  was  an  able  and  convincing 
presentation  of  that  side  of  the  case.  In  i  S92 
he  was  the  choice  of  the  Democrats  for  Con- 
gress, but  was  defeated  by  the  Hon.  Henry  \V. 
Blair.  On  July  3,  1S94,  he  was  ajipointcd  by 
President  Cleveland  naval  officer  of  the  port 
of  Boston,  and  still  holds  that  position.  In 
Laconia,  his  home  since  1870,  he  frecpiently 
served  as  Moderator  in  the  town  meetings  be- 
fore the  city  charter  was  granted;  and  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  ICducation  seven- 
teen years,  and  for  some  time  President  of  the 
board.  He  was  also  for  two  years  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  State  Normal 
School. 

Mr.  Stone  was  married  July  7,  1870,  to 
Minnie  A.  Nichols,  of  Sudbury,  Vt.,  whu 
died  September  23,  1875.  She  left  one 
daughter.  Flora  M.,  who  resides  with  her 
father.  On  September  12,  1896,  nearly 
twenty-one  years  after  the  death  of  his  first 
wife,  Mr.  Stone  married  Mrs.  Isabella  Smith 
Munsey,  of  Gilmanton,  N.  II.,  whose  father, 
the  late  Colonel  Noah  E.  Smith,  has  a  his- 
toric record.  His  story  may  here  be  briefly 
outlined,  as  follows:  He  was  born  in  1808  in 
Meredith,  where  his  grand|jarents  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers,  and  when  he  was  ten 
years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Gilman- 
ton. He  cast  his  first  vote  for  Andrew  Jack- 
son, and  on  Jackson's  second  election  to  the 
Presidency  he  went  to  New  York  City,  where 
a  company  was  being  organized  to  operate  a 
stage  line  from  Vera  Cruz,  upon  the  coast,  to 
the  city  of  Mexico.  He  was  soon  ap])ointeil 
general  superintendent  of  the  lines  and  execu- 
tive officer,      Going  to  Mexico  and  making  thi; 


3°8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


acquaintance  of   Santa  Anna,  lie  made   the  ar- 
ranjjemcnts    for   his   inau<,'iiiation   as  President 
of  tiie  Republic.      At  the  time  of  the  outbreak 
of  hostilities   between    Mexico  and  the  United 
States,  Colonel   Smith  was  an   old  resident  of 
the   country,    but   he    had   no   call   to  interest 
himself    in    the    difficulty    until    after    Major 
(iainer  and  other  officers   of   General  Taylor's 
army  were  taken   at    Encarnacion   as  prisoners 
of    war.      He    arranged  for   their   parole   after 
they  had  been    incarcerated   for   seven    months, 
and  loaned  them  nearly  four  thousand   dollars, 
which  was  afterward  returned  to  him.      After 
General  Scott  entered  Mexico  they    presented 
their    benefactor    with    a    heavy    gold-headed 
cane,  upon  which  was  this  inscription:   "Ken- 
tucky  prisoners    of    war    to    Noah    E.    Smith, 
Mexico,    1847."     This  cane   is  now  a   valued 
memento   and   is    treasured    by    his    daughter. 
He  joined  General  Scott  at   Puebla  after  hav- 
ing many  exciting  experiences  with  important 
despatches  and  afterward  became  Scott's  guide 
and    interpreter,    serving   with    him    until   the 
war  ceased.      Colonel   Smith  went  to  Califor- 
nia during  the  gold  discovery  excitement,  and 
was  at  Sacramento  at  the  time  of  the  formation 
of  the    provisional   city  government,    and    was 
one  of  the  council,      feeing  taken    sick,  he  re- 
turned to  New  Hampshire,  where  he  remained 
for  a  time.      Under  President  Pierce's  admin- 
istration he  served  as  mail  agent  in  connection 
with  the  service  to  the  Pacific  coast.      After 
serving  three  or  four  years,    he   resigned    and 
returned  to  Gilmanton.      He   subsequently  be- 
came a  pensioner  of  the  government  on  account 
iif    his  services    in    the     Mexican    War.      The 
later  years  of  his  earthly  life  were  spent  with 
his    daughter;    and    on     April    11,     1887,    he 
passed  to  thii  great  beyond. 

Mr.  Stone  was  made  a  Mason  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  becoming  a  member  of  Granite 
Lodge,  of  Uarre,  Vt.  ;  and  on  his  removal  to 


Laconia  he  transferred  his  connection  to 
Mount  Lebanon  Lodge  of  this  place.  He 
does  not  choose  to  forget  the  days  when  his 
grandfather's  farm  was  his  world,  but  has  been 
a  member  of  Laconia  Grange,  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry, almost  since  its  organization,  and  is 
also  a  prominent  member  of  Belknap  County 
Pomona  Grange.  A  liberal,  progressive 
Christian,  he  has  been  for  a  number  of  years 
connected  with  the  Unitarian  society  of  La- 
conia. Thoroughly  honorable  and  upright, 
Mr.  Stone  has  gained  the  confidence  and  re- 
spect of  his  fellow-men  of  all  classes.  Uf 
commanding  presence  and  courteous  manners, 
he  is  a  fine  specimen  of  American  manhood, 
and  a  citizen  of  whom  Laconia  may  well  be 
proud. 


<■*  •  *■> 


YgTENRY  B.  SCATES,  a  prosperous 
r^H       farmer    and     lumberman     of    Milton, 

-l-^  V, ,   was  born  in  this  town,  F"ebruary  10, 

1 83 1,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Lovey  (Lyman) 
Scates.  His  grandfather,  Benjamin  Scates 
(first),  who  was  a  native  of  Lebanon,  N.  H., 
served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
and   was  one   of  the  early  settlers   in   Milton. 

Benjamin  Scates  (second)  was  a  lifelong  res- 
ident of  this  town,  and  followed  the  carpenter's 
trade  in  connection  with  farming  during  the 
active  period  of  his  life.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Whig.  He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven 
years.  His  wife,  Lovey  Lyman  Scates,  who 
was  a  native  of  Milton,  became  the  mother  of 
eight  children,  only  two  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  Henry  B.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
and  Sophia  L. ,  who  resides  in  Boston. 

Henry  B.  Scates  attended  the  common 
schools  until  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  and 
then  went  to  work  for  a  neighboring  farmer, 
with  whom  he  remained  six  years.  He  then 
engaged  in  lumbering  upon  his  own  account, 
and  has   since   carried  on  that   business  quite 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


309 


extensively.  He  owns  a  good  farm  containing 
three  luinclred  acres  of  land,  which  he  culti- 
vates with  good  results.  Politically,  he  sup- 
ports the  Republican  party.  He  served  as 
Surveyor  fifteen  years,  as  Chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  three  years,  as  Town 
Auditor,  and  was  Jailer  under  Sheriff  Plum- 
nier  for  two  years. 

Mr.  Scates  married  Ellen  Dickson,  a  native 
of  Lebanon,  Me.  He  has  no  children.  He 
is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  the  Patrons  of  Husbandr)-. 
He  attends  the  Baptist  church. 


fHOMAS  L.  HOITT,  a  retired  manu- 
facturer and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War, 
who  is  now  residing  in  Barnstead,  Bel- 
knap County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  this  town, 
April  I,  1827,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mehitable 
(Babson)  Hoitt.  On  the  paternal  side  he  is  a 
grandson  of  Thomas  Hoitt,  who  died  at  sea 
while  serving  in  the  United  States  Navy,  and 
was  buried  in  the  governor's  garden  at 
Surinam;  and  on  the  maternal  side  he  is  a 
great-grandson  of  General  John  Stark,  the 
famous  Revolutionary  patriot. 

Benjamin  Hoitt,  father  of  Thomas  L. ,  was 
born  in  Hampstead,  N.H.,  August  11,  178S. 
When  a  young  man  he  learned  the  trade  of  a 
shoemaker  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  later  for 
some  years  he  conducted  a  shoe  manufactory 
in  connection  with  farming  in  Hampstead, 
N.H.  He  finally  removed  to  Barnstead, 
where  he  became  a  successful  farmer.  For 
several  years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen,  and  he  also  held  other 
town  offices.  In  his  religious  views  a  Con- 
gregationalist,  he  was  a  member  of  that 
church,  when  it  was  presided  over  by  Mr. 
George,  the  first  settled  minister  in  Barn- 
stead.     His   wife,    Mehitable   Babson,    was    a 


daughter  of  Isaac  Babson,  and  a  grand-daugh- 
ter of  General  John  Stark. 

Her  father  was  doubtless  a  descendant  of 
James  Babson,  of  whom  J.J.  Babsun,  the  iiis- 
torian,  of  Gloucester,  Mass.,  says,  "This  set- 
tler and  his  mother,  Isabel,  appear  to  have 
been  the  sole  emigrants  to  New  England  of 
this  name."  Isaac  Babson  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1779,  and  after  marriage 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in  Ho])kin- 
ton,  Mass.,  where  he  was  the  owner  of  a  large 
estate.  While  giving  some  directions  to  his 
workmen  he  suddenly  expired  without  a 
moment's  warning.  Isaac  Babson  and  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  Stark,  daughter  of  General 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Page)  Stark,  were  tiic 
parents  of  four  children,  namely:  John, 
Mehitable  (Mrs.  Babson),  and  Mary  and  Sally, 
who  remained  single.  John  Babson  resided  in 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  for  some  years,  but  spent  his 
last  days  in  Barnstead,  where  he  was  buried. 

The  Stark  ancestors  of  Mr.  Hoitt,  as  is  well 
known,  figured  conspicuously  in  military 
affairs  in  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  times. 
A  few  particulars  of  tlie  family  history  may 
here  be  given.  The  name,  which  is  derived 
from  the  German  word  "starr,"  meaning 
stanch,  strong,  or  rugged,  is  said  to  have  been 
introduced  into  Scotland  in  1495,  when  a 
number  of  German  soldiers  who  liad  invaded 
England,  to  support  the  cause  of  a  pretender 
to  the  throne  of  Henry  VII.,  among  them 
being  some  who  bore  the  name  of  Starr,  or 
Stark,  were  defeated  and  sought  protection 
from  the  Scottish  king.  The  first  known  an- 
cestor of  the  New  Hampshire  family  was 
Archibald  Stark,  who  was  born  in  Glasgow  in 
1697.  He  was  educated  at  the  University  of 
his  native  city,  and  in  early  manhood  moved 
with  his  jiarents  to  Londonderry,  Ireland. 
There  he  met  and  married  P^leanor  Nichols, 
the  daughter  of  a  Scottish  emigrant.     In  1720 


3IO 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Archibald  Stark  and  his  family  emigrated  to 
America,  and  the  next  year  settled  in  London- 
derry, N.H. 

The  children  of  Archibald  and  I'LIeanor 
Stark,  born  previous  to  their  arrival  in  Amer- 
ica, died  of  small-pox;  and  the  four  sons  born 
to  them  in  this  country  were:  William,  John, 
Samuel,  and  Archibald,  Jr.  Archibald  Stark, 
Sr. ,  fought  against  the  Indians  in  defence  of 
the  frontier;  and  the  military  instincts  which 
he  inherited  he  transmitted  to  his  sons,  all  of 
whom  became  commissioned  officers  in  the 
British  Colonial  service.  William,  the  eld- 
est, was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  in 
1776;  and  John  became  the  redoubtable  Gen- 
eral who  fought  at  Bunker  Hill,  Bennington, 
and  other  noted  battles  of  the  Revolution,  and 
whose  brilliant  achievements  form  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  history  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War. 

General  Stark  was  humorous  as  well  as 
brave,  and  when  called  upon  to  meet  on  the 
field  of  Bennington  the  soldiers  who  had  been 
hired  in  Germany,  he  made  that  traditional 
speech  which  has  been  variously  rendered, 
and  may  be  here  repeated  in  one  of  its  fa- 
miliar forms:  "Now,  my  men,  these  are  the 
Hessians.  They  were  bought  for  seven 
pounds,  tenpence,  a  man.  Are  you  worth 
more?  Prove  it.  To-night  the  American 
flag  floats  over  yonder  hill,  or  Molly  Stark 
sleeps  a  widow."  General  John  Stark  was  born 
in  Londonderry,  N.H.,  August  28,  1728,  and 
on  August  20,  1758,  he  married  Elizabeth  Page, 
the  "Molly  Stark"  of  history—  "Molly,"  it 
is  needless  to  say,  being  a  pet  name.  They 
had  eleven  children,  as  follows:  Caleb,  Archi- 
balfl,  John,  Eleanor  (first),  Eleanor  (second), 
Sarah,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Charles,  Benjamin 
Franklin,  and  Sophia.  Of  these,  two  sons  and 
one  daughter  died  young.  Sarah  Stark  married 
a      Mr.      Blodgett;      Mary     married      B.     F. 


Stickering;  Sophia  Stark  married  Samuel 
Dickey;  and  Elizabeth  Stark,  as  above  noted, 
was  the  wife  of  Isaac  Babson,  and  the  ma- 
ternal grandmother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

Twelve  children  were  born  to  Benjamin  and 
Mehitable  (Babson)  Hoitt.  Two  of  them 
died  in  infancy.  The  others  were  as  follows; 
Ellen,  Charlotte,  John  S.,  Henrietta,  Thomas 
L. ,  Harriet,  Francis,  William,  Sarah,  and 
Horace. 

Charlotte  Hoitt  was  born  May  17,  18 19. 
She  married  Calvin  Sanborn,  son  of  Deacon 
James  Sanborn,  of  Epsom,  N.H.,  and  a  repre- 
sentative of  an  old  and  prominent  family  in 
this  part  of  the  State.  Calvin  Sanborn  was  a 
wheelwright  by  trade,  and  carried  on  business 
in  Barnstead  until  1849,  when  he  went  to  the 
gold  mines  of  California.  Upon  his  return, 
he  resumed  business  in  I^arnstead  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale,  and  later  patented  a  water- 
wheel,  which  commanded  a  large  sale.  He 
was  recognized  as  a  superior  mechanic,  and  for 
sometime  was  engaged  in  superintending  the 
building  of  bridges  in  the  South.  He  ac- 
quired wealth  by  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
his  water-wheel,  and  was  a  generous  giver  to 
charitable  and  other  worthy  objects.  Mrs. 
Charlotte  Hoitt  Sanborn,  who  is  still  residing 
in  Barnstead,  possesses  the  essential  elements 
of  true  womanhood,  which  endear  her  to  a 
large  circle  of  friends.  She  is  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church,  and  has  rendered 
valuable  aid  in  developing  the  usefulness  of 
that  society.      She  has  no  children. 

Thomas  L.  Hoitt,  the  special  subject  of  our 
sketch,  acquired  in  his  early  years  a  common- 
school  education,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  en- 
tered the  employ  of  Bailey  Parker,  a  merchant 
of  Pembroke,  N.H.,  as  a  clerk.  After  re- 
maining with  Mr.  Parker  several  years  he  be- 
came  manager  for  J.    B.    Merrill,  with   whom 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3" 


he  subsequently  was  associated,  and  still  later 
he  bought  him  out.  In  1855  Mr.  Hoitt  en- 
gaged in  the  dry-goods  business  in  Salmon 
Falls,  N.  H.,  where  he  remained  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  when  he  en- 
listed as  a  first-class  musician  in  the  Fifth 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  for 
three  years.  He  served  until  the  close  of 
McClellan's  Peninsula  Campaign,  when  he 
was  honorably  discharged  on  account  of  fail- 
ing health.  In  1863  he  was  appointed  the 
first  postal  agent  between  Portland  and  Bos- 
ton, and  some  time  afterward  he  engaged  in 
the  shoe  manufacturing  business  in  Lynn, 
Mass.  In  1880  he  disposed  of  his  business  in 
Lynn,  and,  returning  to  Barnstead,  has  since 
resided  here.  He  was  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  extension  of  the  Suncook  Branch  Rail- 
way to  this  town,  and  is  at  the  present  time 
interested  in  the  Beaudry  Machine  Company. 

In  April,  1871,  Mr.  Hoitt  was  joined  in 
marriage  with  Martha  E.  Seavey,  of  Saco, 
Me.  They  have  one  daughter,  Henrietta  B., 
an  industrious  and  accomplished  young  lady, 
who  excels  in  both  music  and  painting.  Mr. 
Hoitt  was  made  a  Mason  in  Mount  Belknap 
Lodge,  of  Laconia.  He  is  now  a  member  of 
Trinity  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of 
Manchester,  and  has  advanced  to  the  thirty- 
second  degree.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  at  Barnstead  Parade. 


iRS.  HENRIETTA  WARLAND, 
a  resident  of  Barnstead,  is  a  de- 
scendant of  General  John  Stark 
of  Revolutionary  fame.  An  extended  account 
of  her  ancestry  will  be  found  in  the  sketch  of 
her  brother,  Thomas  L.  Hoitt,  on  another 
page.  She  was  born  in  Barnstead,  April  2, 
1823,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mehitable 
(Babson)  Ploitt.      Her  education  was  received 


at  a  private  sciiool  in  Manchester,  N.H.,  and 
at  Mrs.  Hill's  High  School  in  the  same  city. 
She  resided  with  relatives  in  Manchester  for 
some  years.  Shortly  after  her  return  to  Barn- 
stead she  was  joined  in  marriage  with  Thomas 
F.  Warland. 

Mr.  Warland  was  born  in  Kennebunk,  Me. 
His  father,  Thomas  Warland,  worked  at  his 
trade  of  currier  for  many  years,  and  died  in 
Woburn,  Mass.  Thomas  F.  was  reared  and 
educated  in  his  native  town.  Upon  reaching 
his  majority  he  went  to  Pittsfield,  N.II.,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  business  with  an  uncle  for 
several  years.  After  his  marriage  he  went  to 
Woburn,  and  was  in  business  there  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War.  At  the  first 
call  for  troops  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany G,  Fifth  Regiment,  Massachusetts  Vol- 
unteers, and  particijjated  in  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Run.  He  sustained  a  severe  sunstroke, 
which  so  disabled  him  as  to  render  further 
military  service  impossible,  and  he  survived 
but  a  year  after  his  return  to  Woburn. 
He  was  an  able,  energetic  business  man, 
whose  prospects  were  unusually  promising. 
His  untimely  death  was  sincerely  regretted  by 
his  many  personal  friends  and  business  asso- 
ciates. 

Mrs.  Warland  has  resided  in  Barnstead 
about  eighteen  years  amid  the  scenes  of  her 
childhood,  and  in  close  proximity  to  her 
sister,  Mrs.  Charlotte  Sanborn,  and  her 
brother,  Thomas  L.  Hoitt.  She  is  highly  re- 
spected and  esteemed  by  the  entire  commun- 
ity, and  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church  at  Barnstead  Parade. 


ON.     JERRY     LANGLEY,    of    Dur- 
ham, one  of  the  most  prosjierous  and 
progressive  agriculturists  of   Straf- 
ford County,  was  born  March  25,  1841,  on  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


homestead  where  he  now  resides.  He  is  a  de- 
scendant of  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  this 
part  of  the  county.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
Jonathan  I,ani;ley,  spent  his  life  in  Dur- 
ham. His  father,  Jcdcdiah  Langley,  was 
likewise  a  lifelong  resident  of  this  town, 
where  he  followed  the  occupations  of  carpen- 
ter and  farmer.  Ills  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Hannah  Clay,  and  who  came  from 
Dover,  had  nine  other  children ;  namely,  John, 
Smith,  Hrackett,  Moses,  Elizabeth,  Caroline, 
Martha,  John  (second),  and  Martin  V. 

Jerry  Langley  was  reared  upon  the  home 
farm,  enjoying  with  his  brothers  and  sisters 
the  facilities  afforded  by  the  public  schools  of 
his  district  for  acquiring  an  education.  At 
the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  began  to  learn  shoe- 
making,  which  he  afterward  followed  for  many 
years,  remaining  at  home,  and  assisting  also 
on  the  farm.  Since  becoming  the  owner  of 
the  homestead,  Mr.  Langley  has  carried  on  a 
thriving  business  in  general  farming.  He  is 
one  of  the  largest  dealers  in  hay  in  this  local- 
ity, buying  large  quantities  of  it  in  the  ad- 
joining towns,  pressing  and  baling  it,  and 
then  shipping  it  to  various  points.  In  1890, 
in  company  with  one  of  his  sons,  Mr.  Langley 
bought  a  line  of  barges  for  transporting  coal. 
The  firm  has  now  a  regular  route  from  Ports- 
mouth to  Dover,  New  Market,  and  E.xeter, 
carrying  on  the  business  under  the  firm  name 
of  J.  Langley  &  Son.  Mr.  Langley's  farm 
contains  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  much  of 
which  he  has  brought  under  cultivation,  the 
care  of  this  property  with  his  other  interests 
re(|uiring  the  attention  of  himself  and  sons, 
keeping  them  all  busily  employed.  He  has 
also  an  interest  in  the  New  Market  National 
15ank,  which  he  serves  in  the  capacity  of  Di- 
rector. 

On  October  9,  1864,  Mr.  Langley  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emily  F.   Emerson,  daughter  of 


Joshua  and  Sarah  Durgin  Emerson,  of  New 
Durham.  They  are  now  the  parents  of  three 
children  —  Edward  I.,  Charles  S.,  and  Carrie 
A.  Mr.  Langley  has  been  actively  identified 
with  the  town  and  county  government  in  vari- 
ous offices  of  importance.  He  was  first 
elected  as  Selectman  in  1875,  and  since  that 
time  has  repeatedly  been  Chairman  of  the 
Board.  He  has  also  been  Road  Commis- 
sioner, and  he  was  a  member  of  the  College 
Committee  when  that  institution  was  located 
in  the  town.  In  1890  he  represented  Durham 
in  the  legislature,  and  in  1894  he  was  elected 
Senator  from  District  Twenty-two.  A  loyal 
supporter  of  Republican  principles,  he  has 
voted  with  that  party  since  i860,  when  he  cast 
his  first  Presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Ris- 
ing Star  Lodge,  No.  22,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
New  Market ;  and  for  twelve  years  he  has  be- 
longed to  Squamscot  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  V.,  of 
the  same  town.  While  not  connected  by 
membership  with  any  denomination,  he  con- 
tributes liberally  toward  the  support  of 
churches. 


TEPHEN  GALE,  late  a  successful 
farmer  and  well-known  citizen  of 
the  town  of  Gilmanton,  N.H.,  was- 
born  in  Gilmanton,  March  20,  1800.  He  was 
the  fifth  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Smith) 
Gale,  and  a  brother  of  Moses  S.  Gale,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  next  sketch  but  one.  Their  mother 
was  the  only  child  of  Abraham  Smith,  a 
farmer  of  Gilmanton,  whose  farm  after  his  de- 
cease came  into  the  possession  cf  their  family. 
Stephen  Gale,  after  receiving  his  education 
in  the  district  school  of  his  native  town,  asso- 
ciated himself  with  his  brother  John  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  Abraham  Smith  farm  "on 
shares"  for  their  father,  who  was  actively  en- 
gaged   in   the  exercise  of    his   trade,    that    of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3'3 


country  blacksmith.  After  a  few  years  his 
brother  withdrew,  and  until  after  the  death  of 
his  father  he  continued  to  cultivate  and  im- 
prove the  old  homestead,  which  later  became 
his  by  purchase.  He  married  Betsey  S.  Dud- 
ley, January  20,  1S30.  Their  children  were: 
Rufiis  E.,  born  May  i,  1S32,  Nathaniel  S., 
born  January  13,  1S37:  and  Laura  A.,  horn 
July  16,  1839.  About  the  year  1S54  he 
boui;ht  an  adjoining  farm,  to  which  lie  moved 
with  his  family,  excepting  Rufus,  his  elder 
son. 

Rufus  E.  Gale  married  Mary  E.  Nelson, 
daughter  of  John  1^".  Nelson,  I-^djruary  14, 
1856,  and  remained  on  and  cultivated  the 
home  farm  until  August  11,  1S62,  when  he 
enlisted  as  private  for  three  years  in  Company 
B,  Twelfth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teers, in  which  he  served  with  distinction. 
He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville.  May  3,  1863,  but  served  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  returning  as  Adjutant  of  his  regi- 
ment. He  then  took  up  his  former  occupation 
of  farming,  and  continued  to  live  on  the  old 
homestead  until  about  iSSr,  when  he  removed 
to  Penacook,  N.H.,  and  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  brother  in  the  hardware  business. 
He  still  resides  in  Penacook. 

Nathaniel  S.  Gale,  in  company  with  his 
father,  successfully  prosecuted  the  general 
farming  business.  He  married  May  8,  1866, 
I'2mily  A.  Peaslee,  who  died  March  8,  1870. 
Soon  after  he  purchased  an  interest  in  a  haril- 
ware  store  in  Penacook,  and  did  business  for 
eight  years  under  the  firm  name  of  Evans  & 
Gale.  At  that  time  his  partner  died.  He 
has  since  continued  the  business  with  his 
brother,  under  the  firm  name  of  N.  S.  Gale 
&  Co.,  to  the  present  time.  He  married 
for  his  second  wife,  October  13,  1874, 
Sarah  P.  Gage,  daugliter  of  Luther  Gage,  of 
Penacook. 


Laura  A.  Gale,  after  graduating  from  GW- 
manton  Academy,  entered  upon  the  vocation 
of  teaching,  commencing  in  district  schools  in 
her  native  town.  Afterward  for  many  years 
she  taught  select  schools  in  Lake  Village, 
N.H.,  and  from  there  she  went  to  VVatcrtown, 
Mass.,  wliere  she  taught  for  several  years,  and 
at  the  present  time  is  teaching  in  Reading, 
Mass.,  happy  and  successful  in  her  chosen 
profession.  .She  married  Cyrus  II.  Campbell, 
of  Watertown,  Mass.,  where  she  still  lives. 

After  his  son  left  home,  Stephen  Gale,  on 
account  of  age  and  infirmity,  was  obliged  to 
abandon  farming;  and,  accordingly,  aliout 
1874,  he  removed  to  Penacook,  there  making 
his  home  with  his  son,  Nathaniel  S.  Mr. 
Stephen  Gale  died  January  9,  1884,  respected 
by  all,  and  mourned  by  family  and  friends. 
He  was  of  a  quiet,  retiring  disjiosition,  dis- 
liking publicity  of  every  kind.  He  enjoyed  a 
goodly  share  of  the  confidence  and  good  will 
of  his  fellow-citizens,  although  not  desiring  to 
hold  any  of  the  public  offices  that  might  have 
been  in  their  gift.  He  ever  preferred  to  de- 
vote his  time  and  attention  to  his  famil)'  and 
private  affairs,  always  endeavoring  to  jierform 
the  nearer  duties  of  life  faitjifully  and  well, 
leaving  pulilic  honors  to  the  numerous  and 
eager  aspirants  for  public  favor.  He  was  re- 
garded in  his  community  as  a  man  of  a  gener- 
ous, kindly  nature,  and  as  one  who  well  ful- 
filled the  apostle's  injunction,  "much  given  to 
hospitality."  To  his  wife,  who  so  nobly  aided 
him  by  wise  counsel,  diligent  labor,  and 
watchful  frugality,  much  is  due  for  his  success 
in  life.  She  is  still  living,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-eight  years,  happy  in  the  pros- 
perity of  her  children,  and  in  their  companion- 
ship and  sympathy.  Conscious  of  tiie  liigh 
esteem  of  all  who  know  her,  she  is  ])eace- 
fully  descending  the  hill  of  life  toward  the 
sunset. 


3 '4 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


I^VLVKSTER  J.  GALE,  a  farmer 
ami  land-owner  of  Gilmanton, 
N.M.,  the  only  son  of  Thomas  J. 
anil  Hannah  (Sanborn)  Gale,  was  born  in  this 
town,  February  lO,  1832.  [For  further  genea- 
loj^ical  partieulars  of  the  Gale  family,  see 
sketch  of  Moses  S.  Gale,  the  uncle  of  Sylves- 
ter J.  Gale,  which  is  given  in  the  following 
sketch.] 

Thomas  J.  Gale,  above  mentioned,  was  the 
son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Gale.      He 
learned    the    trade    of    blacksmithing    of    his 
father,  as  did  several   of  his  brothers,  serving 
with    him    an    apprenticeship    of    some    three 
years.     At   its  completion  he  started  out    in 
the  same  business  for  himself   in   Gilmanton, 
not    far    from     the    old    homestead.       Subse- 
quently, in  company  with  his  brother  Abra- 
ham, he  set  up  a  blacksmith  shop  at  Academy 
Corners,  in  the  same  town,  where  he  remained 
a    number    of    years.       When    they    dissolved 
their  business  connection,  Thomas  J.  returned 
to   the  vicinity   of  his   old   home,  and   started 
out    in   business   anew,    but   this  time    alone. 
In  those  days  blacksmiths  were  in  the  habit  of 
shoeing    great    numbers    of    o.xen,    then    used 
instead  of  horses  for  general   farm  work,  and 
here  he  continued  successfully  to  carry  on  his 
trade  until  his  death,  which  occurred  January 
22,  1874.     Thomas  J.  Gale  was  a  man  of  calm 
and  even  temperament,    who  seldom    allowed 
himself  to  be  ruffled  by  any  momentary  excite- 
ment.     He   was   an   untiring   worker,  a  model 
husband,  a  kind  father,  and   a   man  who   made 
many  friends.      In  his   political   views   he  was 
a  strong,  decided  Republican.      In  the  earlier 
part  of  his  life  he  was  a  prominent  and  highly 
esteemed   member  of    the   Methodist    church, 
but  later  on  a  change  took  place  in  his  relig- 
ious views,  and  he  joined  the   Free   Will  Bap- 
tist denomination. 

He  married  Hannah   Sanborn,  the  daughter 


of  Richard  Sanborn,  an  enterprising,  well-to- 
do  farmer  of  Kensington,  N.  H.,  and  who  was 
one  of  four  sons,  to  each  of  whom  a  large  farm 
was  given  by  their  father,  Theophilus  San- 
born, a  large  land-owner  in  that  section. 
Thomas  J.  and  Hannah  (Sanborn)  Gale  had 
only  two  children  —  Sylvester  J.  and  Edna  J. 
Edna  J.  Gale,  after  graduating  from  Gilman- 
ton Academy,  taught  school  in  the  town  for  a 
while.  While  engaged  in  teaching  she  met 
Mr.  Arthur  P.  Smith,  of  Waltham,  Mass., 
whom  she  afterward  married.  Soon  after  their 
marriage  Mr.  Smith  opened  a  commercial  cid- 
lege  in  Bangor,  Me.,  but  subsequently,  upon 
an  offer  of  the  principalship  of  the  Waltham, 
Mass.,  High  School,  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  that  town,  where  he  still  resides. 
Mrs.  Edna  J.  Smith  died  in  1892  in  Waltham. 
She  had  no  children. 

Sylvester  J.  Gale,  like  his  sister,  after  pass- 
ing through  the  district  schools  of  Gilmanton, 
for  a  few  terms  attended  the  Gilmanton   Acad- 


emy. 


He  then  began  to  learn  the  blacksmith- 


ing trade  of  his  father,  as  the  latter  had  done 
before  him  of  his  grandfather,  the  occupation 
being  an  hereditary  one  in  the  Gale  family. 
While  working  busily  at  his  trade,  he  at  the 
same  time  engaged  in  farming,  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War.  At  that  pe- 
riod he  was  a  well  developed,  muscular  young 
man,  with  health  as  firm  and  rugged  as  the 
granite  hills  of  his  native  State.  His  strong 
and  genial  nature  rendered  him  very  popular 
among  his  associates.  At  the  first  call  of 
President  Lincoln  for  three  hundred  thousand 
men  to  defend  the  imperilled  Union,  Sylvester 
J.  Gale,  with  lofty  patriotism  and  burning  love 
of  liberty,  instantly  seized  his  musket  in  her 
defence.  He  was  the  first  man  to  enlist  in  the 
army  from  Gilmanton,  N.H.;  and  his  was  not 
only  the  first  name  to  be  registered  upon  the 
muster-roll  of  Company  B,  Twelfth  Regiment, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3'S 


New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  but  was  the  first 
in  tlic  regimental  list.  His  example  was  in- 
stantly fallowed  iiy  a  number  of  his  younf^ 
assoeiates,  so  strong  was  his  influence  among 
them.  Nearly  six  feet  in  height,  straight  as 
one  of  the  lofty  pines  of  his  own  mountain 
forests,  his  magnificent  physique,  perfect  in 
all  its  proportions,  made  him  a  fine  soldier. 
Before  starting  for  the  seat  of  war,  while  the 
troops  were  being  mustered  at  Concord,  N.H., 
he  assisted  Captain  Thomas  E.  Barker  in 
drilling  the  raw  recruits.  Soon  after  his  en- 
listment he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  Sergeant 
of  his  company.  At  the  battle  of  Chancel- 
lorsville  he  was  severely  wounded  by  a  bullet 
passing  completely  through  his  leg,  just  below 
the  knee,  which  incapacitated  him  for  further 
active  service  in  the  field,  and  from  this  time 
until  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  placed  on 
the  detached  list  of  the  recruiting  service. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  home,  and 
resumed  his  old  employment  of  blacksmithing 
and  farming.  The  former  business  he  gave 
up  in  1SS2,  and  he  has  since  applied  his  whole 
attention  to  farming,  which  he  has  found  to 
be  a  most  congenial  pursuit. 

He  married  Harriet  S.  Oilman,  daughter  of 
William  R.  and  Judith  (Edgerly)  Oilman,  of 
Gilmanton.  William  R.  Oilman  was  the  son 
of  Joseph  Oilman,  who  died  November  26, 
1839,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  Love  D.  Oil- 
man, the  wife  of  Joseph  Oilman,  died  June  3, 
1856,  aged  eighty-two  years.  Mrs.  Harriet 
Oilman  Oale  taught  school  in  her  native  town 
for  some  years  previous  to  her  marriage.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church  of 
Oilmanton.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oale  have  had  two 
children  —  Cora  Belle  and  Arthur  Everett. 
Cora  Belle,  after  graduating  from  Oilmanton 
Academy,  like  her  mother,  taught  school  in 
Gilmanton  and  adjoining  towns.  .She  was 
married  June   20,  1S88,  to   Frank   C.  Page,  of 


Oilmanton,  the  son  of  John  S.  Page,  and  has 
two  children  -  Hattic  Belle  Page  and  Harold 
Oale  Page.  .Arthur  P'.verett  Oale  died  Se])- 
tember  25,    1875,  when  nine  years  of  age. 

In  politics  Mr.  Oale  is  a  Democrat.  He  is 
higlily  esteemed  in  the  community  where  he 
resides,  and  he  has  twice  served  on  the  Board 
of  Selectmen  of  the  town.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  also  a  member  of  the 
Orand  Army  f)f  tlie  Republic. 


'(»  |OSES  S.  OALE,  an  extensive 
farmer  and  prominent  citizen  of 
^^  Oilmanton,  N.H.,  was  born  in 
this  town.  May  10,  181 5.  His  parents  were 
Joseph  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Oale.  His  great- 
great-grandfather,  Bartholomew  Oale,  who 
was  a  shipwright  by  trade,  emigrated  from 
England,  and  settled  in  the  colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts l?ay.  He  had  several  children,  in 
eluding  Jacob,  Daniel,  and  others.  [The 
names  of  his  children  with  dates  of  birth  arc 
in  the  old  records  of  Salem,  Mass.] 

Jacob  Oale,  son  of  Bartholomew,  and  the 
next  in  the  ancestral  line  now  being  con- 
sidered, resided  in  Kingston  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  was  elected  for  one  term  as  a  Rep- 
resentative to  the  General  Court  of  the  colony 
from  that  town.  Daniel  Oale,  the  son  of 
Jacob,  and  the  grandfather  of  Moses  S.,  was 
born  September  2,  1739.  He  removed  to  Gil- 
manton, N.H.,  in  17S0,  and  died  here  in 
1801.  His  wife,  formerly  Patience  Eastman, 
who  was  born  December  14,  1734,  became  the 
mother  of  the  following  children:  Susan, 
Jacob,  Joseph,  Shuah,  Daniel,  Mary,  Stephen, 
and  Elizabeth. 

Joseph  Gale,  the  second  son  of  Daniel  and 
Patience  (luistman)  Oale,  and  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  October 
30,   1764.      He  was  a   blacksmith,  and   taught 


3" 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


that  craft  to  several  of  his  numerous  sons, 
Moses  among  the  others.  He  was  married  to 
Smith  on  April  15,  178S,  and  they  became  the 
l)arents  of  the  following  children:  Mary, 
Abraham,  John,  Patience,  Daniel,  Stephen, 
Dolly,  Thomas,  James,  and  Moses  S.  Of  this 
family  of  ten,  Moses  is  the  only  one  now  sur- 
viving. 

Moses  S.  Gale,  after  acquiring  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  school,  learned  the  black- 
smithing  trade  of  his  brother  Abraham,  but 
only  followed  it  for  a  brief  period.  He  soon 
turned  all  his  attention  to  farming,  a  business 
which  he  has  continued  extensively  and  suc- 
cessfully to  carry  on  up  to  the  present  time. 
He  married  Sarah  Weeks,  the  daughter  of 
Henry  Weeks,  of  Alton,  N.H.  Four  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  two  daughters,  were  born 
to  them.  A  brief  record  of  the  family  is  as 
follows:  Joseph,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  years,  unmarried;  Henry  and  Laurenia 
died  young;  and  Laurenia,  second  of  the 
name,  married  George  Eastman  of  Sanborn- 
ton,  N.H.,  and  has  one  child,  named  for  his 
grandfather,  Moses  Gale. 

Mr.  Gale,  the  worthy  descendant  of  a  sturdy 
New  England  Puritan  ancestry,  is  a  man  of  a 
retiring,  unostenatious  disposition,  assiduous 
in  the  faithful  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of 
life,  and  preferring  the  peaceful  attractions  of 
home  and  family  to  the  uncertain  and  stormy 
joys  of  a  public  career.  The  Gale  family  for 
generations  has  been  distinguished  in  the  com- 
n-.unity  where  their  modest,  useful  lives  have 
been  spent  by  a  certain  genial  kindliness  of 
nature,  which  has  rendered  them  e.xceedingly 
popular  among  their  neighbors  and  associates. 
Mr.  Moses  S.  Gale  is  now  one  of  the  oldest 
citizens  of  Gilmanton,  and  has  retired  from 
active  business  life.  He  and  his  estimable 
wife  are  peacefully  passing  their  declining 
days  on  their  own  farm,  where  they  have  spent 


so  many  years  in  company,  and  together  faced 
the  varying  vicissitudes  of  human  existence, 
enjoying  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  who 
know  them. 


OEL  F.  SHERBURNE,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Barrington,  was  born  in  this 
town,  August  24,  1834,  son  of  Jacob 
and  Marinda  M.  (Meserve)  Sherburne.  His 
paternal  grandfather  was  Gideon  Sherburne; 
and  his  great-grandfather,  John  Sherburne, 
came  to  this  country  from  England,  and  was 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Barrington. 
Jacob  and  Marinda  Sherburne  had  three  chil- 
dren, two  sons  and  a  daughter;  namely,  Will- 
iam H.,  Joel  P.,  and  Sally  A.  Their  only 
living  child,  Joel  F.  Sherburne,  subject  of 
this  sketch,  received  a  fair  education,  being 
first  an  attendant  at  the  district  school  and 
later  at  Durham  Academy.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  he  went  to  Tewksbury,  Mass.,  and  was 
an  officer  in  the  almshouse  at  that  place  for 
eight  months.  Returning  home  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  he  took  charge  of  the  home  farm,  on 
which  he  resided  until  1883,  when  he  came  to 
his  present  place.  He  owns  two  farms,  which 
together  contain  about  two  hundred  acres,  and 
he  carries  on  mixed  farming  with  profit. 

Mr.  Sherburne  has  twice  married,  his  first 
wife  being  in  maidenhood  Miss  Annie  Young. 
She  bore  him  four  children,  three  sons  and  a 
daughter;  namely,  William  H.,  Frank  M., 
Flora  E.,  and  Leslie  M.,  all  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing. In  1 88 1  he  married  for  his  second  wife 
Miss  Nora  E.  Richardson,  of  Barrington,  by 
whom  he  has  one  child,  Joel  Rrlph,  now  thir- 
teen years  of  age. 

In  political  views  Mr.  Sherburne  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  has  served  on  the  School 
Board  for  eight  years,  was  Town  Collector  in 
1872,  and  Selectman  in  1873  and  1S74,  being 
Chairman  of  the  Board  the  latter  year. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3'7 


|g)jRNRY  SHETARD,  a  respected  citi- 
zen of  Laconia,  lielknaj)  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  in  Canaan,  Grafton 
County,  this  State,  June  i6,  1834,  son  of 
John  and  Roxanna  (Blodgett)  Shepard.  His 
paternal  grandfather,  Moses  Shepard,  was  a 
native  of  Kingston,  N.H.,  where  he  was  a 
highly  respected  farmer.  He  married  Abigail 
Swett,  and  they  had  seven  children,  namely: 
Moses;  John;  Mary;  Nathaniel;  Calvin; 
Abigail;  and  Luther,  who  died  November  27, 
1896,  at  Wiilisca,  la.  Moses  Shepard  died 
in  E^ast  Bloomfield,  N.Y.  Mary  married  a 
Mr.  Blake,  and  resided  in  Canaan  until  her 
death.  Nathaniel  was  a  farmer  of  Canaan. 
He  died  in  Hanover,  N.H.  Calvin  died  at 
Belmont  in  1889.  Abigail  married  Mr.  Blake, 
and  died  in  Enfield,  N.H. 

John  Sliepard,  the  father  of  Henry,  was 
born  in  Kingston,  N.  H.,  but  subsequently  re- 
moved to  Canaan,  where  he  was  engaged  as 
farmer  and  cattle  drover  for  many  years.  He 
also  dealt  in  sheep  pelts.  He  served  as 
Deputy  Sheriff  of  Grafton  County,  and  as  Se- 
lectman of  Canaan.  He  and  his  wife,  Ro.x- 
anna,  had  five  children,  of  whom  three  sons 
are  now  living,  as  follows:  Edwin,  who  is  a 
farmer  in  Canaan;  Henry,  of  Laconia;  and 
Augustus,  who  resides  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  and 
has  a  son  and  a  daughter  living  in  Canaan. 
The  two  that  have  passed  away  are  Anna  B. 
and  John  Sanford.  Anna  B.  Shepard  married 
Dr.  William  P.  Stone,  of  Danbury,  N.H.,  and 
they  have  both  since  died.  They  left  one 
son,  Edward  P.,  a  chemist  by  profession. 
John  Sanford  Shepard  died  leaving  three  sons 
and  two  daughters.  One  of  his  sons  is  a 
drummer  for  a  large  wholesale  firm  in  Boston, 
Mass.  The  other  two  sons  are  in  the  whole- 
sale grocery  business  in  Franklin,  N.H.  The 
daughters  also,  Ro.xie  and  Eliza,  reside  in 
P'ranklin.     John  Sanford  Shepard  died  at  the 


age  of  seventy-one  years,  while  his  wife   lived 
to  be  seventy -tiiree  years  old. 

Henry  Shepard,  IJie  fourth  ciiild  uf  iiis  par- 
ents, received  an  e.xcellent  education.  After 
attending  the  common  schools  he  pursued 
courses  of  study  in  Canaan  and  Newbury 
Academies.  Subsequently  for  eight  years  he 
was  engaged  in  teaching.  For  fourteen  years 
he  was  the  trustworthy  engineer  of  the  Bel- 
knap Mills.  For  some  years  he  was  a  nurse, 
and  then  he  was  appointed  janitor  of  Laconia 
Academy,  which  position  he  has  acceptably 
filled  for  ten  years.  In  politics  Mr.  Shepard 
is  a  loyal  Republican.  He  served  as  superin- 
tendent of  schools  in  Enfield,  N.I  I.,  for  two 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  following 
fraternal  organizations:  Mount  Lebanon 
Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Union  Chapter, 
No.  7,  R.  A.  M.;  Pythagorean  Council,  No. 
6,  Royal  and  Select  Masters;  and  Pilgrim 
Commandery,  K.  T.,  all  of  Laconia. 


■^  lELVIN  I-:.  BABB,  who  has  for 
some  time  been  the  (inly  undertaker 
in  Barnstead  and  the  immediate 
vicinity,  and  also  is  successfully  engageil  in 
farming  and  in  the  business  of  wagon  and 
carriage  making,  was  born  in  Strafford,  No- 
vember 9,  1855,  son  iif  .Sampson  and  .\lmira 
(ICvans)  Babb. 

His  great-grandfather,  Samjistjn  Babb,  came 
herefrom  Barrington,  N.  IL,  settling  in  North 
Barnstead  on  the  Strafford  side,  where  he  took 
up  a  one-hundredacre  tract  of  wild  land 
covered  with  good  timber.  At  first  the  grand- 
father built  but  a  part  of  a  house,  putting  it 
together  with  wooden  pegs  instead  of  nails. 
In  the  September  gale  of  1816  the  roof  was 
blown  off,  and  he  was  obliged  to  take  his  o.\en 
and  carry  his  family  to  the  house  of  his  brother 
William  in  Strafford.      The  frame  of  the  pres- 


3'S 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


cnt  house  was  put  up  by  him  with  lumber  that 
he  cut  and  hewed,  and  he  shaved  the  shingles 
with  which  he  covered  it.  He  was  a  remark- 
ably well-preserved  man,  and  he  lived  to  be 
eighty-five  years  old.  Both  brothers  bore  a 
good  reputation  for  honesty,  industry,  and  tem- 
perate habits.  Their  trading  was  done  in 
Portsmouth,  thirty-five  miles  distant,  the  jour- 
ney being  made  on  horseback  over  a  road,  or 
trail,  indicated  by  spotted  trees.  Many  of  the 
tools  they  used  in  farming  were  rudely  fash- 
ionelFout  of  such  material  as  they  were  able 
to  secure.  In  the  records  of  the  family  special 
mention  is  made  of  a  harrow  with  wooden  teeth 
that  was  made  by  Sampson  Babb. 

Sampson  Babb  married  Susan  Foss,  who 
lived  over  ninety  years,  and  who,  to  the  last, 
was  an  unusually  active  woman.  They  had 
twelve  children;  namely,  Benjamin,  Ralph, 
Samuel,  Joseph,  Fannie,  liliza,  Sarah,  Debo- 
rah, Susan,  Abigail,  Louis,  and  Belinda. 
I'"annie  and  Eliza  died  young;  Samuel  resided 
all  his  lifetime  in  this  neighborhood;  Joseph 
died  aged  about  twenty-si.x  years;  Sarah  mar- 
ried Israel  Foss,  lived  for  some  years  in 
Maine,  but  finally  returned  to  Barnstead, 
where  she  died;  Deborah  and  Louis  did  not 
marry;  Susan  married  Peter  13erry,  and  lived 
in  Barnstead;  Abigail  successively  married 
Joseph  Holmes  and  David  Goodwin;  Belinda 
became  the  wife  of  John  W.  Holmes,  of  Straf- 
ford, N.H. 

Ralph  Babb  remained  on  the  homestead, 
which  he  received  in  return  for  caring  for  his 
parents,  and  on  the  condition  that  he  would 
also  provide  for  his  sister  Deborah,  who  was 
an  invalid.  He  became  a  jirosperous  farmer 
and  stock  raiser,  was  a  charter  member  of  the 
Free  Baptist  church  of  Strafford,  and  assisted 
in  building  the  church  edifice.  He  married 
Delilah  Mayes,  of  Barrington,  N.  H.,  He 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven,  and  she  was 


eighty-four  at  her  death.  They  had  si.\  chil- 
dren ;  namely,  Sam[)son  H.,  Zekiel,  Mercy, 
Delilah,  Dyer,  and  Sarah.  Zekiel  removed 
to  Barnstead  Parade  and  afterward  lived  there. 
Mercy  was  twice  married,  first  to  John  Nutter, 
with  whom  she  lived  in  Gilmanton;  and 
secondly  to  Thomas  Berry,  with  whom  she  is 
now  living  in  Barnstead.  Delilah  married 
Joseph  Foss,  and  lived  in  Dover,  N.H.  She 
and  her  husband  are  now  deceased,  having  left 
five  children.  Dyer,  who  was  twice  married, 
lives  at  Barnstead  Parade;  and  Sarah  is  the 
wife  of  Oliver  Evans,  of  Barnstead  Parade. 

Sampson  H.  Babb,  born  on  the  homestead, 
December  30,  1820,  from  an  early  age  until  he 
reached  that  of  twenty  assisted  his  father  in 
the  work  of  the  farm.  He  then  went  to  Straf- 
ford to  learn  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  serving 
an  apprenticeship  of  two  years.  During  the 
ne.xt  seven  years,  he  was  employed  in  building 
houses  and  manufacturing  sleighs,  wagons, 
coffins,  etc.,  in  Barnstead.  He  ne.xt  purchased 
a  farm  in  Strafford ;  but  five  years  later  he 
returned  to  live  with  his  parents,  who  were 
becoming  feeble  with  age,  and  has  resided  here 
since.  He  kept  up  the  coffin-making  business, 
besides  carrying  on  the  farm,  to  which  he  has 
added,  so  that  it  now  contains  two  hundred 
acres.  In  1S94  he  relinquished  the  care  of 
the  farm  to  his  son,  and  is  now  practically  re- 
tired. In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat;  in  re- 
ligifjn  a  Free  Baptist.  Almira,  his  wife,  is  a 
daughter  of  Lemuel  Evans,  a  farmer.  They 
have  two  sons  —  Melvin  E.  and  Albert.  The 
latter,  a  machinist  by  trade,  is  superintendent 
of  a  shoe  shop  in  Pittsfield,  N.H. 

Melvin  E.  Babb,  the  elder  of  his  parents' 
two  sons,  received  a  district  school  education. 
Then  he  learned  with  his  father  the  trade  of 
a  carriage  maker  and  general  carpenter,  also 
those  of  undertaker  and  blacksmith.  In  all 
these  callings  he  has  proven  his  capability  as 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3 '9 


a  mechanic  and  business  man.  As  previously 
stated,  he  is  tlie  only  undertaker  in  this  sec- 
tion, doing  work  not  only  here  but  in  Strafford, 
Alton,  and  Farmington.  In  connection  with 
this  branch,  he  owns  an  exijensive  hearse  and 
a  pair  of  horses  with  harnesses,  etc.,  com- 
])lete.  Since  his  father  gave  up  active  labor, 
he  has  carried  on  the  homestead  farm.  He  is 
a  charter  member  of  Crescent  Lake  Grange, 
and  a  member  of  the  North  Harnstead  brass 
band. 


(sj^OHN  D.  NUTTER,  proprietor  of  a 
well  patronized  variety  store  in  Barn- 
stead,  was  born  here,  March  30,  1848, 
son  of  William  S.  and  Mary  E.  (Collins) 
Nutter.  The  father,  also  a  native  of  Barn- 
stead,  born  in  1820,  was  engaged  in  farming 
from  an  early  age,  until  he  retired  from  active 
labor.  Also,  for  several  years,  he  spent  the 
winter  season  in  making  boots  and  shoes.  He 
had  an  interest  in  the  Tuttle  Mill,  now  run  by 
Thomas  F.  Seward,  which  he  sold  in  1856, 
and  later  in  the  Collins  Mill,  which  is  located 
in  the  centre  of  the  town.  For  the  past  six 
years  he  has  been  living  in  retirement.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen 
six  years,  acting  as  Chairman  a  part  of  the 
time.  In  this  office  he  won  the  hearty  appro- 
bation of  his  fellow-townsmen  by  the  able  and 
conscientious  manner  in  which  he  attended  to 
his  duties.  He  is  unusually  well  inft)rnied 
upon  all  current  topics,  and  his  intelligence 
and  worth  are  sincerely  appreciated.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat.  His  wife,  Mary,  was 
a  daughter  of  John  H.  Collins,  formerly  a 
prominent  mill-man  in  this  town.  She  became 
by  him  the  mother  of  five  children;  namely, 
John  D.,  Charles  C,  James  A.,  Frank  S. ,  and 
George  W.  Charles  C. ,  a  painter  by  trade, 
and  a  resident  of  Concord,  has  served  in  both 
branches  of  the  city  government,  and  is  now  a 


Representative  to  the  legislature.  James  A. 
died  May  31,  1X91.  b'rank  S.,  who  resides  at 
the  homestead,  has  represented  Barnsteail  in 
the  legislature,  and  served  as  a  Selectman  for 
several  years.  He  is  married  and  has  two 
children.  George  \V.  was  graduated  from  the 
medical  department  of  Dartmouth  College, 
and  began  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Man- 
chester, N.  H.  Subsequently,  compelled  by 
failing  health  to  relinquish  his  practice,  he 
removed  to  Salmon  Falls,  N.II.,  where  he  is 
now  a  well-known  physician  and  druggist,  and 
serves  as  Moderator  at  town  meetings.  While 
residing  in  Manchester,  he  was  elected  to  the 
legislature  as  a  Democrat.  Mrs.  William  S. 
Nutter  died  January  2,  1892.  A  lady  of 
superior  intelligence  and  fine  educational  at- 
tainments, who  was  loved  and  respected  by  all 
who  knew  her,  she  exercised  an  influence  over 
her  children  that  is  largely  credited  with  their 
success  in  life. 

John  D.  Nutter  attended  the  common 
schools,  and  assisted  in  carrying  on  the  farm 
until  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  He  tiien 
went  to  the  northern  ])art  of  New  York  State, 
where  he  worked  in  a  saw-mill  for  eighteen 
months.  After  returning  home  he  was  en- 
gaged in  shoemaking.  About  three  years  ago 
he  became  the  proprietor  of  a  variety  store, 
which  he  has  since  profitably  conducted.  In- 
cluded in  his  stock  are  wall  pajier,  sporting 
goods,  stationery,  and  patent  medicines.  He 
has  been  identified  with  local  public  affairs 
since  18S6,  when  he  was  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy 
as  Supervisor,  and  he  was  re-elected  in  the  fol- 
lowing year.  In  I  888  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Selectmen.  To  accept  this 
office  he  resigned  that  of  Supervisor,  and  he 
declined  a  renomination  in  the  following 
year.  He  was  elected  Town  Clerk  by  a  hand- 
some majority  in  1892,  and  has  since  filled 
that  office  with  ability.      In  1893  and  1894  he 


:j^N--- 


i-^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


received  a  iinaninunis  vote,  and  his  subsequent 
majorities  have  been  large.  He  has  been 
Superintendent  of  Police  for  several  years,  and 
as  Clerk  of  the  School  District,  a  position 
which  he  has  held  since  1S91,  he  has  several 
limes  polled  a  unanimous  vote. 

Mr.  Nutter  has  been  twice  married.  For 
his  first  wife  he  wedded  Grace  Thurston, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Thurston,  of  Belmont. 
By  this  union  he  has  had  two  children:  Carle- 
ton  J.,  who  died  aged  six  months;  and  Roy 
L.7  ^hb  is  now  a  blacksmith.  His  second 
marriage  was  contracted  with  Mrs.  Sarah  A. 
(limerson)  Pendergast,  a  daughter  of  George 
\V.  Emerson,  who  was  formerly  a  well-known 
carpenter  and  cabinet-maker  of  this  town. 
Mr.  Emerson  was  for  many  years  prominent  in 
local  affairs,  having  served  as  a  Selectman, 
Town  Clerk,  Representative  to  the  legislature, 
;ind  Deputy  Sheriff.  Mrs.  Nutter  is  a  first 
cou.sin  of  Judge  Lewis  Clark.  She  taught 
school  previous  to  her  marriage  with  George 
E.  Pendergast.  Born  of  her  first  marriage 
were  three  children,  of  whom  the  only  sur- 
vivor is  residing  in  IMinnesota.  By  her  pres- 
ent husband  she  has  one  son,  Ralph  L.  Mr. 
Nutter  is  overseer  of  Barnstead  Grange,  No. 
119.  In  politics  he  supports  the  Democratic 
party. 

/  ^^^^TlTuRGK  II.  CHESLEY,  a  machinist 
Vpl  by  trade,  is  now  engaged  in  farming 
in  his  native  town  of  Barrington, 
Strafford  County,  N.H.  His  parents  were 
Lemuel  and  Mary  (Merrill)  Chesley.  His 
father,  who  was  a  cooper,  settled  in  Barring- 
ton  about  the  year  1800;  and  here  he  resided 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  working  at 
his  trade.  He  and  his  wife,  Mary,  had  twelve 
children,  namely:  Sarah,  born  February  4, 
1802;  John,  born  October  21,  1S03;  Samuel, 
born  March  19,  1805;  William,  born  April  S, 


1807;  Moses,  born  March  11,  1809;  Lucinda, 
born  December  17,  1810;  David  and  Andrew 
(twins),  born  December  6,  18 14;  Elizabeth, 
born  July  15,  1816;  Plummer,  born  September 
10,  1818;  Curtis  P.,  born  Novembers,  1820; 
and  George  H.,  born  December  15,  1822.  Of 
these  but  two  are  living:  George  H.,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  present  sketch;  and  Elizabeth. 

George  H.  Chesley  spent  his  early  years  in 
Barrington,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  this  place.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  began  working  at  the  machinist's  trade,  at 
which  he  served  a  three  years'  apprenticeship; 
and  he  subsequently  worked  for  thirty  years  or 
more  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  other  places. 
Returning  to  Barrington  in  1870,  he  settled 
on  his  present  farm,  which  contains  about  fifty 
acres. 

In  1845  Mr.  Chesley  married  Miss  Irene  F. 
Ham,  who  died  in  1857,  leaving  two  children: 
Evantia  V.,  born  May  13,  1849;  and  Leroy 
H.,  born  February  9,  1855.  Mr.  Chesley  and 
Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Snell  were  married  in  Sep- 
tember', i860.  They  have  a  daughter,  Isabelle 
Blackburn  Chesley,  born  March  10,  1877. 


HRLSTOPHER      HENRY      WELLS, 
whose  third  term  as  Mayor  of  Somers- 

^ -    worth,    N.  H.,  expired  a  few  months 

since,  in  March,  1897,  is  widely  known  as  the 
editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Fin-  Pnss  and  as 
one  of  the  leading  Republican  politicians  of 
Strafford  County.  He  was  born  in  this  city, 
July  6,  1S53,  and  comes  of  sturdy  New  Eng- 
land ancestry.  His  parents  were  Nathaniel 
and  Plliza  (Ihom)  Wells.  The  Review  gladly 
avails  itself  of  the  privilege  of  here  reproduc- 
ing a  sketch  of  his  career  written  by  the  Hon. 
William  D.  Knapp:  — 

The  Wells,  or  Welles,  family  in  England  is 
of  very  ancient  origin,  being  clearly  traceable 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


321 


back  to  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest.  It 
is  pretty  well  established  that  Thomas  Wells, 
a  physician,  who  came  to  Ipswich,  Mass.,  in 
1635,  was  the  earliest  emigrant  of  that  name 
who  settled  in  this  country,  though  several 
families  of  Wells  came  over  soon  after.  Sav- 
age, in  his  "Genealogical  Dictionary  of  New 
I'jigland, "  states  that  Thomas  Wells  came 
to  this  country  in  1635,  o"  t^he  "Susan  and 
Ellen,"  from  London,  with  young  Richard 
Saltonstall,  when  thirty  years  of  age.  Thomas 
was  thus  one  of  the  earliest  English  inhabi- 
tants of  Ipswich.  He  married  Abigail,  a 
daughter  of  William  Warner  and  sister  of  Dan- 
iel and  John  Warner,  all  of  them  people  of 
consideration  among  the  first  settlers.  In 
June,  1657,  he  went  to  Wells,  Me.,  and  pur- 
chased several  hundred  acres  of  land,  but  re- 
turned to  Ipswich  in  a  few  years.  On  his 
death  he  left  his  land  in  Wells  to  his  son  John, 
and  for  more  than  a  century  that  town  remained 
the  home  of  that  line  of  the  family. 

Through  Thomas  Wells,  the  son  of  John, 
and  Nathaniel,  the  son  of  Thomas,  we  come  to 
Nathaniel  Wells,  born  1740,  died  1816,  who, 
during  his  long  and  useful  life,  was  known  as 
Judge  Wells.  He  was  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished and  valuable  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Wells  at  that  time.  In  1760  he  was  graduated 
from  Harvard  University,  where  he  took  high 
rank. 

Bourne,  in  his  "History  of  Wells  and  Ken- 
nebunk,"  says  that  Judge  Wells  was  "distin- 
guished for  strength  of  intellect,  a  tenacious 
memory,  deep  thought,  and  an  uncommon 
power  of  argumentation."  He  filled  many 
positions  of  trust,  and  his  coimsels  were  much 
relied  on  by  his  fellow-townsmen.  He  was  a 
member  of  several  important  conventions  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  times,  and  was  a  special 
justice  of  the  inferior  court  of  common  pleas. 
Representative  to  the  legislature,  and  a  mem- 


ber of  the  Senate.  "In  fine,"  says  Bourne, 
"his  services  were  sought  for  on  all  matters 
of  public  interest.  He  was  the  pco])le's  man, 
fitted  for  any  station,  and  always  ready  for 
duty.  His  oijinions  carried  with  them  great 
weight,  and  controlled  the  action  of  a  majority 
of  the  people."  He  was  a  contemiiorary  of 
the  Rev.  Moses  Hemmenway,  D.  D.,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Harvard,  an  able  preacher  and  writer, 
and  one  of  the  most  eminent  logicians  in  New 
England. 

Judge  Wells's  son  Nathaniel  married  Eunice, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Hemmenway  before  alluded 
to,  and  settled  at  Deerfield,  N.H.,  where  he 
preached  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  — 
some  of  his  sermons  being  nowadays  occasion- 
ally published  as  models  of  theological  effort. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
Nathaniel,  the  third  child  born  to  the  Rev. 
Nathaniel  and  Eunice  Wells;  and  his  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Eliza  Thom,  was  a 
descendant  of  William  Thom,  who  was  born  in 
1706  in  Scotland,  removed  to  Londonderry, 
Ireland,  and  after  a  short  residence  in  the 
north  of  Ireland  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Wiar,  of  the  same  Scotch  race.  They  emi- 
grated to  America,  and  settled  in  Windham, 
N.  H.,  in  1730. 

Isaac  Thom,  their  son,  was  the  first  regular 
physician  in  Windham  of  whom  there  is  any 
record,  and,  as  Parker's  "History  of  London- 
derry "  says,  he  became  distinguished  by  the 
discovery  and  adoption  of  improved  methods  of 
practice  in  certain  cases.  He  was  a  [)rominent 
and  influential  citizen  of  the  town,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  during  the 
Revolution.  In  1782  he  removed  to  London- 
derry (now  Derry),  N. H.  James,  his  son,  the 
father  of  Eliza,  was  also  an  important  man  in 
this  community.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Dart- 
mouth, and  practised  law  for  some  years,  and 
a  part  of  the  time  edited  a  "Constitutionalist" 


322 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


newspaper.  He  held  various  important  public 
offices.  The  mother  of  the  late  Hon.  Charles 
H.  Ikll  was  a  sister  of  this  James  Thom. 
Eliza's  mother  was  Harriet  Coffin,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Ur.  William  Coffin,  who  before  the  War 
of  the  Revolution  was  a  midshipman  in  the 
British  navy.  In  1775  he  went  to  Paris, 
France,  to  complete  his  education  in  medicine, 
which  was  commenced  in  Boston,  after  which 
he  returned  to  America,  and  when  the  Revolu- 
tion broke  out  he  resigned  his  commission  as 
midshipman  in  the  British  navy,  and  was  ap- 
pointed a  surgeon  on  the  brig  "Tyrannicide," 
a  colony  cruiser  and  public  armed  vessel  of 
fourteen  guns. 

Nathaniel  Wells  (fourth)  was  a  lawyer  in 
Somersworth  from  about  the  year  1835  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1878.  He  was  able 
and  eminent  in  his  profession,  being  counsel 
for  large  corporations  and  having  important  in- 
terests intrusted  to  him  for  adjustment.  The 
writer  of  this  sketch  read  law  in  his  office,  and 
recalls  with  feelings  of  gratitude  and  admira- 
tion the  kindness  of  heart,  the  keenness  of 
thought,  the  quick  perception,  and  the  broad 
common-sense  of  Mr.  Wells. 

Christopher  H.  Wells  received  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Somers- 
worth, and  fitted  for  college  in  the  high  school 
under  Professor  James  P.  Di.xon.  In  1871  he 
entered  Bowdoin  College,  and  was  graduated 
in  1875.  On  leaving  college  he  studied  law 
with  his  father  and  William  R.  Burleigh,  then 
in  partnership.  While  pursuing  his  law 
studies,  he  organized  and  was  Captain  of  the 
famous  independent  military  company  known 
as  the  Great  Falls  Cadet,  which  was  acknowl- 
edged to  be  the  finest  military  organization  in 
the  State.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
August  15,  1878,  being  among  the  first  candi- 
dates under  the  new  and  strict  requirements  of 
examination   for  admission.      His  father  died 


the  very  day  after  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
and  Christopher  soon  afterward  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  William  R.  Burlcigli,  so  lit- 
erally taking  his  father's  place  that  the  name  of 
the  firm.  Wells  &  Burleigh,  was  adopted  by 
the  new  firm  without  change.  This  partner- 
ship lasted  about  six  years.  During  this 
period  young  Wells  was  a  plodding  lawyer, 
showing  in  his  methods  of  thought  and  action 
many  traits  like  those  which  had  characterized 
his  father.  He  may  not  have  had  a  full  reper- 
tory of  the  requirements  that  distinguished  the 
popular  advocate,  but  his  ability  to  become 
an  eminent  attorney  and  counsellor-at-law  in 
the  "all  around  "  sense  clearly  appeared. 

Before  he  became  a  lawyer,  before  he  left 
college  even,  Mr.  Wells  had  aspirations  to  do 
something  in  the  literary  line.  Some  of  his 
earlier  efforts  with  the  pen  furnished  the  text 
for  private  theatricals  and  dramatic  plays. 
Others  were  published  in  the  local  newspaper, 
and  still  others  found  a  larger  public  through 
the  columns  of  more  widely  circulated  pajiers 
and  periodicals.  His  success  in  these  tentative 
efforts  favored  his  inclinations,  and  in  1883  he 
purchased  the  Free  Press  publishing  and  print- 
ing establishment,  and  decided  to  be  an  editor. 
A  year  or  two  later  he  gave  up  his  law  busi- 
ness and  devoted  himself  to  his  new  line  of 
work.  He  has  made  of  the  Free  Press  a  strong 
local  newspaper,  and  a  leader  among  the 
papers  of  the  State.  Its  influence  is  on  the 
side  of  that  which  is  just  and  right  and  good, 
and  it  is  warmly  devoted  to  the  interests  and 
welfare  of  the  community.  Its  literary  tone 
is  also  good,  and  it  is  readable  and  interesting. 
P'or  a  number  of  years  after  graduation  from 
college,  he  was  a  member  of  the  School  Com- 
mittee, and  did  good  work  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation. He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature 
in  1 88 1,  and  also  in  1883,  and  served  on  im- 
portant committees   in   both    bodies.      He  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


323 


also  a  member  of  the  ConstitLitional  Conven- 
tion of  1889.  In  1887-88  he  was  a  member  of 
the  military  staff  of  Governor  Charles  H.  Saw- 
yer, with  the  rank  of  Colonel. 

In  March,  1S94,  Colonel  Wells  was  elected 
Mayor  of  Somersworth,  which  up  to  that  time 
had  been  strongly  Democratic.  The  Demo- 
cratic majority  for  Mayor  in  1S93  was  about 
fifty,  but  Colonel  Wells  was  triumphantly 
elected  by  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  Re- 
publican majority.  His  legal  knowledge  ad- 
mirably equipped  him  for  the  office  of  Mayor, 
and  he  proved  himself  competent  to  meet  and 
decide  quickly  important  questions  which 
arose  in  the  course  of.  the  transaction  of  mu- 
nicipal business.  His  success  as  Mayor  is 
well  established.  He  endeavored  to  keep  in 
view  the  best  good  of  the  city  and  the  welfare 
of  the  comnumity,  and  was  the  Mayor  not  of 
any  clique  or  business  corporation,  but  of  the 
whole  city.  After  he  came  into  office  there 
was  a  reduction  of  taxation,  and  also  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  rate  of  interest  on  the  municipal 
debt,  and  a  very  gratifying  reform  in  police 
methods.  Laws  against  disturbances  on  the 
Lord's  day  were  better  enforced,  and  the  moral 
tone  of  the  city  thereby  much  improv-ed.  He 
was  re-elected  Mayor  in  1895,  and  again  in 
1S96,  and  served  out  his  third  term.  During 
his  mayoralty  the  city  established  a  municipal 
water-work  system,  with  one  of  the  finest 
pimij)ing  stations  in  the  country,  and  a  covered 
sand-filter  also  has  completed  its  sewer  system. 
As  a  speaker  Colonel  Wells  does  not  pos- 
sess all  the  powers  or  tricks  of  oratory  (for 
instance,  the  trick  of  hesitating  in  order  to 
make  the  iie.xt  word  more  impressive),  but  he 
is  forcible  and  earnest  in  his  delivery,  and  is 
sure  to  engage  the  attention  of  his  audience 
for  the  reason  that  he  has  something  to  say. 
He  has  made  a  number  of  political  speeches 
with   marked  success.      As  a  presiding    officer 


he  is  well  verseil  in  parliamentary  law,  anil 
prompt  anil  ready  in  his  decisions.  His 
efforts  in  this  line  at  the  banquets  of  the 
Strafford  County  Republican  Club  and  at 
other  meetings  have  been  referred  to  in  the 
most  complimentary  terms.  Colonel  Wells 
has  always  been  a  Republican  in  jwlitics.  He 
has  political  influence,  not  only  in  the  city  and 
county,  but  also  in  the  State.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Libanus  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  this 
city,  and  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  other  fraternal  organ- 
izations, of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution and  of  several  press  clubs  and  associa- 
tions. 

As  a  citizen  he  is  public  spirited  and  gener- 
ous, always  ready  to  devote  time,  money,  and 
both  physical  and  mental  efforts  to  the  public 
good.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the  Somersworth 
Savings  Bank,  a  director  in  the  local  library, 
also  in  two  improvement  associations,  and  has 
been  identified  with  the  growth  and  progress 
of  Somersworth  in  recent  years.  In  all  im- 
portant projects  for  the  increase  of  business 
enterprises,  and  the  opportunities  for  labor  re- 
quiring contributions  of  money,  he  has  been 
among  the  foremost  in  zeal  and  liberality.  If 
not  the  first,  he  was  among  the  first  to  inaug- 
urate the  movement  which  resulted,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1893,  in  obtaining  a  charter  and  establish- 
ing the  city  of  Somersworth. 

Mr.  Wells  is  a  member  of  the  society  con- 
nected with  the  Congregational  church,  of 
which  his  father  was  a  member,  and  his  grand- 
father and  two  of  his  uncles  were  able  and 
worthy  ministers  in  the  same  denomination. 

Mr.  Wells  was  marrieii  June  15,  1887,  to 
Miss  Ora  Hartford,  of  Dover,  N.H.,  a  lady  of 
refinement  and  elegant  taste,  qualified  to  at- 
tract and  retain  friendships.  Though  quiet 
and  unobtrusive,  she  can  entertain  with  genu- 
ine  |)olitencss.      Their   home  presents  a  pleas- 


3^4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ing  combination  of  tasto  and  culture,  comfort 
without  luxury,  and  elegance  without  display. 
In  society  Mr.  Wells  is  agreeable  and  witty, 
genial  and  happy.  He  enjoys  an  intellectual 
feast,  and  is  able  to  make  liberal  contributions 
to  the  entertainment.  He  has  moved  his  print- 
ing and  ])ublishing  establishment  into  new 
quarters,  and  now  has  one  of  the  finest  offices 
to  be  found  in  New  England. 


AME.S  KLIOT  FERNALD,  late  of 
Farmington,  Strafford  County,  N.H., 
was  for  many  years  one  of  the  leading 
merchants  of  the  town  and  a  citizen  of  promi- 
nence. He  was  born  September  29,  1830,  in 
Springvale,  Me.  ;  and  on  July  28,  1895,  in  the 
si.\ty-fifth  year,  of  his  age,  sustained  and 
soothed  by  an  unfaltering  trust,  he  passed 
through  the  portals  we  call  death,  leaving  a 
devoted  family  and  hosts  of  friends  to  mourn 
his  loss. 

Mr.  Fernald  was  of  distinguished  ancestry, 
being  a  lineal  descendant  of  Dr.  Reginald 
Fernald,  who  was  among  the  earliest  settlers 
of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  being  a  leading  man  in 
the  colony,  and  the  original  owner  of  Fer- 
nald's  Island,  the  present  site  of  the  Ports- 
mouth Navy  Yard.  Robert  Fernald,  father  of 
James  Eliot,  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits at  Springvale,  Me.,  in  his  earlier  man- 
hood days,  but  later  removed  to  .South  Ber- 
wick, and  there  made  his  permanent  home. 
He  married  Apphia  Coffin,  who  bore  him 
seven  children,  namely:  Charles;  James  E., 
subject  of  this  sketch;  John;  Martha;  Lewis; 
Maria  ;  and  Sarah.  He  had  a  former  marriage, 
the  fruit  of  the  union  being  a  daughter  Betsey. 
James  E.  P'ernald  was  but  a  child  when  his 
parents  removed  to  South  Berwick,  where  he 
was  reared  and  educated,  and  for  a  time  was 
employed  as  a  clerk  by  Elisha  Jewett  and  also 


by  William  Morton.  In  1S51  he  came  to  Farm- 
ington, accepting  a  jjosition  in  the  store  of 
Pierce,  Jewett  &  Flynn,  and  the  ne.xt  year  was 
made  Station  Agent  on  the  Dover  &  Winnipi- 
seogee  Railway  in  this  town.  He  was  subse- 
quently made  a  conductor  on  the  road,  having 
charge  of  a  train  running  from  Alton  Bay  to 
Dover,  and  for  three  years  made  his  home  at 
Alton  Bay.  In  1857  Mr.  Fernald  returned  to 
P'armington  and  established  the  business  in 
which  he  was  afterward  engaged  until  his 
demise.  In  a  building  owned  by  Jeremy 
and  Alonzo  Nute,  and  located  at  the  en- 
trance of  East  Grove  Street,  he  opened  a 
general  variety  store,  dealing  in  dry  goods, 
groceries,  hardware,  etc.  By  application  to 
his  business  he  was  so  successful  that  in  a  few 
years  he  was  able  to  buy  the  building  at  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Central  Streets  known 
many  years  ago  as  Steamboat  Hotel.  Into 
this  he  put  a  stock  of  such  goods  as  were  then 
found  in  a  first-class  village  store,  and  in  the 
years  that  followed  built  up  a  substantial  and 
prosperous  business.  This  store  was  known 
far  and  wide  as  the  Old  Corner  Store,  and 
around  its  huge  and  friendly  stove  men  gath- 
ered in  winter  evenings  while  the  owner  stood 
busy  at  his  desk,  handed  out  the  mail  —  for 
part  of  this  time  he  was  the  village  Post- 
master—  or  waited  upon  his  many  customers. 
The  great  enterprise  of  Mr.  Fernald's  life 
was  the  establishment  of  the  Farmington  .AVu'j', 
one  of  the  best  local  and  family  newspapers 
in  the  State,  the  best  and  most  enduring 
monument  to  his  business  ability.  Stowed 
away  in  an  unused  corner  of  the  office  is  a 
small  old-style  novelty  press,  on  which  Mr. 
Fernald  learned  the  rudiments  of  the  printer's 
art.  From  this  printing  outfit  was  evolved  the 
Farmington  Nc-zcs  of  today,  with  its  quarter- 
medium,  super-royal,  and  Babcock  presses  run 
by  steam-power,  together  with  all  the  machin- 


JAMES    E.    FERNALD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3 -'7 


ery  and  improvements  of  a  first-class  news- 
paper and  job  printing  office.  Mr.  Fernald 
was  a  self-made,  self-educated,  and  thoroughly 
practical  man.  A  thorough  mechanic,  his 
knowledge  of  machinery  was  something  re- 
markable, and  the  Ar7<.'S  office  bears  testimony 
thereto.  The  establishment  of  the  Xc7l's  was 
made  by  Mr.  Fernald  mainly  in  view  of  the 
talent  of  his  only  son,  George  W. ,  which 
promised  success  in  the  editing  of  the  sheet. 
After  the  decease  of  the  son  on  November  2, 
1890,  Mr.  Fernald  continued  the  publication 
of  the  A'rzus,  on  lines  known  to  have  been  con- 
sidered by  his  son,  until  his  own  death,  July 
28,  1895.  The  property  is  now  in  the  hands 
and  under  the  supervision  of  his  wife,  from 
whom  it  receives  careful  attention. 

Mr.  Fernald  was  prominent  and  influential 
in  financial,  religious,  and  political  circles, 
being  officially  connected  with  the  local  banks 
and  with  the  Congregational  church  ;  and  al- 
though a  strong  Democrat,  he  served  as  Town 
Treasurer  under  a  Republican  administration, 
this  fact  alone  showing  the  high  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  the  community.  He 
also  served  as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Se- 
lectmen for  two  or  three  years.  He  was  a 
Mason  in  Fraternal  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Farmington;  and  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  of  the  Knights  of 
Honor,  and  did  much  to  promote  the  advance- 
ment of  each  order. 

A  devoted  friend  has  well  said:  "Mr.  Fer- 
nald was  most  faithful  and  watchful  of  the 
interests  placed  in  his  care,  and  his  word  was 
as  good  as  his  bond.  Every  worthy  cause  was 
sure  to  receive  his  aid  and  merit  to  find  a 
helpful  hand.  He  (like  the  lamented  son, 
who  was  his  father's  devoted  friend  and  com- 
panion) would  have  suffered  much  rather  than 
advance  anything  which  would  tend  to  public 
wrong. " 


In  all  things  he  was  faithful  unln  death,  and 
well  might  the  words  of  the  poet  be  inscrilied 
upon  his  monument :  — 

"  l!y  liim  llic  truest  rest  is  won 
Who  toils  beneath  the  noonday  sun. 
Faithful  until  his  work  is  done." 

On  May  12,  1S53,  Mr.  Fernald  married 
Miss  Laura  A.,  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  and 
Mrs.  George  L.  Whitchouse,  who  survives 
him.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fcrnald's  only  child, 
George  W. ,  a  civil  engineer  and  railway  con- 
structor, died  November  2,  i.Sgo,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-six  years,  leaving  a  widow  and  one 
daughter.  Miss  licssic  Fernald.  A  full  and 
complete  sketch  of  the  son  will  be  fmind  in 
another  part  of  this  work. 


rffllOSEni  L.  ODELL,  a  retired  druggi.st 
of  Lakeport,  ]?elknap  County,  was  born 
in  New  Hampton,  this  county,  March 
12,  1831,  son  of  William  and  Hannah  (Tuttle) 
Odell.  His  earliest  known  ancestor,  Thomas 
Odell,  resided  in  Stratham,  N.II.,  and  had  two 
sons:  Thomas,  of  Nottingham;  and  James,  of 
Stratham.  Thomas,  of  Nottingham,  was  the 
father  of  six  sons,  namely :  John,  of  Durham, 
N.  H.  ;  James,  of  Salem,  Mass.  ;  Jacob,  of 
Durham  ;  Noah,  of  ]?oston,  Mass.  ;  Joseph,  of 
Sanbornton,  this  county;  and  one  of  Iowa. 

Joseph  Odell,  the  grandfather  of  Joseph  L., 
was  a  farmer  and  shoemaker  in  .Sanbornton, 
and  officiated  as  Deacon  of  the  Calvinist  Ibj)- 
tist  church.  He  married  a  Miss  Ford,  and 
they  had  six  sons:  Jacob  and  Joseph,  of  San- 
bornton; William,  of  Laconia;  Ebenezer  and 
David,  of  Sanbornton  ;  and  Ira,  of  Randolph, 
Mass.  The  father  died  when  he  was  compara- 
tively young.  William  Odell,  the  father  of 
Joseph  L. ,  was  born  in  1804.  He  became  a 
shoe  dealer,  managed  a  grocery  store  for  many 


328 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


years,  taught  a  singing-school,  and  was  a  Dea- 
con and  chorister  of  the  Free  l?aptist  church. 
His  wife,  Hannah,  who  was  a  daughter  of 
Stonghton  Tuttle,  of  Nottingham,  had  five 
children  hy  him.  These  were:  Nancy,  who 
was  horn  in  New  Hampton,  N.H.  ;  Sarah,  who 
was  a  native  of  Laconia;  Mary  E. ,  who  died 
in  Montreal,  Can.  ;  Mary  Anna,  who  died  in 
Lakeport;  and  Joseph  L. ,  the  subject  of  this 
biography.  The  mother,  who  was  born  in 
1 802,  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years;  the 
father  died  in  1862,  at  the  same  age. 

Joseph  L.  Odell  acquired  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  liis  native  town  and 
Gilford  Academy.  He  was  afterward  a  teacher 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  1854  he  established 
a  drug  store  in  Lakeport,  which  he  managed 
successfully  until  his  retirement  in  1S92,  a 
period  of  thirty-eight  years.  In  his  political 
affiliations  Mr.  Odell  is  a  Republican.  He 
was  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  thirty  years. 
During  the  late  war  he  was  a  recruiting 
officer  and  now  does  much  pension  business. 
In  1863  he  was  elected  Selectman  in  Laconia 
and  served  three  years.  In  1864-65  be  was 
Representative  to  the  legislature,  serving  on 
the  I'^ngrossing  Committee.  For  fifteen  years 
he  was  an  efficient  member  of  the  town  Board 
of  lulucation,  and  for  the  past  three  years  he 
has  served  on  the  Laconia  School  Board. 
Since  the  incorporation  of  Lake  Village 
Savings  Hank,  he  has  served  as  a  Director  of 
that  institution ;  and  he  has  been  a  member 
of  its  examining  committee  for  several  years. 
The  office  of  Town  Treasurer  was  also  accept- 
ably filled  for  a  period  by  him.  In  1896  he 
was  appointed  Associate  Justice  of  the  Lake- 
jjort  Police  Court. 

Mr.  Odell  in  1854  married  Abbie  Swain,  a 
native  of  Morgan,  Vt.  Born  March  17,  1834, 
she  died  March  4,  1895,  leaving  one  son, 
Willis  P.     Willis  P.  Odell    was  a  student   in 


Tilton  Academy,  and  was  graduated  from  Bos- 
ton University  in  18S0,  which  institution  has 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  and  in  1896  that  of  Doctor  of 
Philosophy.  He  officiated  as  Pastor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Cliftondale, 
Mass.,  for  three  years;  at  Salem,  Mass.,  for 
three  years;  in  Maiden,  Mass.,  for  five  years; 
of  the  Delaware  Avenue  Church  of  Buffalo, 
N.Y.,  for  five  years ;  and  in  1895  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  preach  in  the  Richmond  Avenue 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the  same  city, 
over  which  be  has  been  settled  one  year. 

Mr.  Joseph  L.  Odell  exercises  much  influ- 
ence in  church  affairs.  At  the  age  of  eleven 
years  he  joined  the  Free  Baptist  Church,  and 
for  over  forty  years  he  has  officiated  as  super- 
intendent of  the  .Sunday-school,  being  ne.xt  to 
the  oldest  member  now  living.  He  has  been 
actively  identified  with  temperance  organiza- 
tions, serving  as  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Good  Templars  for  eight  years,  and  for 
more  than  twenty  years  managing  a  Band  of 
Hope  Society  which  he  organized.  He  intro- 
duced the  temperance  pledge  into  the  public 
schools;  and  he  has  the  names  of  four  hundred 
children  in  Ward  Si.x  who  have  signed  the 
pledge.  In  1888  he  made  an  extensive  lui- 
ropean  tour,  visiting  the  Holy  Land,  Switzer- 
land, Italy,  Alexandria,  ascending  the  Nile  to 
Cairo,  and  returning  home  by  way  of  Athens, 
Milan,  and  Paris. 


JRA  B.  HILL,  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Durham,  Strafford  County,  was  born 
at  Northwood,  Rockingham  Count)', 
N.  H.,  March  10,  1845.  He  was  educated 
chiefly  at  Northwood  and  Strafford  Academies, 
and  continued  to  live  on  the  farm  where  he 
was  born  until  1870,  when,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five,  he  went  to  Dover,  where  he  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


329 


engaged  as  clerk  for  three  years  in  the  store  of 
John  P.  Hill.  From  Dover  he  went  to  Pitts- 
fieUl,  where  he  worked  in  a  store  until  1876, 
when  he  came  to  Din-ham  and  i)urchased  the 
farm  upon  which  he  now  resides.  He  is  here 
profitably  engaged  in  general  farming  and 
dairying.  The  farm  contains  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres,  and  is  pleasantly  lo- 
cated on  the  road  from  Dover  to  Lee,  being 
about  four  miles  west  of  Dover. 

Mr.  Hill  was  married  in  1876  to  Miss 
Frances  Randall,  of  Lee,  N.}L,  and  they  have 
two  children  —  Harry  R.  and  Frank  H.,  both 
of  whom  reside  at  home. 

Mr.  Hill  is  a  stanch  Republican,  and  in 
1S93  was  a  Representative  to  the  Lower  House 
of  the  New  Hampshire  legislature.  He  has 
also  served  as  Town  Supervisor  four  years. 


ALDO  KIRK  HH.L,  a  prominent 
resident  of  P^ast  Tilton,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Stone  &  Hill, 
contracting  masons,  was  born  in  Sanbornton, 
December  18,  1868,  son  of  Charles  K.  and 
Ruth  M.  (Ilunkins)  Hill.  His  great-grand- 
father, Joseph  H.  Hill,  born  in  Bow,  N.  H., 
was  a  son  of  the  original  ancestor  of  the  fam- 
ily in  America,  who  came  from  the  North  of 
Ireland.  It  is  thought  that  the  birth  of  Jo- 
seph H.  Hill  must  have  taken  place  between 
the  years  1765  and  1771,  as  his  grandson, 
Charles,  remembered  hearing  him  say  that  he 
was  nine  or  ten  years  old  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolutionary  War.  He  was  known  as  Hemp 
Hill,  according  to  Father  Crockett's  record 
of  his  marriage,  which  was  contracted  Decem- 
ber 25,  1799,  with  Hannah,  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph Oilman,  who  was  probably  a  resident  of 
Row.  Joseph  H.,  or  Hemp  Hill,  settled  in 
Sanbornton,  where  he  resided  for  the  rest  of 
his  life.      He  was  the  father  of  nine  children. 


of    whom    Aaron,    grandfather   of    Waldo    K., 
was  the  youngest. 

Aaron  Hill  was  born  in  Sanliornton,  April 
19,  1819.  His  opportunities  for  accjuiring 
an  education  were  limited,  and  when  a  mere 
boy  he  began  to  learn  the  mason's  trade.  He 
followed  that  calling  in  connection  with  farm- 
ing, gaining  the  reputation  of  an  excellent 
workman,  and  died  April  10,  1873.  Politi- 
cally, he  was  a  Democrat.  He  married  Fli/.a- 
beth  Sanborn,  who  was  born  August  4,  1822, 
daughter  of  David  Sanborn,  of  Sanbornton. 
Si.x  of  her  seven  chiklren  grew  to  maturity; 
namely,  Charles  K. ,  George  E.,  Frank  D., 
Sarah  E. ,  Fred  A.,  and  Mary  A.  Sarah  E. 
married  George  L.  Gladding,  and  Mary  A. 
married  Frank  P.  Dalton.  The  father  was  a 
chorister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at 
East  Tilton,  of  which  he  and  his  wife  were 
members. 

Charles  K.  Hill,  the  father  of  Waldo  K., 
was  born  in  Sanbornton,  April  28,  1847.  At 
the  age  of  si.xteen  he  commenced  his  apjiren- 
ticeship  at  the  mason's  trade,  afterward  be- 
coming a  skilful  and  reliable  workman.  He 
had  the  energy  and  ability  necessary  to  suc- 
ceed in  life,  but  he  died  in  1S75,  aged  twenty- 
eight  years,  regretted  by  many  who  esteemed 
him  highly.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Odd 
I'ellows  Lodge  in  Laconia.  In  politics  he 
supported  the  Democratic  party.  His  wife, 
Ruth,  was  born  March  20,  1849,  daughter  of 
Josiah  Colby.  She  was  adopted  by  Hezekiah 
Hunkins,  who  changed  her  name  to  Ruth 
Melinda  Hunkins,  and  she  was  married  under 
that  name.  She  became  the  mother  of  two 
children  —  Waldo  K.  and  Adna  E.  Charles 
K.  Hill  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church. 

Waldo  K.  Hill  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town,  and  afterward 
learned    the    mason's    trade    with     liis    uncle, 


330 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Frank  D.  Hill.  In  1866  a  partnership  was 
formed  between  Mr.  Hill  and  his  uncle,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Hill  &  Ilill,  and  they  carried 
on  a  good  business  for  about  twenty-three 
years.  In  i88g  Henry  H.  Stone,  of  Laconia, 
was  received  into  the  firm,  which  is  now 
known  as  Stone  &  Hill.  The  partners  are 
favorably  known  throughout  the  State  as 
capable  and  reliable  contractors.  In  their 
business  they  eniplo)-  an  average  of  forty-five 
men.  Waldo  K.  Hill  is  personally  recognized 
as  an  enterprising  and  progressive  young  busi- 
ness man,  and  is  very  popular  in  this  locality. 
He  served  as  Supervisor  for  two  terms,  and  he 
has  also  been  Highway  Agent. 

l-'rank  D.  Hill,  the  senior  member  of  the 
firm,  acquired  a  common-school  education, 
spent  his  youth  upon  the  farm,  and  learned 
the  mason's  trade.  On  January  i,  1878,  he 
wedded  Mary  Jane  Dalton,  daughter  of  John 
Dalton,  of  Sanbornton.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat.  He  is  connected  with  Arch 
Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  with  Winnis- 
quam  Grange  of  East  Tilton.  Mrs.  Hill  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 


IDWIN  C.  LEWIS,  of  the  Laconia 
Dcniocrat,  is  a  man  whose  word, 
written  or  spoken,  has  much  weight 
with  his  fellow-citizens.  He  was  born  in 
New  Hampton,  Belknap  County,  N.H.,  No- 
vember 28,  1836,  a  son  of  Rufus  G.  and  Sally 
(Smith)  Lewis,  and  comes  of  an  enterprising 
and  well-to-do  family. 

Rufus  G.  Lewis,  son  of  Moses  Lewis,  was 
born  in  Bridgewater,  now  Bristol,  Grafton 
County,  in  September,  1800.  In  early  man- 
hood, going  to  New  Hampton,  he  entered  the 
store  of  his  future  father-in-law,  Daniel 
Smith,  whom  he  eventually  succeeded  in  busi- 
ness, and,  establishing  several    branch   stores, 


developed  increasing  responsibilities.  He  did 
not  confine  himself  to  mercantile  operations 
alone,  but  made  successful  ventures  in  other  di- 
rections; and  in  i  S48  he  and  his  brother,  with 
another  gentleman,  bought  out  the  Alabama 
Land  Company.  Some  of  the  property  pur- 
chased at  that  time  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
the  Lewis  family,  and  is  yearly  increasing  in 
value  with  the  development  of  the  New  South. 
In  politics  originally  a  Whig  and  an  enthusias- 
tic admirer  of  Daniel  Webster,  who  was  coun- 
sel for  his  father.  Colonel  Rufus  G.  Lewis 
was  afterward  converted  to  the  Democratic 
side.  He  belonged  to  the  State  militia,  as 
did  his  father.  In  the  temperance  cause  he 
was  intensely  interested,  and  he  lived  up  to 
his  principles,  being  the  first  merchant  in 
New  Hampton  to  stop  selling  intoxicating 
liquor.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  was  the 
first  raised  in  the  town  without  rum. 

A  public-spirited  citizen,  Colonel  Lewis 
obtained  the  charter  of  the  present  New 
Hampton  Institution,  to  which  he  gave  from 
his  own  private  resources  fifteen  thousand  dol- 
lars. He  was  a  member  of  the  Orthodo.x  Con- 
gregational church  at  Bristol.  Kind-hearted 
and  generous,  he  was  courteous  and  agreeable 
in  his  manners,  and  was  beloved  by  rich  and 
poor.  His  death  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1869. 
His  wife,  who  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
Daniel  Smith,  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  successful  merchants  ever  known  in  the 
history  of  New  Hampton,  died  in  1878,  aged 
seventy-two  years.  They  reared  four  chil- 
dren, namely:  Rufus;  Edwin  C. ;  Sarah 
Eliza,  wife  of  Frank  C.  Gordon,  of  Biddeford; 
and  James  P.,  who  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years  has  been  employed  in  the  post-ofifice  de- 
partment at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Edwin  C.  Lewis  fitted  for  college  at  New 
Hampton,  and  was  graduated  at  Harvard  in 
1859.      He   read    law   for    some    time    in    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


33^ 


office  of  Swcetscr  &  Gardner  at  Lowell,  Mass., 
but  his  studies  were  interrupted  by  his  father's 
serious  illness,  and  ho  did  not  resume  thcni. 
In  July,  1878,  in  company  with  Freil  \V.  San- 
born, he  purchased  the  Laconia  Democrat ,  a 
weekly  paper,  which  was  for  the  next  four 
years  under  the  management  of  Lewis  &  San- 
born. Mr.  Sanborn  then  retired,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Messrs.  ]?rown  &  Vaughan. 
They  have  enlarged  the  paper  to  twice  its 
original  size,  so  that  it  is  now  an  eight-page, 
fifty-six  column  weekly.  With  his  liberal  ed- 
ucation and  his  knowledge  of  the  world,  Mr. 
Lewis  is  well  qualified  for  the  editorial  chair, 
and  the  paper  is  one  of  the  brightest  weeklies 
published  in  the  State.  As  its  name  implies, 
it  is  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Mr.  Lewis  served  for  two  years 
as  County  Treasurer.  In  1890  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Governor  Tuttle's  Council,  associated 
with  Mr.  Ramsdell,  now  Governor  of  the 
State.  He  has  served  on  the  Laconia  School 
]?oard,  and  has  for  years  been  a  Trustee  and  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
New  Hampton  Institution. 

In  1890  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Eliza  B. ,  daughter  of  David  and  Sally  (Wal- 
lace) Hilton,  of  Sandwich,  N.H.  He  was 
Master  of  Union  Lodge,  No.  79,  F".  &  A.  M., 
of  Bristol,  N.H.,  for  a  number  of  years;  and 
is  a  member  of  Union  Chapter,  No.  7, 
R.  A.  M.;  and  Pilgrim  Commandcry,  K.  T. , 
of  Laconia.  He  attends  public  worship  at  the 
Orthodox  Congregational  Church. 


illARLES  H.  BERRY,  an  active  and 
enterprising  manufacturer  of  Farming- 
ton,  was  born  April  7,  1859,  in  the 
town  and  county  of  Strafford,  son  of  Plummcr 
O.  and  Abbie  A.  E.  (French)  Berry.  He  is 
of    English   descent,    and   his   paternal   grand- 


father, Peter  Berry,  was  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  this  county,  having  settled  in  Straf- 
ford when  a  young  man.  I'hmimer  ().  Hcrr)' 
was  brought  u]i  on  a  farm,  and,  becoming 
familiar  with  its  labors  while  yet  a  youth,  he 
continued  in  agricultural  pursuits,  remaining 
in  Strafford  until  toward  the  close  of  his  life. 
Removing  then  to  I-'armington  he  afterward 
made  this  his  home,  dying  here  in  18S7,  aged 
fifty-eight  years.  He  married  Miss  Abbie 
A.  I'^  I'"rench,  of  Barnstead,  who  bore  him 
four  children,  as  follows:  Charles  H.,  the 
subject  of  tills  biography;  Susan  I.,  now  the 
wife  of  John  B.  Leighton,  of  ]""armington ; 
Levi  F.,  who  died  in  March,  1871,  at  the  age 
of  eleven  years;  and  Ardcna,  the  wife  of  Tim- 
othy E.  Brecn,  of  this  town. 

Charles  H.  Berry  attended  the  schools  of 
his  native  town  until  about  twenty  years  of 
age,  and  for  three  years  thereafter  assisted  in 
the  management  of  the  home  farm.  The  en- 
suing three  years  he  spent  in  Connecticut  cm- 
ployed  in  various  capacities.  P'rom  there  he 
went  to  Concord,  N.IL,  where  he  sjient  three 
years  as  an  attendant  at  the  asylum.  In  1871 
Mr.  Berry  came  to  Farmington,  and  for  the 
first  four  years  of  his  stay  he  was  successfully 
engaged  as  a  confectionery  manufacturer  and 
dealer.  He  then  established  his  present  busi- 
ness of  manufacturing  heels  and  soles,  in 
which  he  has  been  exceedingly  prosperous,  his 
energy,  industry,  and  wise  management  meet- 
ing with  a  well-merited  reward. 

On  April  11,  1893,  Mr.  Berry  married 
Miss  Clara  Barker,  of  I-'armingtim,  a  daughter 
of  Hiram  and  Maria  (Hayes)  l?arker,  and  a 
sister  of  Hiram  H.  Barker,  whose  biography 
on  another  page  gives  a  more  extended  history 
of  her  ancestors.  Mr.  Berrv  takes  no  active 
part  in  local  affairs,  but  is  an  earnest  supporter 
of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  ]iarty. 
He  is  a  member  of    Harmony  Lodge,  No.    11, 


33^- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


K.  of  I'.,  of  Farming-ton,  and  a  prominent 
worker  in  the  organization.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
In-rry  arc  inroad  in  their  religious  views,  while 
they  are  liheral  contributors  toward  the  sup- 
port of  the  Congregational  church,  which  they 
regularly  attend. 

/  ^TlToRGK  V.  CARD,  a  well-known 
V  5T  resident  of  I'^armington,  and  one  of 
the  brave  men  who  fought  for  the 
Union  in  the  Civil  War,  is  a  New  Hampshire 
man  by  birth,  having  been  born  July  28,  1842, 
in  New  Castle,  Rockingham  County.  His 
grandfather,  who  was  a  pioneer  settler  of  that 
section  of  the  State,  came  of  good  old  English 
stock.  Edward  Card,  also  a  native  of  New 
Castle,  was  a  seafaring  man,  much  of  his  life 
having  been  spent  in  island  fishing.  He  died 
at  his  early  home  in  1853,  aged  forty-five 
years.  He  possessed  the  habits  of  industry, 
honesty,  and  thrift,  characteristic  of  the  true 
New  linglander,  and  was  held  in  high  regard 
as  a  man.  While  he  was  a  Whig  in  politics, 
he  never  sought  public  ofifice.  He  married 
l-'rances  A.  Francis,  also  of  New  Castle.  Of 
their  eleven  children,  si.\  are  living;  namely, 
William  W.,  Thomas  J.,  George  V.,  James 
W.,  Charles  G.,  and  Fannie  A.  Fannie  A. 
is  the  widow  of  Albert  Dawkins,  late  of 
Haverhill,  Mass. 

George  V.  Card  obtained  his  education, 
such  as  it  was,  in  the  town  of  his  birth. 
Leaving  school  at  the  age  of  eleven,  he  fol- 
lowed the  sea  for  a  year  or  more.  He  came 
to  Farmington  in  1859  to  learn  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  and  since  that  time,  excluding 
three  years  spent  in  the  army,  he  has  been 
prosperously  engaged  in  the  shoe  business  in 
this  locality.  On  August  11,  1862,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  C,  Thirteenth  New  Hamp- 
shire Volunteer  Infantry,  of  which  C.  O. 
Hradley    was    appointed    Captain,     under    the 


command  of  Colonel  A.  1'".  Stevnes.  With 
his  regiment  he  took  part  in  the  battles  of 
Fredericksburg  and  the  siege  of  Suffolk,  and 
the  engagements  at  Cold  Harbor,  Kingsland 
Creek,  Providence  Church  Road,  Walthall 
Road,  Drewry's  Bluff,  and  Redoubt  McConie; 
and  he  was  at  the  front  in  the  mine  explosion 
at  Petersburg  and  in  the  capture  of  Richmond. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged with  the  rank  of  Corporal,  ha\'ing 
been  but  five  days  away  from  his  regiment 
during  his  entire  term.  On  returning  to 
Farmington,  Mr.  Card  resumed  work  at  his 
former  trade  in  the  shoe  factory  of  the  late  cx- 
Congressman  A.  Nute,  where  he  remained 
until  Mr.  Nute's  death  in  1885.  Mr.  Card  is 
a  strong  Republican  in  jiolitics,  and  he  now 
represents  this  town  in  the  General  Court  at 
Concord,  to  which  he  was  elected  for  a  term 
of  two  years  in  1896.  He  is  very  prominent 
and  influential  in  Carlton  Post,  No.  24, 
G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  was  Commander  three 
years.  Adjutant  four  years,  and  is  now  the 
Officer  of  the  Day.  He  was  al.so  for  three 
years  on  the  staff  of  Dejiartment  Commanders 
Corliss,  Wyatt,  and  Linahan  Farr. 

Mr.  Card  was  married  September  28,  1862, 
to  Miss  Nancy  J.  Sampson,  of  Dexter,  Mc. , 
daughter  of  William  D.  Sampson.  They  arc 
the  parents  of  seven  children,  three  of  whom 
have  died.  The  survivors  are:  Gertrude  E. , 
Lizzie  B. ,  Edward  F.,  and  Faith.  The  family 
attend  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Card  is  one 
of  its  active  members,  and  was  for  some  years 
superintendent  of  its  Sunday-school. 


ON.  JOHN  CARROLL  MOUL- 
TON,  to  whose  enterprise  and  pub- 
lic spirit  Laconia  and  the  lake 
region  of  New  Hampshire  are  largely  indebted 
for  their    present    stage    of    development,    be- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


333 


longed  to  one  of  the  oldest  families,  both  in 
this  country  and  in  England.  The  "Dooms- 
day Book,"  wliich  was  compiled  A.n.  1086, 
shows  that  bearers  of  the  original  name  Pe 
Miilton  accompanied  William  the  Conqueror, 
in  his  invasion  of  England,  and  subsequently 
aided  him  in  subjugating  the  country. 
Thomas  do  Multon,  known  to  the  Normans  as 
Lord  de  Vau.\,  and  called  Lord  Gillesland  in 
Cumberland,  was  a  favorite  of  Richanl  I.,  ac- 
cording to  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  "The  Talis- 
man," and  was  probably  tiie  Thomas  dc  Mul- 
ton who  signed  the  Magna  Charta  in  121 5. 
Another  Thomas  de  Multon,  whose  signature 
appears  in  the  great  charter  of  King  Edward 
L,  granted  in  1297,  is  believed  to  have  been  a 
grandson  of  the  first  Thomas.  Sir  Thomas  de 
Multon  owned  Multon  Hall  in  Wilberton, 
Cumberland  County,  now  an  interesting  ruin, 
and  the  heads  of  the  family  were  Lords  of 
Egmoiit,  in  the  same  county.  The  arms  borne 
by  the  different  branches  of  the  family  differed 
only  in  minor  details  until  1571,  when  the 
escutcheon  received  the  following:  "Moulton 
— argent,  three  bars;  gules  between  eight  es- 
calop  shells,  sable;  3-22-1,  crest  on  pellet,  a 
falcon  rising  argent."  No  less  than  seven 
representatives  came  to  this  countiy  in  the 
earliest  days  of  the  Colonies.  One  of  these 
went  to  the  Jamestown  settlement  in  Virginia. 
John  and  Thomas  Moulton,  of  Norfolk  County, 
England,  who  made  the  voyage  in  1635,  and 
settled  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  became  residents 
of  Hampton,  N.  H.,  in  1638,  as  shown  by  the 
presence  of  their  nanies  in  the  list  of  the  first 
settlers  of  that  place. 

The  John  Moulton  just  referred  to,  born  in 
England  in  1599,  was  the  founder  of  the 
American  family  to  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  belonged.  A  leading  man  among  the 
settlers  of  Hampton,  lie  represented  them  in 
the    General    Court    in    1639.      ]5y    his    wife, 


Anne,  he  became  the  father  of  seven  children 
—  Henry,  Mary,  Anna,  Jane  and  Bridget 
(twins),  Jiihu,  .111(1  Ruth.  John,  Jr.,  a  native 
of  Ncwiniry,  born  in  1638,  was  a  Lieutenant. 
He  married  Lydia  Taylor,  whose  fatiier,  An- 
thony Taylor,  was  also  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Hampton.  Born  of  the  union  were: 
Martha,  John,  Lydia,  Daniel,  James,  N;ithan, 
David,  Anna,  Lydia,  Jacob,  and  Raciiel. 
Jacob,  who  was  born  in  i68<S,  on  December 
10,  1714,  married  Sarah  Smith.  Siie  died  in 
1739,  and  his  death  occurred  in  1751.  Their 
children  were:  Sarah,  Lydia,  Nathan,  Doro- 
thy, Jonathan,  and  John. 

Jonathan,  afterward  known  as  General 
Moulton,  the  great-grandfather  of  John  Carroll 
Moulton,  was  born  in  1726.  In  I7'')3  he  and 
si.\ty-one  others  were  granted  the  Moultonboro 
township.  The  following  story  of  the  manner 
in  which  he  alone  obtained  tlic  grant  now 
covered  by  Centre  Harbor  and  New  IIani])ton 
illustrates  the  shrewdness  for  which  he  was 
distinguished:  "Having  a  very  fine  o.\,  weigh- 
ing fourteen  hundred  pounds,  fattened  for  the 
purpose,  he  drove  it  to  Portsmouth,  and  made 
a  present  of  it  to  Governor  Wentworlh.  He 
refused  any  compensation,  but  said  he  would 
like  a  charier  of  a  small  gore  adjoining  Moul- 
tonboro." The  Governor  granted  this  simple 
request,  "which  ]iut  General  Moulton  in  ])os- 
session  of  a  tract  thereafter  called  by  him 
New  Hampton,  containing  nineteen  thousand, 
four  hundred  and  twenty-two  acres."  His 
rank  of  General  was  won  by  meritorious  ser- 
vices in  the  Revolution,  lie  having  ]ireviously 
fought  bravely  in  the  Indian  Wars.  In  1777 
he  had  charge  of  the  important  post  at  Sara- 
toga. He  was  a  Reiirescntative  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court  from  1755  to  1758,  and  in  July, 
1774,  he  was  one  of  the  four  delegates  sent  to 
the  Provincial  Congress  at  Exeter,  which  was 
held  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  delegates  for 


334 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  Continental  Congress.  Iksiclcs  aiding 
largely  in  developing  the  district  north  of  the 
lake,  he  is  credited  with  having  brought  Moul- 
tonboro,  N.  H.,  and  Centre  Harbor  into  exist- 
ence.     His  death  occurred  in  1788. 

Hy  his  first  wife,  Abigail  Smith  Moulton, 
he  became  the  father  of  Benning  Moulton, 
who,  born  May  21,  1761,  settled  in  Centre 
Harbor  in  1783,  and  died  there  December  23, 
1834.  In  17S2,  November  7,  Bcnning  mar- 
ried Sally  Leavitt,  who  bore  him  six  children 
— .Nancy,  Jonathan  Smith,  Thomas  L.,  Ben- 
ning,  John  H.,  and  Elizabeth.  Nancy  mar- 
ried Jonathan  Moulton,  and  Elizabeth  became 
the  wife  of  Daniel  Hilton.  Jonathan  Smith 
Moulton,  the  father  of  John  Carroll,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Centre  Harl^or,  born  November  14, 
1785.  He  was  profitably  engaged  in  a  mer- 
cantile business,  at  the  same  time  carrying  on 
a  large  farm.  In  politics  he  supported"  the 
Democratic  party.  He  died  March  17,  1855. 
His  wife,  Deborah  Ncal  Moulton,  whom  he 
married  in  November,  1808,  passed  away  in 
Boston,  January  24,  1886,  at  the  venerable  age 
of  ninety-seven  years.  Both  were  members  of 
the  Universalist  church.  They  had  eleven 
children,  namely:  William  Carroll,  who  died 
in  infancy;  John  Carroll,  deceased;  Sarah 
Ann,  Mrs.  Simon  Crane,  of  Boston;  Amanda 
Melvina,  who  died  in  infancy;  Otis  Monroe, 
deceased;  Charles  Smith,  deceased;  Frances 
Maria,  Mrs.  Moses  Fairbanks,  of  Boston  ;  An- 
drew McCleary,  deceased;  Joseph  Neal,  de- 
ceased; John  S.  O.,  of  Boston;  and  Abea 
VVentworth,  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Somes,  of 
Chicago. 

John  Carroll  Moulton  was  bom  December 
24,  1810,  at  Centre  Harbor,  N.H.  After  the 
usual  attendance  at  the  district  school,  he 
spent  several  terms  at  Holmes's  Academy  in 
Plymouth,  N.H.,  and  was  subsequently  under 
the  instruction  of  Master  Dudley  Leavitt,  the 


distinguished  mathematician  and  astronomer. 
On  leaving  Mr.  Leavitt's  care  he  had  acquired 
a  proficiency  in  mathematics  that  proved  very 
useful  to  him  afterward.  His  vacations  were 
generally  employed  in  assisting  his  father  on 
the  farm  or  in  the  store.  He  began  business 
on  his  own  account  in  Sandwich,  Carroll 
County;  but  after  a  few  months  there  he 
transferred  the  venture  to  Centre  Harbor, 
where  he  was  more  prosperous.  In  1833  he 
started  the  first  hotel  in  the  place,  and  con- 
ducted it  for  some  time  very  successfully. 
Three  years  later  he  engaged  in  a  manufactur- 
ing business  in  Lake  Village.  He  came  to 
Laconia,  then  Meredith  Bridge,  in  1841,  and 
here  resided  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  becoming 
a  most  potent  factor  in  the  town's  subsequent 
progress.  His  first  enterprise  was  the  Belk- 
nap Hotel,  which  he  conducted  in  a  manner 
to  make  it  quite  popular.  Then  he  sold  books 
and  drugs  for  a  time.  After  that  he  was  ap- 
pointed Postmaster  of  the  village  by  President 
Tyler,  was  reappointed  by  President  Polk,  and 
had  held  the  office  for  six  )^ears  when  he  was 
removed  by  President  Taylor  for  what  would 
be  described  to-day  as  "offensive  jiartisan- 
ship."  President  Pierce  restored  him  to 
office,  and  he  was  retained  in  it  by  President 
Buchanan;  but,  shortly  after  the  beginning  of 
President  Lincoln's  administration,  he  was 
superseded  by  a  Republican. 

In  1 86 1  Mr.  Moulton  was  received  into 
partnership  by  the  celebrated  Laconia  Car 
Company,  the  successors  of  Charles  Ran  let  & 
Co.,  freight-car  manufacturers.  The  celebrity 
of  the  firm  was  won  afterward,  chiefly  through 
the  personal  attention  Mr.  Moulton  gave  to 
the  business.  With  the  lapse  of  time  the 
shops  were  frequently  enlarged,  the  number  of 
workmen  was  increased,  so  that  the  pay  roll 
showed  a  monthly  disbursement  of  eight  thou- 
sand  dollars,    and   to    the   building  of    freight 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


335 


cars  was  added  that  of  the  finest  passenger 
cars.  When  the  entire  factory  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  February,  1881,  Mr.  Moulton  im- 
mediately began  to  rebuild  it,  and  in  less  than 
a  month  work  was  resumed.  This  remari<al)le 
instance  of  energy  was  given  by  Mr.  Moulton 
in  his  seventy-first  year,  and  when,  with  the 
ample  fortune  he  had  then  acquired,  he  might 
have  justifiably  retired  from  business.  His 
connection  with  the  company  continued  for 
nine  years  more,  after  which  he  withdrew. 
The  firm  has  since  gone  out  of  business.  In 
1865  he  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  the 
Laconia  National  Bank,  to  accommodate  the 
business  interests  of  the  town.  After  much 
trouble  he  obtained  the  requisite  charter,  car- 
ried the  project  into  effect,  and  thereafter 
served  the  institution  in  the  capacity  of  Presi- 
dent for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Dating 
from  1868  he  was  the  sole  proprietor  of  the 
Gilford  Hosiery  Corporation,  whose  annual 
output  averaged  about  one  hundred  anil 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  which  gave 
employment  to  many  operatives,  chiefly 
women  and  girls.  He  and  Benjamin  E. 
Thurston  owned  and  conducted  the  flour  and 
grain  mill  at  I^aconia.  On  one  of  his  later 
birthdays  he  commenced  the  erection  of  the 
Moulton  Opera  House  in  Laconia,  which  was 
opened  August  23,  1887,  with  Rene,  then 
starring  with  the  Redmund-Barry  company. 

On  July  15,  1833,  Mr.  Moulton  was  married 
to  Nellie  15.  Senter,  daughter  of  Samuel  M. 
Senter,  a  descendant  of  Colonel  Joseph  Senter, 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Centre  Harbor. 
Tile  chiUlren  of  this  marriage  were:  Edwin 
C,  Samuel  M.  S.,  William  H.,  Horatio  P., 
and  Ida  L.  Edwin  C,  who  became  a  prosper- 
ous business  man,  is  now  deceased.  Samuel 
was  associateil  with  his  father  in  various  enter- 
prises. He  was  also  connected  with  the  La- 
conia Street  and  Gas  Light   Company,  first  as 


foreman,  and  then  as  Treasurer,  and  served  for 
a  time  successively  in  the  New  Hampshire 
Volunteers  and  the  United  States  Cavalry. 
He  ilied  May  i  1,  i  S96,  aged  forty-eight  years, 
nine  months,  and  ten  days.  William  H.  died 
young.  Horatio  F. ,  now  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  is  engaged  in  the  paving 
business,  was  formerly  the  superintendent  of 
a  hosiery  mill  in  Columbia,  S.C.  Ida  L., 
after  receiving  her  education  in  St.  Mary's 
Convent  School  at  Manchester,  N.H.,  was 
married  November  2,  1870,  to  Joshua  Bennett 
Holden,  of  Boston. 

Mr.  Holden,  who  was  born  in  Woburn, 
Mass.,  March  5,  1850,  is  prominent  in  Massa- 
chusetts politics.  Having  serveil  for  two 
years  in  the  Boston  Common  Council,  and  for 
two  years  more  in  tiie  Massachusetts  House  of 
Representatives,  he  is  now  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate,  to  which  he  was  elected  from 
the  Back  Bay  district  of  ]5oston  by  a  large 
majority.  While  in  tlie  lowei'  chamber  he 
served  on  each  of  the  Ct>mmittees  on  Rail- 
roads, Constitutional  Amendments  and  Bien- 
nial Elections,  and  was  the  .Speaker  (pro  tem) 
on  frequent  occasions.  He  has  large  busi- 
ness interests  in  Boston.  His  winter  resilience 
is  located  on  Gloucester  Street,  corner  of 
Beacon  in  that  city.  On  an  old  ancestral  es- 
tate of  fifty  acres  in  Billerica,  Mass.,  is  his 
summer  residence,  "]5ennett  Hall,"  where  the 
late  Governor  Greenhalge,  Mayor  Ouincy,  of 
Boston,  President  Tuttle,  of  the  Boston  & 
Maine  Railroad,  and  other  distinguished  men 
have  been  his  guests.  He  and  Mrs.  Holden 
are  the  parents  of  si.\  children,  namely:  Anna 
Ellen,  born  April  2,  1872;  Mary  Bennett, 
born  September  25,  1874;  Joshua  13ennett, 
born  December  20,  1876;  Nathalie  F" ranees, 
born  February  26,  1880;  Gladys  I^leaiior,  born 
Septen)l)er  iS,  1S86;  and  Gwendolyn  Moul- 
ton,   born     July    28,     1889.       Mrs.    Holden's 


3i(> 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


mother  died  November  18,  1S60;  an(]  her 
father  married  August  16,  1S66,  Sarah  A.  Mc- 
Dougall,  a  lady  of  many  estimable  qualities. 
Mr.  Muiilton  died  in  1894. 

In  religious  faith  and  affiliation  Mr.  Moul- 
ton  was  a  Unitarian.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Unitarian  Society  in  La- 
con  ia,  was  among  the  most  generous  contrib- 
utors to  the  building  fund,  and  was  the  donor 
at  Christmastide  in  1890  of  the  magnificent 
memorial  window  in  the  church  edifice.  His 
political  principles  were  those  of  sound  Dem- 
ocracy. He  represented  the  Si.xth  District  in 
the  State  Senate  of  1871-82,  was  elected  to 
the  Governor's  Council  in  1874,  and  in  1876 
was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Democratic 
Convention,  in  which  he  was  proposed  as  a 
Presidential  Elector  on  the  Tilden  ticket. 
He  was  a  Uniform  I'atriarch  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  having  been  a 
charter  member  of  Winnipiseogee  Lodge, 
which  was  established  in  Laconia  in  1842. 
Public-spirited  to  a  high  degree,  no  well-con- 
ceived plan  for  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
conununity  was  refused  his  aid.  Enterpris- 
ing, energetic,  and  resourceful,  he  was  a 
typical  New  England  man,  and  he  has  writ- 
ten his  name  indelibly  on  the  pages  of  the 
history  of   Laconia. 


;_AMUEL  GROVER  KELLEY,  who 
owns  and  cultivates  one  of  the  larg- 
est farms  in  New  Hampton,  was 
born  April  14,  1837,  where  he  now  resides, 
son  of  Jonathan  Folsom  and  lumice  T.  (Goss) 
Kelley.  The  first  ancestor  of  the  family  in 
America  was  Darby  Kelley,  a  bright,  ener- 
getic Irishman,  who  is  supposed  to  have 
landed  on  one  of  the  Isles  of  Shoals.  But 
little  is  known  of  Darby  Kelley's  early  life, 
e.xcept  that  he  had  been  a  schoolmaster  in  the 


old  country.  He  found  his  way  to  Ports- 
mouth, and  subsequently  settled  in  Exeter, 
N.H.,  about  the  year  1600. 

Samuel  Kelley  (first),  son  of  Darby  and 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  in  Exeter  in  1733.  He  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  which  he  followed  until  he 
was  forty-two  years  old,  and  then  started  with 
his  family  to  make  a  home  in  the  wilderness. 
He  settled  upon  a  tract  of  land  now  within 
the  limits  of  New  Hampton,  A  courageous 
and  persevering  man,  by  the  aid  of  his  gun 
and  traps  he  furnished  food  for  his  family, 
until  he  had  cleared  and  cropped  a  piece  of 
ground.  The  work  of  improvement  continued 
until  he  possessed  a  good  farm,  with  substan- 
tial buildings.  Public-spirited  to  a  high  de- 
gree, he  built  the  first  meeting  house  in  New 
Hampton.  This  building,  which  was  used  as 
a  place  of  worship,  a  town  house,  and  for  all 
public  gatherings,  remained  just  as  he  left  it 
until  1875,  when  it  was  remodelled.  Nearly 
the  entire  township  of  New  Hampton  was 
owned  \)y  him.  He  died  in  1774.  Of  the 
childern  born  to  him  and  his  wife  he  reared 
ten;  namely,  Betsey  Bowdoin,  Samuel,  John, 
Nathaniel,  Sarah,  William  B.,  Jonathan, 
Dudley,  Martha,  and  Michael  B.  Betsey 
Bowdoin  Kelley,  born  March  6,  1757,  married 
Thomas  Simpson,  and  died  October  30,  1829; 
Nathaniel  married  Betsey  Pitman;  Sarah  mar- 
ried J.  P.  Smith,  and  he  died  in  1840;  Will- 
iam B.  was  born  in  1769,  wedded  Mary  Smith, 
and  died  February  23,  1S25;  Jonathan  fol- 
lowed the  sea;  Dudley  moved  to  Youngstown, 
Pa. ;  and  Martha  became  the  wife  of  Samuel 
Page,  and  died  in  Steubenville,  Ohio. 

Samuel  Kelley  (second),  grandfather  of 
Samuel  G.,  born  in  Brentwood,  N.  H.,  Febru- 
ary 12,  1759,  received  a  share  of  his  father's 
property,  and  passed  the  most  of  his  life  in 
the  vicinity  of  Kelley  Hill.      He  married  Abi- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


337 


gail  Roberts,  who  was  born  in  Meredith, 
N.II.,  June  5,  176J.  To  each  of  his  children 
as  they  attained  maturity  he  gave  a  farm, 
Micliael  B.  and  Jonathan  F.  receiving  the 
homestead.  He  died  February  20,  1832,  and 
his  wife  died  October  15,  1846.  Jonathan 
l-"olsom  Kelley,  father  of  Samuel  G. ,  was 
born  in  New  Hampton,  May  13,  1802.  He 
succeeded  with  his  brother,  Michael  B. ,  to  his 
father's  farm,  and  the  active  period  of  his  life 
was  spent  in  its  cultivation.  In  politics  he 
was  originally  a  Democrat.  Later  he  was  a 
Free  Soiler;  and  he  joined  the  Republican 
movement  at  its  formation.  He  married  for 
his  second  wife,  Eunice  T.  Goss,  who  was 
born  I'^ebruary  22,  18 10,  daughter  of  John 
Goss,  of  Brentwood.  She  became  the  mother 
of  five  children,  four  of  whom  grew  to  matur- 
ity; namely,  Lucy  E.,  Samuel  G.,  Abigail, 
and  Sophia  M.  Lucy  E.  married  for  her  first 
husband  Samuel  L.  Pattee,  of  Alexandria, 
N.  H.  ;  for  her  second,  Obidiah  Eastman,  of 
Sanbornton;  and  for  her  third,  John  Flanders, 
of  New  Hampton,  where  she  now  resides. 
Abigail  became  the  wife  of  George  Bean. 
Both  parents  attend  the  Free  Baptist  church. 

Samuel  Grover  Kelley  acquired  his  educa- 
tion in  the  district  school  and  at  the  New 
Hampton  Literary  Institute.  He  has  enlarged 
the  original  farm  left  to  him  by  his  father, 
from  one  hundred  acres  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty.  Cultivating  about  sixty  acres,  he  raises 
an  average  of  sixty  tons  of  hay  annually.  Be- 
sides this  he  winters  twelve  cows,  and  fur- 
nishes the  creamery  with  a  large  quantity  of 
milk.  On  January  13,  1874,  he  married 
Sarah  E.  Shaw,  daughter  of  Samuel  Shaw,  of 
Chichester,  N.H.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Sadie  M.,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  Milo  L. 
Pike,  of  New  Hampton.  In  politics  Mr. 
Kelley  is  a  Republican.  He  served  on  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  for  four  years. 


irXl'.ACON  WINTHROP  S.  ME- 
l^r~|  SERVl'^,  a  progressive  agriculturist 
( — y^^y  of  Durham,  was  born  here,  I-'ehru- 
ary  7,  1838,  son  of  Smith  and  Abigail 
(I'^merson)  Meserve.  His  father  was  born  and 
reared  on  a  farm  in  Dover,  where,  when  a 
young  man,  he  was  employed  for  some  years  as 
a  clerk  in  a  store.  About  the  year  1830 
Smith  Meserve  engaged  in  farming,  the  occu- 
pation to  which  he  was  bred,  coming  to  Dur- 
ham, and  locating  on  a  farm  soon  after  his 
marriage.  Two  years  later  he  removed  to  the 
farm  now  owned  and  occupietl  by  his  son, 
Winthrop  S.  Meserve,  who  is  the  only  child 
born  of  his  marriage  with  Abigail  lunerson. 
This  homestead  formerly  belonged  to  Jiis 
wife's  family,  it  having  been  purchased  by  one 
of  her  paternal  ancestors,  Cai)tain  Emerson, 
in  1718.  It  subsequently  descended  to  her 
father,  of  whose  family  but  one  member  is 
now  living.  This  is  ICben  T.  lunerson,  who 
was  born  on  this  farm  in  182S,  and  is  now 
making  his  home  with  Deacon  Meserve. 
Smith  Meserve  died  in  August,  1842.  His 
widow  lived  until  June  3,    1886. 

Winthrop  S.  Meserve  acquired  the  rudi- 
ments of  his  education  in  the  district  schools, 
after  which  he  pursued  the  more  advanced 
courses  of  the  academies  of  Durham,  Berwick, 
and  Hampton.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
he  assumed  the  management  of  the  farni, 
which  he  has  since  inherited,  anil  on  which 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  has  been  spent.  it 
is  situated  on  the  okl  road  running  between 
Durham  and  Matlbury,  four  miles  north-west 
of  Dover,  and  contains  one  iumilred  acres  of 
good  land.  In  bringing  this  farm  to  its  pres- 
ent high  state  of  cultivation,  Mr.  Meserve  has 
labored  with  untiring  energy  and  steadfastness 
of  purjiose.  He  carries  on  general  farming 
and  dairying,  and  he  has  been  very  successful. 
He  is   a  straightforwaril    business   man,  using 


33S 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


cxccllfiit  jiulfjmcnt  in  all  matters  pertaining 
to  public  or  private  interests.  He  has  served 
with  credit  to  himself,  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  all  concerned  in  several  public  capacities, 
being  elected  thereto  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  which  he  invariably  supports.  The 
hitter  occasions  were  notable,  as  the  county  is 
a  Republican  stronghold,  and  especially  not- 
able were  his  elections  in  1891  and  1892  to 
the  office  of  County  Commissioner.  He  has 
been  Highway  Surveyor,  Selectman  for  two 
years.  Overseer  of  the  Poor  for  three  years, 
and  he  has  been  Justice  of  the  Peace  since 
1892. 

Mr.  Meserve  was  united  in  marriage  No- 
vember 30,  i86[,  to  Miss  Eliza  A.  Tuttle,  a 
native  of  Dover,  and  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Hope  (Twombly)  Tuttle.  Deacon  and 
Mrs.  Meserve  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
one  of  whom,  Caroline  E.,  died  in  infancy. 
The  other  child,  Andrew  K.,  resides  in  the 
village  of  Durham.  Mr.  Meserve  is  an  active 
and  valued  member  of  the  Congregational 
church  of  Durham.  He  has  been  a  Deacon  of 
the  society  since  April,  1877.  He  was  the 
clerk  of  the  church  for  twenty-six  years,  and 
he  was  the  clerk  of  the  parish  for  more  than  a 
score  of  years. 


/IXk 


ARDNER  COOK,  the  senior  partner 
y^l  of  G.  Cook  &  Son,  a  prosperous  lum- 
ber firm  of  Laconia,  has  the  distinc- 
tion of  having  cut  the  first  stick  of  timber 
used  in  the  now  far-famed  Laconia  Car  Works. 
He  was  born  at  Beach  Hill  in  Campton  town- 
ship, Grafton  County,  August  23,  1824,  a  son 
of  Jacob  and  Relief  (Merrill)  Cook.  His 
great-grandfather,  Samuel  Cook,  moved  from 
Newburyport,  Mass.,  to  Campton.  Ephraim 
Cook,  the  grandfather,  born  in  1765,  was  a 
native  and  a  lifelong  resident  of  Campton,  a 
well-to-do  farmer  and  a  prominent  member  of 


the  Orthodox  church.  One  of  his  sons, 
Moses,  was  a  General  in  the  State  militia. 
Jacob,  Gardner  Cook's  father,  was  also  born 
in  Campton.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  miller, 
was  engaged  principally  in  grinding  grain,  and 
died  in  Gilmanton,  N.  H.,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one.  Of  his  children  —  six  boys  and 
five  girls  ^  five  are  now  living. 

Gardner  Cook  acquired  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  Campton.  He  afterward 
worked  for  about  two  years  and  a  half  in  a 
bleachery  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  and  then  spent 
about  a  year  in  his  native  town.  In  March, 
1849,  he  found  work  in  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Laconia  Car  Shops,  then  just  opened,  and, 
as  stated  above,  cut  the  first  stick  of  timber 
used  there.  Nine  months  later  he  left  to 
take  charge  of  the  Whitcher  pail  factory. 
Ambitious  and  enterprising,  he  regarded  no 
position  as  permanent,  but  was  steadily  look- 
ing forwartl  to  bettering  himself.  In  1S52  he 
formed  a  copartnership  with  W.  H.  I.eavitt, 
and  started  in  the  lumber  business,  under  the 
firm  nSme  of  Leavitt  &  Cook.  The  venture 
prospered,  and  the  partnership  lasted  thirteen 
years.  Mr.  Cook  subsequently  purchased  Mr. 
Leavitt's  share  in  the  business,  and  eventually 
took  his  son,  Addison  G. ,  into  partnership, 
on  which  occasion  the  present  firm  name  was 
adopted. 

Mr.  Cook  has  connection  with  other  im- 
portant enterprises.  He  is  a  stockholder  in 
the  Laconia  &  Lake  Village  Water  Works;  a 
Director  in  the  Laconia  Electric  Lighting 
Company;  a  Director  in  the  People's  National 
Bank  ot  this  city;  a  Trustee  of  the  Laconia 
Savings  Bank;  and  was  for  a  time  on  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Lakeport  National 
Bank. 

In  1847  Mr.  Cook  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Martha  Allen.  They  have  two  living 
children,  namely:  Frank  D.,  of  the  Frank  D. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


339 


Cook  Lumber  Company  of  Nashua,  N.U.;  ami 
Addison  G.,  the  junior  member  of  the  Laconia 
firm  of  G.  Cook  &  Son.  Mr.  Cook  is  a 
straight  Republican  and  strong  Protectionist. 
He  cast  his  first  Presidential  vote  for  John  P. 
Hale  in  1845,  'I"'-'  was  an  ardent  supporter  of 
Fremont  in  1856,  and  of  Lincoln  in  i860. 
In  1873-74  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  State 
legislature,  to  which  he  was  elected  from  Gil- 
ford, serving  on  the  F"inance  Committee  and 
on  the  Railroad  Committee.  It  was  he  who 
introduced  and  obtained  the  passage  of  the 
bill  for  the  division  of  the  town  of  Gilford. 
A  member  of  Winnipiseogee  Lodge,  No.  7, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Laconia,  since  1849,  he  has 
held  all  the  chairs  in  the  lodge;  and  he  was 
a  charter  member  of  Laconia  Encampment. 
He  has  also  been  a  delegate  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Cook  is  a 
member  of  the  Free  Baptist  Society  of  La- 
conia, and  he  sang  in  the  choir  for  twenty-five 
years.  An  able  business  man,  he  has  earned 
a  name  for  doing  well  all  that  he  undertakes, 
and  he  is  highly  esteemed  wherever  he  is 
known. 


"C^y^LiA 

VSV        nent 


[LLIAM  WENTWORTH,  a  promi- 
and  well-to-do  agriculturist  of 
I-^armington,  was  born  here  Novem- 
ber 10,  1820,  son  of  William  Wentvvorth,  Sr. 
The  family,  which  comes  of  English  origin,  is 
one  of  the  oldest  in  this  section  of  the  county. 
Mr.  Wentworth's  grandfather,  Jonathan  Went- 
worth,  was  a  pioneer  of  Farmington.  Jona- 
than came  when  there  was  but  a  little  hamlet 
where  since  has  grown  a  flourishing  and  popu- 
lous township.  William  Wentworth,  Sr., 
was  born  in  the  house  which  was  subsequently 
his  home  for  the  forty  years  of  his  life,  and 
where  he  reared  his  children.  Succeeding  to 
the  homestead  that  his  parents  reclaimed 
from  the  wilderness,  he  added  to    its    improve- 


ments, and  was  engaged  in  agriculture  until 
his  early  death.  An  industrious,  upright, 
law-abiding  citizen,  he  was  held  in  much  re- 
spect, and  exerted  a  good  influence  in  his 
community.  In  politics  he  was  actively 
identified  with  the  Democratic  jiarty.  He 
married  Miss  Huldah  Husscy,  who  bore  him 
five  children,  of  whom  three  are  living. 
These  are:  Micaijah,  of  Rochester;  William, 
the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch;  and 
Ezckiel. 

William  Wentworth  remained  on  the  home- 
stead until  seventeen  years  old,  oi)taining  his 
first  knowledge  of  books  in  the  district  school, 
and  being  well  trained  to  habits  of  honesty 
and  economy  by  his  parents.  After  following 
a  farmer's  life  in  this  vicinity  for  a  time,  he 
went  to  Rochester,  where  he  remained  fifteen 
years.  In  this  period  he  was  first  employed 
in  the  occupation  of  butcher.  Then  he  kept  a 
grocery  and  hardware  store  for  three  years. 
Disposing  of  his  store,  he  opened  a  livery 
stable,  which  he  managed  about  a  year.  The 
following  seven  years  were  spent  in  the  coal 
and  grain  business.  At  length  he  returned  to 
Farmington,  purchased  the  Ricker  farm,  and 
there  he  has  since  resided,  carrying  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  dairying  with  remarkable  suc- 
cess. He  has  two  hundred  acres  of  land  well 
adapted  for  the  crops  common  to  this  part  of 
New  England,  and  keeps  about  thirty  head  of 
cattle  in  his  fine  dairy,  having  had  at  one  time 
as  high  as  one  hundred  head.  The  good  judg- 
ment of  the  proprietor  is  everywhere  apparent 
on  the  estate,  which  compares  well,  in  point 
of  improvements  and  ajipointments,  witii  any 
in  the  locality. 

Mr.  Wentworth  was  married  in  April,  1848, 
to  Miss  Martha  Demerritt,  daughter  of  Mark 
Demerritt,  and  they  have  become  the  parents 
of  five  children.  Of  these  two  are  deceased. 
The   others   are :    Emma,    a   resident    of    New 


34° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


York;  Ora,  who  lives  at  home;  and  Mattie, 
who  is  principal  of  the  grammar  school  at 
Arlington  Heights,  Mass.  Mr.  VVentworth 
has  been  an  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party 
since  early  manhood.  He  has  always  taken 
much  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  town  and 
county,  aiding  and  encouraging  the  measures 
most  beneficial  in  his  opinion  to  the  general 
public.  In  the  year  1842  he  was  a  Represen- 
tative to  the  General  Court  at  Concord.  He 
is  a  veteran  Mason,  belonging  to  Motolinia 
Lodge  of  Rochester. 


OSEPH  E.  BERRY,  a  prosperous 
farmer  and  for  many  years  Selectman 
of  Alton,  N.  H.,  was  born  here,  April 
26,  1830,  a  son  of  Joseph  H.  and  Polly  (Stan- 
ton) Berry. 

Joseph  H.   Berry  was  born   March   20,   1794. 
He   was  a  soldier    in    the    war    of    1812,    and 
drew  a  bounty  of  one   hundred   and   sixty  acres 
of  land.      His  father,  George  Berry,  who  lived 
and  died  in  Strafford,  then    Barrington,  N.  H., 
was  twice  married.      The  first  wife's  children 
were — George,    Benjamin,    Susan,    Isaac,   and 
Joseph    H.     was    the   only   child    by 
He  removed  from  Straf- 
ford in  1824.      His  wife   Polly  was  the   eldest 
daughter  of  William    .Stanton,  who  had   seven 
other  children.      The   Stanton   family  record  is 
as    follows:     Ezra,    born     August     31,      1792; 
Polly  (Mrs.    Berry),  born    September   7,   1794; 
Sally,    born    July    15,    1796;    Nicholas,    born 
December  9,  1798;   Ephraim,  born   November 
20,    1800;  Ezekiel,    born    February    15,    1803; 
Tamson,  born    February  2,   1806;  Betsey,  born 
October     ti,     1810.      Joseph     H.     and    Polly 
Berry    had    three    children;    namely,    Sarah, 
Louisa  A.,  and  Joseph  E.     The  father  died  in 
1873.    aged    seventy-nine,   and  the  mother  in 
1870,    aged  seventy-si.\.      Sarah,    their    eldest 


Abigail 

the  second  marriage 


child,    died   when   four   years   old.      Louisa  A. 
Berry  has  taught  school  for  several  years. 

After  first  attending  the  district  schools, 
Joseph  E.  Berry  took  up  some  of  the  higher 
branches  of  study  at  Gilmanton  Academy,  and 
also  at  Tilton  Seminary,  which  he  attended 
one  term.  When  he  had  finished  his  school- 
ing, at  about  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he 
joined  his  father  in  carrying  on  the  farm,  hav- 
ing previously  assisted  between  the  sessions  of 
school.  He  now  owns  the  original  farm  and 
seventy  acres  additional.  F"rom  i860  to  1866 
inclusive,  with  the  exception  of  the  year  1863, 
he  was  on  the  Alton  Board  of  Selectmen, 
which  during  those  years  was  obliged  to  do 
much  extra  work  on  account  of  the  demands  of 
the  war,  and  he  and  Amos  L.  Rollins  were 
members  of  the  board  when  the  town  raised 
their  war  debt.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
as  was  his  father. 

On  October  26,  1853,  Mr.  Berry  married 
Miss  Mary  E.  Huckins,  daughter  of  John  D. 
Huckins,  of  Alton.  She  was  born  in  Mad- 
bury,  •  Strafford  County,  N.  H.,  where  her 
parents  resided  until  their  removal  to  Alton  in 
1837.  She  had  two  brothers  and  two  sisters; 
namely,  Lucy  C. ,  Hannah,  Andrew,  and  John 
I.  Huckins.  Lucy  is  married  to  Durrell  S. 
Chamberlain ;  Hannah  is  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Rufus  Pearle,  of  Milton,  N.  H.  ;  Andrew  (de- 
ceased) lived  in  Alton;  John  I.  resides  in 
Farmington,  N.  H.  Joseph  E.  and  Mary 
Berry  have  but  one  child  living,  a  son,  Will- 
iam H.  Their  only  daughter,  Mary  Ellen, 
died  when  seven  years  old. 

After  acquiring  a  district  school  education, 
William  H.  Berry  learned  the  trade  of  a 
blacksmith  and  wheelwright,  serving  a  two 
years'  apprenticeship  with  Asa  Garland,  of 
North  Barnstead.  He  then  began  blacksmith- 
ing  on  his  own  account  in  Alton,  also  working 
at    farming   with    his   father,    and    has   a    good 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


341 


business.  He  has  been  a  Selectman  of 
Alton  three  years,  and  is  otherwise  actively 
interested  in  town  matters.  Upon  the  organ- 
ization of  the  North  Barnstead  Grange,  Patrons 
of  Husbandry,  he  was  chosen  Master,  and  con- 
tinues to  be  a  member.  He  is  married  to 
Martha  A.  Garland,  a  daughter  of  Asa  Gar- 
land, of  whom  he  learned  his  trade.  She  was 
graduated  from  New  Hampton  Institution,  and 
taught  several  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William 
H,  lierry  have  two  children  ;  namely,  Mary 
Gertrude  and  Philip  Ray. 


(s)^  I  S.  ANNIS,  M.D.,  a  successful 
medical  practitioner  of  Rochester, 
was  born  in  Littleton,  N.H.,  De- 
cember 29,  1856,  son  of  Amasa  S.  and  Mercy 
W.  (Palmer)  Annis,  his  father  being  a  farmer 
and  laborer  by  occupation.  When  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  quite  young,  his  parents 
took  him  to  Manchester,  N.  H.,  where  he  spent 
some  years  of  his  early  life,  attending  the 
common  and  high  schools.  Later  he  was 
graduated  from  the  Peterboro  High  School, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Manchester  and 
clerked  for  two  years  in  a  clothing  store.  He 
next  entered  the  New  Hampshire  Conference 
Seminary  and  Female  College  at  Tilton, 
where  he  remained  three  years.  Subse- 
quently, he  began  teaching  in  Jaffrey,  Chesh- 
ire County,  and  was  later  thus  occupied  two 
years  in  the  Conant  High  School,  two  years 
in  the  high  school  in  Peterboro,  and  five  years 
at  Harvard,  Mass.,  being  principal  of  the 
different  schools.  He  then  entered  the  Boston 
University  School  of  Medicine,  where  he 
studied  for  a  year,  doing  the  regular  work  of 
two  years  in  one.  On  leaving  the  University, 
he  entered  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  in 
Chicago,  111.  Still  later  he  spent  two  years 
in  a  Chicago  hospital,  and  received  his  Medi- 


cal Degree  in  1891.  The  following  three 
years  he  practised  his  ])rofession  in  Chicago, 
coming  to  Rochester  in  1894. 

Dr.  Annis  was  married  October  9,  1889,  to 
Miss  Lucy  M.  Walbridge,  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  William  H  Walbridge,  of  Peterboro. 
He  has  two  children  —  Burnham  Walbridge 
and  Jennette  Kmily. 

Dr.  Annis  is  a  member  of  Harvard  Lodge, 
No.  60,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Harvard,  Mass.  ;  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts;  Union  l".n- 
campment  of  Peterboro;  Humane  Lodge,  No. 
21,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  ;  the  Mount  Aaratt  Senate, 
No.  603,  Knights  of  Ancient  Essenic  Order; 
and  the  Chicago  Medical  Society.  He  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Unitarian  church. 


LLSWORTH  H.  ROLLINS,  who  is  e.x- 
tensively  engaged  in  lumbering  along 
Lake  Winnepesaukee,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  prominent  young  business  men  of 
Alton,  was  born  in  this  town,  October  26, 
1S61,  son  of  Enos  G.  and  Adeline  (Piper) 
Rollins.  His  paternal  great-grandfather  was' 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Alton,  and  Jere- 
miah, the  father  of  Enos  G.,  lived  and  died 
here.  Both  the  great-grandfather  and  grand- 
father followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer, 
luios  G.  was  also  engaged  in  agriculture;  but 
in  addition  he  did  a  fair-sized  business  in 
lumbering  for  some  years.  He  is  now  retired, 
and  makes  his  home  with  his  son,  Ellsworth  H. 
By  his  first  wife,  Adeline,  who  died  in  1885, 
he  was  the  father  of  three  other  children; 
namely,  Charles  P.,  Carrie  B. ,  and  George  W. 
Charles  went  to  Michigan,  where  he  is  a 
farmer,  is  married,  and  has  children.  Carrie 
B.,  now  residing  in  Alton,  married  Frank  H. 
Carpenter,  who  is  in  the  painting  business. 
George  W.  is  married  and  engaged  in  farming 
in  Alton.      On  December  24,  1S86,  the  father 


34-' 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


contracted  a  second  marriage  with  Miss  Lois 
Chase,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Chase,  of  Alton. 
No  children  were  born  of  this  marriage. 

After  attending  the  district  schools  of 
Alton,  Ellsworth  H.  Rollins  was  for  a  few 
terms  a  student  of  Wolfboro  Academy.  He 
subsequently  worked  at  farming  with  his 
father  until  the  spring  of  1884,  when  he  pur- 
chased the  steamer  "Mayflower."  This  he 
ran  successfully  for  several  years,  doing 
freighting  and  general  work  on  Lake  Winne- 
l)esaukee.  In  the  spring  of  1889,  he  pur- 
chased a  half- interest  in  a  livery  business  with 
V.  P.  Mobbs  at  Wolfboro.  A  year  later  he 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  with  Ches- 
ter Twombley,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Twombley  &  Rollins.  He  has  also  devoted 
considerable  time  to  buying  and  selling 
horses,  making  his  purchases  chiefly  in  the 
West  and  in  Canada.  In  the  fall  of  1891,  he 
took  charge  of  the  Savage  Hotel,  and  con- 
ducted it  for  a  year,  but  retaining  his  interest 
in  the  lumber  business.  He  has  given  his 
time  almost  exclusively  to  it  during  the  past 
few  years.  Early  in  December,  1896,  he 
completed  the  erection  of  a  new  residence,  two 
and  one-half  stories  in  height,  and  supplied 
with  furnace  heat  and  other  modern  con- 
veniences. 

The  Republican  party  has  in  Mr.  Rollins 
an  indefatigable  worker,  and  the  town  of 
Alton  one  who  is  devoted  to  her  interests.  In 
the  spring  of  1891,  he  was  elected  Selectman; 
and  he  was  re-elected  in  1892  and  again  in 
1893.  In  1892  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
legislature  from  Alton,  and  served  two  years. 
He  is  now  a  member  of  the  State  Central  Re- 
publican Committee,  and  Chairman  of  the 
Republican  Executive  Committee  in  Alton. 
During  the  past  five  years  he  has  served  as  a 
delegate  to  State,  County,  and  Senatorial 
Conventions.      He    is    both    a    Justice    of    the 


Peace  and  Justice  of  Quorum.  He  belongs  to 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  membership 
in  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  of  Farmingtoii,  and 
to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  of  Alton.  The 
future  holds  for  few  persons  brighter  prospects 
than  for  Mr.  Rollins,  who  is  well  deserving  of 
all  the  recognition  he  has  received  from  his 
townsmen. 


ILLIAM  WATERHOUSE,  M.D. 
one  of  the  oldest  jjhysicians  in 
Strafford  County,  having  been  born 
August  28,  1 816,  over  eighty  years  ago,  is  still 
engaged  in  active  practice  in  Harrington,  his 
native  town.  His  parents  were  Jeremiah  and 
Susan  (Twombley)  Waterhouse. 

John  Waterhouse,  his  great-grandfather, 
said  to  have  been  an  Englishman  by  birth,  was 
the  first  of  the  family  to  come  to  Barrington, 
settling  near  Green  Hill,  on  the  place  now 
owned  by  Irving  Locke.  Jeremiah  Water- 
house,  son  of  Timothy,  and  grandson  of  John, 
spent  his  life  in  Barrington.  He  was  the 
father'of  six  children,  namely:  Timothy,  who 
died  when  fourteen  years  of  age;  Maria,  who 
died  at  eight  years  of  age;  Alexander;  Will- 
iam; Jeremiah,  whose  death  occurred  in  1890; 
and  William,  of  this  sketch. 

William  Waterhouse  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  education  in  the  district  school  and  at 
Strafford  Academy.  He  then  entered  the  of- 
fice of  Dr.  Jefferson  Smith,  of  Dover,  with 
whom  he  read  medicine  one  year.  Following 
that,  he  studied  for  a  year  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, and  subsequently  at  the  University  of 
the  city  of  New  York,  Medical  Department, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1842.  Returning 
to  Barrington,  he  engaged  in  practice  here  for 
ten  years;  in  1852  he  went  to  Farmington, 
where  he  remained  a  year;  and  from  there  he 
went  to  Tewksbury,  Mass.,  in  the  last  named 
place  holding  the  position  of  Assistant  Super- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


343 


intendent  of  the  State  Almshouse  for  two  years 
and  a  half.  From  Tewksbury  he  went  to  Hos- 
ton  and  attended  a  course  of  lectures  in  that 
city,  and  in  1S57  he  again  came  to  Barrington, 
where  he  has  now  practised  for  forty  years. 
On  February  26,  1849,  he  married  Miss 
Martha  W.  Buzzell,  of  Barrington.  Tliey 
have  no  children. 

Dr.  Waterhouse  is  a  stanch  Republican  in 
jjolitics.  He  voted  for  William  Henry  Harri- 
son for  President  in  1S40,  and  for  Benjamin 
Harrison  in  1888.  For  eight  years  the  doctor 
has  been  Superintendent  of  the  Barrington 
schools.  He  served  as  Town  Clerk  five  years, 
and  has  been  Justice  of  the  Peace  over  forty 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Strafford  Dis- 
trict Medical  Society;  also  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire State  Medical  Society.  Dr.  Waterhouse 
attends  the  Congregational  church,  toward 
whose  support  he  is  a  liberal  contributor. 


(ffjYOHN  DOW,  a  prosperous  farmer  of 
Barnstead,  was  born  here,  July  11, 
1825,  son  of  Timothy  and  Mary  (Hodg- 
don)  Dow.  His  grandfather,  Simon  Dow, 
came  to  Barnstead  from  Durham  and  cleared 
quite  a  large  piece  of  land,  making  a  good 
farm  for  himself  and  his  descendants.  Simon 
Dow's  si.\  children  were:  Jeremiah,  Timothy, 
John  O.,  Betsey,  Hannah,  and  Margarette. 
Timothy  Dow,  who  was  a  well-to-do  farmer 
and  an  influential  man  of  affairs,  held  many 
offices  of  trust.  In  the  State  militia  he  held 
a  commission  for  twenty-four  years,  and  rose 
to  the  rank  of  Major-general.  He  was  a 
strong  Democrat,  and  was  much  interested  in 
civil  and  military  matters.  His  children 
were:  Charles  Hodgdon,  Pamelia,  and  John. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  subject  of  another 
sketch,  wherein  may  be  found  fuller  details 
concerning    the  family    and     its    connections. 


John  Dow,  the  youngest  of  his  parents'  chil- 
dren, attended  the  district  schools  of  his 
native  town  for  the  usual  period  of  his  boy- 
hood. After  finishing  his  schooling,  he  went 
to  Roxbury,  Mass.,  and  there  worked  with  his 
brother  Charles  at  brick-making  for  a  few 
years.  Then  he  returned  home  and  took  uj) 
farming  in  company  with  his  father.  He  has 
since  resided  on  the  home  farm,  which  subse- 
quently became  his  b)'  inheritance.  He  has 
carried  on  the  farm  most  successfully,  and  has 
made  extensive  additions  to  the  place.  For 
seven  years  he  was  Selectman  of  the  town, 
being  Chairman  of  the  Board  for  four  years  of 
that  period.  In  1863-64  he  was  in  the  State 
legislature;  and  while  there  he  was  on  the 
Committee  on  Insane  Asylum  Bu.sincss.  He 
has  been  Auditor  and  Supervisor,  and  has  held 
other  minor  offices.  A  prominent  Democrat 
of  the  town,  he  is  actively  interested  in  polit- 
ical matters.  The  high  estimation  in  which 
he  is  held  is  attested  by  his  wide  circle  of 
friends  and  his  popularity  with  all. 

Mr.  Dow  was  married  December  30,  1849, 
to  Mary  J.,  daughter  of  John  Lang,  who  was 
a  son  of  William  Lang.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dow 
have  had  three  children  —  John  C. ,  I'red,  and 
George  W.  When  he  was  eighteen  years  of 
age,  John  C.  went  to  Boston,  Mass.,  where  he 
was  employed  by  William  H.  Dow,  a  manu- 
facturer of  fertilizers.  After  the  death  of  his 
employer,  he  succeeded  to  the  business,  and 
his  brother  Fred  joined  in  jiartnership  with 
him.  They  built  up  an  extensive  trade  in 
Cambridge  and  Medford,  Mass.,  manufactur- 
ing phosphates,  fertilizers,  and  the  like.  In 
1894,  Fred,  whose  health  had  become  im- 
paired, went  to  several  places  in  the  hope  of 
restoring  it,  and  seemed  to  improve  somewhat 
at  Colorado  Springs.  He  spent  a  summer  at 
the  mountains ;  but  he  failed  again,  and  died 
in    March,    1896,    aged   thirty-six.      He   left  a 


3t4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


widow  ami  one  son,  Frank  R.  John  C.  now 
carries  on  the  business.  He  is  married  and 
has  one  child,  I'" red  II.  George,  the  tliird  son 
of  John  Dow,  works  with  his  father,  is  Post- 
master  of  North  Barnstead,  and  a  prominent 
member  of  the  grange.  He  married  Edith 
M.,  daughter  of  Horatio  H.  Shackford,  who 
was  a  son  of  .Seth  Shackford.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
George  Dow  have  had  two  children  —  William 
H.  and  Mary  E.  William  H.  died  some  time 
ago. 


tLBERT  GALLATIN  FOLSOM  has 
been  President  of  the  Laconia  Savings 
^__^  Bank  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
President  of  the  People's  National  Bank  since 
its  incorporation  in  May,  1889,  and  is  the  old- 
est Odd  Fellow  in  Laconia.  He  was  born 
October  12,  18 16,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Sarah 
(Rowe)  Folsom,  and  comes  of  an  old  New 
Hampshire  family. 

Jonathan  Folsom  was  born  in  Dover,  N.  H., 
but  settled  at  Meredith  Bridge,  now  Laconia. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  was  also  a 
farmer.  Opening  a  wayside  inn  on  Pleasant 
Street  as  early  as  181 3,  he  successfully  man- 
aged it  for  a  number  of  years.  The  house  is 
now  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Atkinson.  He 
owned  the  land  as  far  as  the  depot  on  Main 
Street  and  Pleasant  Street,  which  then  consti- 
tuted part  of  the  old  Providence  road.  He 
was  a  popular  and  prominent  citizen  and  repre- 
sented the  district  in  the  State  legislature  in 
1832.  He  was  a  member  of  the  North  Congre- 
gational Church.  His  death  occurred  in  1872, 
in  his  ninety-fourth  year.  He  and  his  wife, 
who  was  a  daughter  of  a  Mr.  Rowe,  of  Gilford, 
N.H.,  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children. 

Albert  Gallatin  Folsom  is  the  only  survivor 
of  the  family.  He  was  born  in  the  Pleasant 
Street  home,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Meredith    Bridge,    as    Laconia   was 


then  called.  As  a  boy  he  was  continually  ail- 
ing, and  was  not  able  to  attend  school  regu- 
larly. When  he  was  about  eleven  years  old, 
he  went  to  Portsmouth,  his  parents  thinking 
the  change  might  benefit  him, and  there  he  was 
engaged  for  some  time  in  the  store  kept  by  his 
brother,  Josiah  Gilman  P'olsom.  Commercial 
life  seemed  to  suit  him  and  bring  out  his  latent 
energies,  and  his  brother  eventually  went 
West,  leaving  him  in  charge  of  the  store.  In 
1836  he  returned  to  Laconia,  and  entered  the 
employ  of  James  Mulineau.x  as  clerk  in  a  coun- 
try store  on  Mill  Street;  and  three  years  later 
he  purchased  Mr.  Mulineaux's  interest.  He 
had  sole  charge  of  the  business  for  some  time, 
and  then,  admitting  Mr.  George  F.  Bosher  as 
partner,  established  the  firm  of  P"olsom  & 
Bosher.  In  1857  he  purchased  and  moved  into 
the  Gove  Block,  and  he  subsequently  had  a 
clothing  store  at  Sierra  Gordo  Place.  In 
i860  the  partnership  with  Mr.  ]3osher  was  dis- 
solved, and  in  1861  Mayor  Smith  became  his 
partner,  the  firm  becoming  Folsom  &  Smith. 
Eight  years  later  Mr.  P"olsom  sold  his  share  in 
the  business  to  Mr.  Smith. 

As  a  business  man  Mr.  Folsom's  methods 
are  sagacious  and  prudent,  and  he  has  the  con- 
fidence of  all  with  whom  he  has  dealings.  He 
has  long  been  identified  with  the  prosperity  of 
Laconia,  and  many  of  his  works  will  live  after 
him.  He  built  the  Folsom  Block  in  1861, 
was  associated  with  Mr.  Smith  in  erecting  the 
Smith  Block  on  the  opposite  side  of  Main 
Street.  He  opened  the  Folsom  Opera  House 
in  1862,  and  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Laconia  Street  Railroad  Company.  He 
sold  his  share  in  this  enterprise  five  years  ago, 
but  has  been  again  drawn  into  connection  with 
it,  having  been  elected  President  of  the  corpo- 
ration in  January,  1896.  He  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  Laconia  Savings  Bank  nearly 
sixty  years,  becoming  a  member  of  the   board 


ALBERT   G.    FOLSOM. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


347 


of  trustees  about  i(S4i.  He  was  elected  Presi- 
deut  of  this  bank  in  1S71,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  investment  committee  since  that 
year.  Mr.  Folsom  has  a  farm  of  seventy  acres, 
which  he  finds  pleasure  in  superintending. 

He  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife, 
who  was  Olive  B.  Robinson,  of  Gilford,  N.  H., 
bore  him  four  children,  one  of  whom  is  living, 
a  daughter,  now  the  wife  of  Mayor  S.  B. 
Smith.  Mr..  Folsom's  second  wife  was,  before 
marriage,  Miss  Imogene  F.  Harris,  of  Fran- 
conia.  She,  also,  has  one  daughter,  Alberta, 
twelve  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Folsom  is  actively  interested  in  politics 
as  a  Republican.  He  has  taken  thirty-two  de- 
grees in  Masonry,  and  belongs  to  Mount 
Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Union 
Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  No.  7,  Pilgrim  Command- 
ery,  K.  T. ,  and  Edward  A.  Raymond  Consis- 
tory at  Nashua.  As  an  Odd  Fellow  he  has 
held  all  the  chairs  in  Winnipiseogee  Lodge 
No.  7,  of  Laconia,  and  belongs  to  Laconia  En- 
campment, No.  9.  Mr.  Folsom  was  the  last 
Captain  of  the  Winnipiseogee  Guards,  an  inde- 
pendent militia  company  that  was  quite  noted 
in  its  day.  He  was  ensign  in  the  State  militia 
and  was  commissioned  Captain  in  the  Twenty- 
ninth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteers, 
by  Governor  Page  in  1841.  In  religious  belief 
he  is  a  Congregationalist.  Though  in  poor 
health  until  he  was  twenty  years  old,  he  is  now 
remarkably  well  and  appears  much  younger 
than  he  actually  is. 


ILLIAM  W.  CUSHMAN,  the 
Chairman  of  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners  of  Strafford  County, 
and  the  proprietor  of  an  extensive  livery  busi- 
ness in  Dover,  was  born  February  26,  1841, 
in  the  town  of  Avon,  Franklin  County,  Me., 
son  of  William    C.  and  Sarah  (Rollins)  Cush- 


man.  His  fatiicr,  wiio  was  bom  antl  reared  in 
Franklin  County,  Maine,  after  his  marriage 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Avon,  and  there  was  en- 
gaged in  agriculture  until  his  demise,  which 
occurred  January  5,  1890,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-four  years.  In  his  political  affilia- 
tions William  C.  Cushman  was  a  strong  Re- 
publican, and  took  an  active  part  in  the  organ- 
ization of  that  party.  He  was  much  respected 
in  the  community  for  his  integrity,  and  was 
one  of  the  foremost  members  of  the  Universal- 
ist  church  of  that  locality.  His  wife,  Sarah, 
also  a  native  of  Franklin  County,  and  an  es- 
teemed member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Avon,  an  active  and  intelligent  woman  of 
fourscore  years,' scorning  assistance  in  the  per- 
formance of  her  daily  household  duties.  To 
her  and  her  husband  ten  children  were  born; 
namely,  William  W.,  James  E.,  Jonathan, 
Mary  Etta,  Sarah  E. ,  Cora,  George  F. ,  Lizzie, 
Addie,  and  Emma.  James  E.  was  killed  at 
Morris  Island.  Mary  Etta,  Lizzie,  Addie, 
and  George  F.,  are  also  deceased. 

William  W.  Cushman  attended  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  town  for  the  usual  period. 
When  si.xteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  West- 
boro,  Mass.,  where  he  was  employed  for  a  time 
as  a  milk  inspector,  and  in  shipping  milk  from 
there  to  Boston.  On  June  29,  1861,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  K,  Thirteenth  Massachu- 
setts Volunteer  Infantry,  for  service  in  the 
Civil  War,  and  with  his  regiment  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  engagements  at  Falling 
Waters,  Harper's  Ferry,  and  the  second  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  at  the  latter  place  being  wounded 
in  the  left  shoulder  by  a  minic  ball.  The 
wound  obliged  him  to  spend  the  ne.xt  four 
months  in  the  hospitals  of  Bclleview,  N.Y., 
and  Newark,  N.J.  In  the  latter  city  he  was 
subsequently  discharged  from  the  service,  his 
term   of  enlistment    having    expired.      There- 


348 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


upon  he  went  directly  to  New  York  City, 
wlicre  he  stayed  until  December  of  that  year 
(1863),  employed  as  street  car  conductor. 
Returning  then  to  the  old  homestead,  he  spent 
the  winter  in  his  native  State.  In  F"cbruary, 
1S64,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Thirty- 
second  Maine  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which 
he  took  part  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness, 
the  engagements  at  Spottsylvania  Court-house, 
Cold  Harbor,  and  of  the  North  Anna  River. 
He  was  then  transferred  to  the  invalid  corps, 
and  sent  to  Augusta,  Me.,  where,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  he  received  his  honorable  dis- 
charge. Throughout  the  following  year  Mr. 
Cushman  was  unable  to  work,  and  resided 
with  his  parents.  In  the  spring  of  1866  he 
went  again  to  Westboro,  Mass.,  and  for  a  time 
worked  in  a  straw  factory.  From  there  he 
went  to  Worcester,  in  the  same  State,  where 
he  spent  a  year  engaged  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness. Disposing  of  his  store  at  an  advantage, 
he  ne.xt  embarked  in  the  life  insurance  busi- 
ness, locating  in  Rutland,  Vt. ,  and  having  the 
agency  for  that  State  for  three  years.  He  was 
then  transferred  to  Portland,  Me.,  where  he 
had  charge  of  the  office  in  that  city  for  a  year. 
In  the  following  year  he  was  stationed  at 
J?iddeford,  Me.,  having  charge  of  the  State 
agency.  He  was  then  sent  to  Middlesex 
County,  Massachusetts,  as  agent  for  that  part 
of  the  State,  and  for  two  years  had  his  head- 
quarters at  Lowell.  Having  in  the  ne.xt  year 
secured  a  situation  with  the  Massachusetts 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  he  was  .sent 
to  Dover,  where  he  afterward  held  the  agency 
for  Strafford  County  for  five  years.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  established  his  present 
livery  business,  in  which  he  has  met  with  ex- 
cellent success. 

Mr.  Cushman  married  September  i,  1867, 
Miss  Laura  E.  Keyes,  of  East  Wilton,  Me., 
who  died  December  17,  1888,  leaving  no  chil- 


dren. On  March  4,  i  890,  he  contracted  a  sec- 
ond marriage  with  Miss  Emma  E.  McDuffee, 
of  Dover,  who  has  borne  him  one  child,  Ger- 
trude E.  Politically,  Mr.  Cushman  is  one  of 
the  most  earnest  and  active  workers  of  the  Re- 
publican [larty.  During  the  year  1882  he  was 
President  of  the  Dover  Common  Council,  was 
a  Representative  to  the  State  legislature  in 
1883  and  1884,  served  as  Alderman  in  188S 
and  1889,  and  in  1893  was  elected  Chairman 
of  the  Board  of  County  Commissioners,  a  [posi- 
tion which  he  still  holds.  Socially,  Mr. 
Cushman  belongs  to  the  Strafford  Lodge,  No. 
29,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Dover;  and  to  the  Charles 
W.  Sawyer  Post,  No.  17,  G.  A.  R.,  of  this 
city.  Religiously,  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Universalist  church. 


MITH  F.  EMERY,  proprietor  of  the 
Moulton  House,  Centre  Harbor, 
Belknap  County,  N.H.,  was  born  in 
Sandwich,  this  State,  April  i,  1836,  son  of 
David  Stiles  and  Ruth  S.  (Norris)  Emery. 
He  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  an  early  colonist, 
John  Emery,  who  was  a  son  of  John,  Sr.,  and 
Agnes  Emery,  of  Ramsey  Hants,  England, 
and  was  born  there,  September  29,   1598. 

In  company  with  his  brother  Anthony,  John 
Emery  sailed  from  South  Hampton  on  board 
the  ship  "James"  of  London,  William  Cooper, 
master,  April  3,  1635,  ''"'^l  landed  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  on  June  3  of  the  same  year.  The 
Emery  brothers  were  accompanied  by  their 
families.  Soon  after  arriving  in  America, 
John  Emery  settled  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  where 
he  had  been  granted  one-half  of  an  acre  of 
land  for  a  house  lot.  It  is  recorded  that  on 
December  22,  1637,  John  Emery  was  fined 
twenty  shillings  for  enclosing  ground  not  laid 
out  or  owned  by  the  town,  but  on  February  i, 
1638,  the  town  granted  him  full  possession   of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


349 


the  enclosed  tract.  He  was  made  a  freeman 
in  1641,  and  recorded  as  one  of  the  ninety-one 
freeholders  of  the  town  on  December  2,  1642. 
He  was  a  Selectman  in  1661,  Fence  Viewer  in 
1666,  a  Grand  Juror  in  the  same  year,  and 
Trial  Juror  in  1672,  and  was  appointed  to 
carry  the  town  vote  to  Salem  in  1676.  His 
first  wife,  Mary,  whom  he  married  in  England, 
and  whose  maiden  name  is  unknown,  died  in 
Newbury  early  in  1649.  In  1650  he  was 
again  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  Shatswell  Web- 
ster, widow  of  John  Webster,  of  Ipswich, 
Mass.  John  Emery  died  in  Newbury,  Novem- 
ber 3,  1683;  and  his  second  wife,  sur\iving 
him,  died  April  28,   1694. 

His  son  Jonathan,  born  in  1652,  was  pressed 
into  service  during  King  Philip's  War,  leav- 
ing Newbury  on  December  3,  1675,  and  was 
present  on  December  19  at  the  Narragansett 
fight,  where  he  was  wounded  in  the  shoulder. 
He  died  in  Newbury,  September  29,  1723. 
On  November  29,  1676,  he  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Edward  Woodman.  She  died 
September  13,  1723.  Stephen  Emery  (first), 
son  of  Jonathan,  married  Lydia  Jackman  on 
February  25,  171 5.  His  will,  which  was 
made  October  5,  1761,  was  proved  June  21, 
1762.  Stephen  Emery  (second)  was  a  soldier 
in  Captain  Israel  Gerrish's  company,  which 
served  in  the  expedition  against  Canada,  and 
he  died  soon  after  his  return  in  175S.  In  Oc- 
tober, 1743,  he  married  Deliverance  Stiles, 
who  was  born  in  Boxford,  Mass.,  February  21, 
1723,  daughter  of  John  and  Eleanor  (Pearl) 
Stiles,  and  it  is  supposed  that  his  son  David, 
who  was  baptized  in  July,  1744,  was  the  great- 
grandfather of  Smith  F.  Emery. 

David  Stiles  Emery  lived  in  Moultonboro, 
N.H.  It  is  thought  that  he  went  there  from 
Salisbury,  N.H.,  or  Massachusetts,  and  that  he 
was  the  son  of  Stephen  Emery  (second)  above 
mentioned.      He  was  married,  and   had  several 


children.  His  son  Othniel,  grandfather  of 
Smith  !•'.,  was  a  resident  of  Moultcinhoro. 
The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Meloon,  and 
their  children  were:  Sally,  Charlotte,  Re- 
becca, Nathaniel,  Samuel  M.,  Moses  M., 
David  S.,  Albert  M.,  and  Alpheus. 

David  S.  Emery,  Smith  F.  limery's  father, 
was  born  in  Moultonboro,  August  28,  1S03. 
After  serving  the  customary  term  of  appren- 
ticeship at  the  blacksmith's  trade,  he  engaged 
in  business  upon  his  own  account  in  his  na- 
tive town,  and  later  removed  to  Sandwich, 
N.H.,  where  he  plied  his  calling  for  some 
years.  About  the  year  1840  he  removed  to 
Centre  Harbor,  and  continued  active  until  his 
death.  He  took  a  great  interest  in  military 
affairs,  and  as  Captain  in  the  State  militia  he 
was  regarded  as  a  most  capable  and  efficient 
ofificer.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  His 
wife,  Ruth  S.  Norris,  whom  he  married  Octo- 
ber 23,  1827,  was  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Nor- 
ris, of  Meredith,  N.H.  She  became  the 
mother  of  four  children,  and  of  these  two 
lived  to  maturity,  namely:  Sarah  L.,  wife  of 
William  A.  Page,  M.D.,  of  Centre  Harbor; 
and  Smith  F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  David  S.  Emery  were  members  of 
the  Congregational  church. 

Smith  F.  Emery  was  four  years  old  when 
his  parents  took  up  their  residence  in  Centre 
Harbor,  and  he  was  educated  in  the  pulilic 
school  of  this  town.  When  a  young  man  he 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he  fol- 
lowed as  a  journeyman  for  four  years,  and  dur- 
ing the  succeeding  two  years  he  was  engaged 
in  manufacturing  shoes  in  Centre  Harbor 
upon  his  own  account.  Since  i860  he  has 
been  proprietor  of  the  Moulton  House,  which 
is  the  oldest  hotel  at  the  Harbor.  The  origi- 
nal house,  however,  was  taken  down,  and  the 
present  one  built  on  the  same  spot. 

The  Moulton  has  ample  accommodations  for 


3S0 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


sixty  guests,  and  during  the  summer  season  it 
entertains  from  five  hundred  to  six  hundred 
tourists.  In  connection  with  the  house  Mr. 
Kmcry  carries  on  a  farm  of  fifty  acres,  twenty 
acres  of  which  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  veg- 
etables for  the  supply  of  his  table.  He  also 
conducts  a  profitable  business  as  an  insurance 
broker,  and  is  agent  for  the  Massachusetts 
Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  in  New 
Hampshire.  Politically,  he  is  a  Republican. 
He  has  served  as  Town  Treasurer  two  years, 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  for 
the  same  length  of  time,  has  been  Tax  Col- 
lector, and  is  now  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Supervisors. 

On  January  24,  i860,  Mr.  Emery  married 
Susan  H.  Moulton,  a  representative  of  the  old 
family  of  that  name,  whose  ancestors  were 
among  the  earliest  settlers  in  this  county. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Colonel  John  H.  and 
Susan  S.  (Porter)  Moulton,  the  former  of 
whom  was  in  his  day  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent residents  of  Centre  Harbor. 

Mrs.  Emery's  great-grandfather  was  General 
Jonathan  Moulton,  who  commanded  an  expedi- 
tion sent  out  from  Dover,  N.  H.,  against  the 
Indians,  whom  they  met  at  Clark's , Landing. 
In  the  skirmish  that  ensued  all  of  the  savages 
were  killed  except  one,  who  while  making  his 
escape  up  the  lake  on  the  ice,  was  pursued,  it 
is  said,  and  killed  by  the  General's  dog. 
Mrs.  Emery's  grandfather  was  Benning  Moul- 
ton, a  resident  of  Centre  Harbor,  and  her 
father,  John  Hale  Moulton,  was  born  in  this 
town  in  1795.  In  early  life  he  was  engaged 
in  trade,  and  later  became  proprietor  of  the 
Moulton  House,  which  he  carried  on  for  twelve 
years.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
served  as  a  Selectman,  Town  Treasurer,  and 
Representative  to  the  legislature  for  a  number 
of  years.  He  was  also  Sheriff  of  Belknap 
County,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  a  Colonel 


in  the  State  militia.  His  wife,  Susan  S. 
Porter  was  a  daughter  of  tiic  Rev.  Huntington 
Porter,  a  Congregational  minister. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emery  have  had  three  chil- 
dren; namely,  John  H.,  Caroline  P.,  and 
Alice  H.  John  H.  and  Alice  H.  are  no  longer 
living;  and  Caroline  P.  is  the  wife  of  Walter 
F.  Hill,  now  living  in  West  Somerville, 
Mass.  Mr.  Emery  is  a  Past  Master  of 
Chocorua  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Meredith, 
N.H.;  and  is  connected  with  Winnepesaukee 
Tribe  of  Red  Men.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Emery  are 
members  of  the  Congregational  church. 


l.^aRESTON     B."  young,    M.D.,    who 
is  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of 

-  medicine  at  Farmington,  N.H.,  was 

born  in  this  town,  June  i,  1858,  a  son  of  Jon- 
athan Young.  He  is  of  English  ancestry,  and 
the  descendant  of  a  pioneer  family  of  Strafford 
County,  his  paternal  grandfather,  Benjamin 
Young,  having  been  born  in  the  town  of 
Strafford,  where  his  father,  also  named  Ben- 
jamin, was  an  early  settler. 

Jonathan  Young  passed  the  first  years  of 
his  life  in  Strafford.  When  he  was  seven 
years  old  his  father  purchased  land  in  Farm- 
ington, where  he  was  reared  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  After  his  father  died  he  retained 
the  home  place  by  paying  off  the  other  heirs, 
and  continued  to  carry  on  the  various  branches 
of  farming  with  skill  and  success.  He  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and,  though  caring  little 
for  public  office,  served  as  Surveyor  a  number 
of  years,  and  for  many  years  as  school  agent,  a 
position  in  which  he  took  great  interest,  and 
by  securing  college-taught  teachers  gained 
for  his  district  the  name  of  having  the  best 
district  school  in  Farmington.  The  closing 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  at  East  Rochester, 
this  county,  where  his  death  occurred    Decern- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


35' 


bur  14,  1895.  He  married  Miss  Hannah  S. 
VValilron,  of  Rocticster,  and  iiad  seven  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  arc  now  living,  namely: 
Lizzie  M.,  wife  of  Samuel  Forsaith,  of  East 
Rochester;  I'^Uen  M.  ;  John,  a  physician  in 
Dover;  and  I'reston  15.,  the  special  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Preston  ]?.  Young  laid  a  substantial  founda- 
tion for  his  future  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  Farmington,  this  being  supple- 
mented by  a  course  of  study  at  Austin  Acad- 
emy in  Strafiford,  after  which  he  taught  a 
dozen  or  more  terms  of  school.  Then,  with  a 
view  of  bettering  his  condition  in  life,  he  be- 
came a  student  at  Eastman's  National  Busi- 
ness College  in  Poughkeepsie,  N.Y. 

After  graduating  at  Eastman's,  he  taught 
commercial  school  a  while  in  Biddeford,  Me. 
Not  yet  being  satisfied,  and  desiring  then  to 
fit  himself  for  a  professional  career,  he  entered 
the  University  Medical  College  of  New  York 
City,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1SS8.  Dr. 
Young  then  opened  an  office  in  Berwick,  Me., 
where  he  remained  for  si.\  years.  In  1894  he 
came  to  Farmington,  settling  here  in  the 
month  of  August,  and  has  since  had  a  fair 
share  of  the  practice  of  this  locality,  his  suc- 
cess in  his  profession  having  been  assured 
from  the  outstart. 

Dr.  Young  was  married  September  14, 
1895,  to  Miss  Jennie  C,  daughter  of  Hiram 
Clark,  of  Berwick,  Me.  They  have  one 
child,  John  W.  C.  Young.  While  practising 
in  Berwick,  the  doctor  served  as  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Health  for  five  years.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  politics,  and  takes  an  active  in- 
terest in  local  affairs.  He  is  also  identified 
by  membership  with  several  of  the  fraternal 
societies  of  Berwick,  belonging  to  Echo 
Lodge,  No.  52,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  in  which  he  has 
filled  the  principal  chairs;  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the   State  of   Maine;  and  to   Rath- 


bone  Lodge,   No.  69,  K.  of  P.,  of  wiiich   lie   is 
I'ast  Chancellor. 


IJiRIDGE  G.  CLOUGH,  an  ardent  and 
jmpular  Democratic  politician  of 
Gilmanton,  N.IL,  where  he  runs  a 
stage  between  that  town  and  Alton,  was  born 
in  Gilmanton  in  the  month  of  January,  1852. 
He  is  the  son  of  John  P.  and  Tamson  Hayes 
VVinkley  Clough.  Simon  Clough,  his  great- 
great-grandfather,  was  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers of  the  town  of  Gilmanton,  arriving  there 
from  Seabrook,  N.H.,  in  the  year  1775.  Like 
our  subject,  his  great-great-grandson,  to  whom 
perhaps  he  may  have  bequeathed  this  strain  in 
his  blood,  Simon  Clough  seems  to  have  had  a 
strong  predilection  for  politics,  and  to  have 
taken  a  keen  and  active  interest  in  the  great 
public  issues  of  his  times.  He  was  one  of 
the  one  hundred  and  fifteen  signers  in  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  celebrated 
"Test  Act,"  passed  by  the  American  Con- 
gress, April  12,  1776,  and  submitted  to  the 
people  of  each  of  the  thirteen  original  States 
for  their  signatures.  He  enlisted  in  the  Rev- 
olutionary War,  and  was  one  of  the  seven  men 
from  Gilmanton  that  were  killed  in  it.  He 
was  one  of  a  company  of  thirty-five  minute- 
men,  commanded  by  Captain  Nathaniel  Wil- 
son, who  served  under  General  John  Stark,  of 
New  Ham[jshire,  and  he  was  with  that  Gen- 
eral, and  met  his  death  at  the  famous  battle  of 
Bennington,  August  16,  1777,  a  battle  which 
General  Stark  fought  in  disobedience  to  the 
orders  of  his  superior  officer.  For  winning 
this  victory,  so  vital  to  the  cause  of  American 
liberty  at  that  particular  crisis  of  public 
affairs.  Congress,  after  first  passing  a  vote  of 
censure  for  General  Stark's  insubordination, 
subsequently  passed  him  a  vote  of  thanks,  and 
promoted    him    to    the    rank    of    a    Brigadier- 


3S2 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


general.  Simon  Cloiigh  left  at.  his  death  a 
family  of  children,  among  whom  were  Jona- 
than, Perley,  and  Joseph. 

Joseph  Clough,  the  son  of  Simon  and  great- 
grandfather of  Klbridge  G.,  left  at  his  death  a 
family  of  eleven  children,  namely:  Chase; 
Simon;  Judith;  Joseph;  Rebeeca;  Nehemiah, 
grandfather  of  our  subject;  Parmelia;  Moses; 
Mary;   Isaiah;  and  Jonathan. 

Nehemiah  Clough,  son  of  Joseph  and  grand- 
son of  the  Revolutionary  patriot  and  martyr,  in 
whose  veins  flowed  the  same  ardent  love  of 
country,  served  in  the  War  of  1812.  After 
the  close  of  that  war  he  returned  to  his  native 
town  of  Gilmanton,  and  engaged  in  farming 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  married 
Sarah  Rowe,  and  had  the  following  family  of 
eight  children  —  Phoebe  R.,  Mary  P.,  Lewis 
O.,  Elvira,  John  P.,  Sarah  B. ,  Julia,  and  Al- 
bert N.  Phoebe  R.  married  Isaac  P.  Coffin, 
of  Alton,  N.H.;  Mary  P.  married  Jeremiah 
Woodman,  also  of  Alton;  Lewis  O.  married 
Mary  Burt,  of  Vermont ;  Elvira  married  David 
Glidden,  of  Alton;  John  P.  was  the  father  of 
our  subject;  Sarah  B.  married  John  Goodwin, 
of  Manchester,  N.H.;  Julia  married  Clark 
M.  Bailey,  also  of  Manchester;  and  Albert  N. 
is  a  veteran  of  the  Third  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteers. 

John  P.  Clough,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  a  native  of  Gilmanton,  and 
after  receiving  his  education  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  teach  the  district  school  in  the 
winter  season,  and  to  devote  the  summer  to 
the  cultivation  of  his  farm.  He  married 
Tamson  Hayes  Winkley,  the  daughter  of 
Francis  Winkley,  of  Strafford,  N.  H.,  and  they 
had  the  following  children:  Elbridge  G.,  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Nahum  O.,  now  living  in 
Minnesota;  Russell  W.,  now  married  and  liv- 
ing in  Minnesota;  and  Martha  W.  married  to 
Jabez  Moore,  and  living  in   Lawrence,  Mass. 


In  all  matters  pertaining  to  education  he  was 
much  esteemed  and  looked  up  to  by  his  fellow- 
citizens,  whom  he  served  for  a  long  time  on 
the  local  School  Board,  prior  to  the  time  that 
the  town  of  ]5elmont  was  set  off  from  Gilman- 
ton. He  was  a  member  of  the  Orthodo.x  Con- 
gregational Church,  established  by  our  New 
England  Puritan  ancestry. 

Elbridge  G.  Clough  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  native  town  and  at  the  New 
Hampton  Academy.  The  three  succeeding 
years  after  leaving  school  he  worked  part  of 
the  time  in  a  mill  in  Manchester,  and  part  of 
the  time  on  a  farm  in  that  vicinity.  At  the 
expiration  of  the  three  years  he  again  returned 
home  to  Gilmanton,  and  engaged  in  the  culti- 
vation of  his  father's  farm  of  a  hundred  acres 
or  more.  For  some  ten  years  he  carried  on 
the  meat  business  in  that  town.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  he  is  engaged  in  running  a  stage 
route  between  Gilmanton  and  Alton,  N.H. 
He  married  Emma  Sargent,  the  daughter  of 
Albert  P.  Sargent,  of  Lowell,  Mass.,  a  car- 
penter by  trade,  and  they  have  a  family  of 
seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  boys,  to  wit: 
John  Page,  Guy  Sargent,  Russell  Walton, 
William  Everett,  Albert  De.xter,  Clarence 
Francis,  and  Carl  Grosvenor. 

Mr.  Clough  is  a  strong,  outspoken  Demo- 
crat, and  one  of  that  party's  most  interested 
and  active  workers  in  this  section.  He  takes 
a  warm  and  lively  interest  in  all  local  public 
affairs,  and  is  a  man  whose  opinion  people  are 
compelled  to  respect,  even  though  they  may 
differ  from  his  views.  He  is  popular,  not 
only  in  his  own  political  party,  but  among  his 
townspeople  generally,  a  statement  that  is 
plainly  evidenced  by  the  fact  that,  although  he 
is  a  strong  partisan  Democrat,  living  in  the 
midst  of  a  Republican  community,  yet  when 
he  received  the  Democratic  nomination  for 
the  State  legislature   in    1896,    his   numerous 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


353 


friends,  irrespective  of  party  lines,  relying 
upon  his  well-known  personal  jjopularity,  ex- 
pected to  see  him  elected  to  the  office  beyond 
all  doubt.  Although,  to  the  surprise  of  both 
parties,  he  was  unexpectedly  defeated  by  his 
Republican  opponent,  Mr.  George  Kelley,  yet 
he  ran  far  ahead  of  his  own  party  ticket,  and 
was  defeated  by  the  small  majority  of  thirteen 
votes.  This  was  at  a  time,  too,  when  the 
widespread  business  depression  of  the  country 
had  induced  a  general  dissatisfaction  with  a 
Democratic  administration,  and  given  rise  to  a 
strong  clamor  for  a  political  change. 

Mr.  Clough  is  a  charter  member  and  Past 
Master  of  Crystal  Lake  Grange  of  Gilmanton 
Iron  Works,  New  Hampshire. 


IDVVIN  W.  FOLSOM,  Treasurer  of  the 
Somersworth  Board  of  Trade,  and  the 
proprietor  of  the  principal  jewelry 
store  in  the  place,  was  born  September 
29,  1849,  in  Acton,  Me.  His  parents  were 
VV.  P.  and  Lucy  J.  (Goodwin)  F"olsom,  both 
of  whom  were  also  natives  of  Acton. 

W.  P.  Folsom  lived  in  Acton  the  greater 
part  of  his  life,  and  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
business.  He  spent  his  last  years  on  a  farm 
in  Rochester,  N.H.,  where  he  died  at  the  age 
of  sixty.  He  was  a  loyal  Republican,  and  at 
the  time  of  the  Civil  War  made  application 
for  admission  to  the  ranks,  but  failed  to  pass 
the  examination.  Mrs.  Lucy  J.  Goodwin  P^ol- 
som  lived  to  be  sixty-five  years  of  age.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
church. 

When  but  fifteen  years  of  age,  equipped  with 
a  fair  common-school  education,  lulwin  W. 
I'^olsom  started  out  in  life  for  himself.  He 
first  went  to  North  Berwick,  Me.,  where  he 
worked  for  his  board,  and  attended  the  high 
school    two   years.      Returning   to    Rochester, 


he  worked  for  two  years  in  a  woollen-mill,  then 
went  to  Manchester,  and  worked  in  a  mill 
until  i86g,  when  he  entered  the  jewelry  store 
of  W.  H.  I':iliott,  to  learn  the  trade.  Having 
continued  with  Mr.  Pllliott  in  Manchester  five 
years,  in  1874  he  came  to  Somersworth,  and 
purchased  the  store  in  which  he  still  does 
business.  He  carries  a  good  line  of  watches, 
clocks,  and  jewelry,  and  has  a  large  trade. 

In  1875  ^^^-  I'olsom  was  joined  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Flora  A.  Richardson,  of  Littleton, 
N.H.,  who  died  a  year  and  a  half  later,  leav- 
ing a  daughter  named  Flora  Belle.  In  1878 
he  was  again  married,  to  Miss  Delia  P.  Mars- 
ton,  of  Somersworth.  Four  children  have 
been  born  of  this  union;  namely,  l-lthel  D., 
Nellie  F.,  Olive  M.,  and  William  M.,  all 
with    their  elder  sister   living   at   home. 

Mr.  Folsom,  who  is  a  Republican,  takes 
much  interest  in  political  matters,  but  does 
not  care  for  official  honors.  He  is  prominent 
in  Masonic  circles,  being  a  member  of 
Libanus  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  Edwards  Chap- 
ter, R.  A.  M.,  of  Somersworth;  St.  I'aul 
Commandery,  K.  T.,  of  Dover;  the  Kdward 
A.  Raymond  Consistory  of  Nashua,  N.  H.; 
and  Aleppo  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  of 
Boston.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Washington 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Somersworth;  Great 
P'alls,  I.  O.  O.  F.  Encampment;  and  Hia- 
watha Tribe,  No.  10,  I.  O.  R.  M.,  of  Somers- 
worth. For  the  past  five  years  he  has  been  a 
Director  of  the  Somersworth  National  Bank. 


/^HToRGE  W.  LORD,  Chairman  of  the 
\^J  Board  of  Selectmen  of  Tilton,  N.H., 
was  born  in  Medford,  Mass.,  April 
24,  1847,  son  of  Cyrus  Woodruff  and  Lydia 
Thurston  (P^vans)  Lord.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  .Shaker  IJridge,  N.  II.,  and  his  mother 
was  born  in  (JilnKuiton.      An  extended  account 


354 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


of  his  ancestry  will  be  found  in  a  sketch  of 
Albert  C.  Lord,  which  appears  elsewhere  in 
this  work. 

George  W.  Lord  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Sanbornton  Bridge,  now  Tilton,  when  a 
year  old,  and  he  acquired  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  and  at  the  New  Hampshire 
Conference  Seminary.  For  ten  years  he 
worked  in  the  spinning  and  carding  room  of  a 
woollen-mill,  and  in  1S69  he  entered  the  drug 
store  of  Ames  &  Kelsey.  He  was  employed 
by  this  firm  and  their  successors  for  three 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  went  to 
Franklin,  N.H.,  as  clerk  for  George  C.  Proc- 
tor, with  whom  he  remained  four  years.  He 
continued  in  the  same  store  with  Proctor's  suc- 
cessor, E.  H.  Sturtevant  for  two  years;  and 
later,  becoming  a  partner  in  the  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  E.  H.  Sturtevant  & 
Co.,  was  engaged  in  the  drug  business  in 
Franklin  for  twelve  years.  Selling  his  in- 
terest in  the  Franklin  store,  he  returned  to 
Tilton,  and  two  years  later  purchased  a  store 
in  this  town,  which  he  ran  four  years,  when  he 
relinquished  the  drug  business.  Forming  a 
partnership  with  his  brother,  Albert  C.  Lord, 
he  ne.xt  turned  his  attention  to  the  manufact- 
ure of  optical  goods,  in  which  he  is  now  en- 
gaged, the  concern  being  known  as  the  Lord 
Brothers  Manufacturing  Company.  Politi- 
cally, Mr.  Lord  is  a  Democrat.  For  the  past 
twelve  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  of  Tilton,  and  he  has  acted 
as  its  Chairman  for  nine  years. 

Mr.  Lord  and  Mary  E.  13.  Johnson,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Johnson,  of  North  field,  N.H.,  were 
married  on  September  12,  1871,  and  are  the 
parents  of  one  daughter,  Edith  M. 

Mr.  Lord  is  well  advanced  in  Masonry, 
being  a  member  of  Doria  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  ; 
St.  Omer  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of 
Franklin;  and  of  Mount   Horeb  Commandery, 


K.  T. ,  of  Concord.  He  is  also  connected  with 
Belknap  Lodge,  L  O.  O.  F. ,  and  the  Encamp- 
ment; also  Patriarchs  Militant,  Canton  Tilton, 
No.  17;  Tilton  Lodge,  Knights  of  Honor; 
Crescent  Lodge,  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor; 
and  the  A.  O.  U.  W. 


ONATHAN  YOUNG,  a  farmer  of  Gil- 
manton,  N.H.,  was  born  in  this  town, 
b'ebruary  16,  1S18.  His  grandfather, 
Joseph  Young,  removed  from  Exeter,  N.H.,  to 
Nottingham,  N.  H.,  where  he  remained  a  short 
time,  and  then  removed  to  Gilmanton,  settling 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Belknap.  His  farm 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  a 
large  part  of  which  he  cleared.  He  is  said  to 
have  brought  into  the  town  the  first  cross-cut 
saw  ever  used  here;  it  is  still  preserved  in 
the  family  of  his  grandson,  Jonathan  Young. 
Mr.  Joseph  Young  was  one  of  the  first  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town.  He  married  Betsey  Shaw, 
and  they  had  ten  children,  as  follows:  Dudley; 
Joseph  ;  "Samuel  ;  David  S.,  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  John;  Bradbury;  Na- 
thaniel ;  Hezekiah  B.  ;  Jonathan ;  and  Jane. 
Dudley  Young  married  Sally  Jacobs,  lived 
near  Mount  Belknap,  and  had  a  large  family. 
A  carpenter  by  trade,  he  also  carried  on  gen- 
eral farming.  Joseph,  who  was  engaged  in 
farming  in  this  town,  married  Sally  Dimond, 
and  had  three  children.  He  died  in  this  town 
at  the  age  of  forty  years.  Samuel  married 
Mary  Dimond,  and  had  five  children  —  Judith, 
Sarah,  Mary,  Abigail,  and  Dimond.  Mr. 
Samuel  Young  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-five 
years,  having  worked  at  farming  until  he  was 
eighty-five  years  old.  He  was  the  oldest  resi- 
dent of  the  town  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
had  been  an  industrious  and  prosperous  man. 
John  was  a  general  farmer  and  also  a  me- 
chanic.     He  died   at   the  age    of    seventy-four 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


355 


years.  He  ami  his  wife,  Betsey  Young,  haii 
five     children.  Bradbury      married      Susan 

Parker,  and  liveil  in  I.ynn,  Mass.,  until  his 
death.  They  hail  three  children  —  Addison, 
Charles,  and  Sarah.  Nathaniel  married  Eliza 
Mathews,  and  died  shortly  after,  leaving  one 
son.  Hezekiah  ]i  married  Mahala  Dame,  and 
resided  in  Lowell,  where  he  died,  leaving 
three  children,  namely:  one  son,  a  noted  phy- 
sician in  Springfield,  Mass.  ;  and  two  daugh- 
ters. Jane  married  a  Mr.  Garman,  and  resided 
for  some  time  in  Gilmanton,  where  he  was  a 
prosperous  farmer  and  also  did  some  trading. 
He  afterward  removed  to  Le.xington,  Mass., 
and  did  quite  an  extensive  business  as  a  con- 
tractor, living  there  until  his  death.  He  left 
a  large  family. 

David  S. ,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  married  Betsey  Avery,  daughter  of 
Peter  Avery,  of  Gilmanton,  and  carried  on  the 
business  of  general  farming  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  He  lived  on  the  old  home- 
stead for  a  number  of  years,  and  then  removed 
to  another  location  in  the  same  town  with  his 
father,  his  mother  having  died  some  time 
before.  He  did  an  extensive  business  and  kept 
a  large  stock  of  cattle.  He  and  his  wife  had 
ten  children,  as  follows:  Jonathan,  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Asenath ;  Plliza;  Nathaniel; 
Caroline;  Joseph;  Wesley;  Lovina;  Charles; 
and  Nelson.  The  mother  died  in  California 
while  with  one  of  her  sons. 

Asenath  Young  married  Samuel  Page,  of 
Campton,  N.H.,  and  is  living  there  at- the 
present  time.  P^liza  married  Thomas  Snell  of 
Bridgewater,  Mass.,  who  has  since  died,  and 
she  still  resides  in  Bridgewater.  Nathaniel 
lives  in  Gilmanton,  having  married  Lucy 
Prescott.  They  have  no  children.  Caroline 
married  William  Haynes,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  a 
very  prosperous  contractor  and  builder,  and 
became  the  mother  of   six  children,  as  follows: 


William  1'.,  Lmnia  L. ,  Theodore,  luigarW., 
P'rcd  H.,  and  Charles  S.  Mr.  Haynes  has 
since  sold  out  his  business,  and  they  are  at 
present  living  in  Gilmanton.  Joseph  is  living 
in  15erkeley,  Cal.,  where  he  is  one  of  the 
wealthiest  citizens.  He  went  to  California  in 
the  earlier  part  of  his  life  and  engaged  in 
ranching,  and  afterward  owned  a  large  vine- 
yard there,  in  both  of  which  he  was  very  suc- 
cessful, lie  has  now  disjjosed  of  all  this  prop- 
ert)',  and  has  retired  from  active  business. 
Wesley  also  went  to  California,  owning  a 
ranch,  and  was  afterward  in  the  meat  business. 
He  has  accumulated  wealth,  having  been  pros- 
pered in  his  undertakings,  and  is  a  very  popu- 
lar man  in  his  section.  Lovina  marrieil 
Quincy  Snell,  of  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  and 
resided  in  that  town  until  her  death.  Her 
husband  still  survives  her  with  their  only 
child,  a  daughter.  Charles  married,  and  at 
present  is  living  in  California,  being  very 
prosperous.  He  holds  a  responsible  govern- 
ment position.  Nelson  went  to  California, 
and  was  in  the  ranching  business  for  years. 
He  then  returned  to  Gilmanton  and  entered 
the  employ  of  Frank  Jones,  of  Portsmouth, 
where  he  had  charge  of  one  hundred  men.  He 
married  and  had  a  large  family. 

Jonathan,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  spent 
about  twenty  years  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  where  he 
worked  in  the  factories.  On  the  (Ic;Uh  of  his 
father  he  returned  to  Gilmanton  and  began 
farming  on  the  farm  left  by  his  father,  which 
at  the  present  time  contains  two  hundred  acres. 
He  carries  on  the  business  and  also  buys  and 
sells  cattle.  He  married,  on  P'ebruary  13, 
1851,  Martha  A.  Nelson,  daughter  of  Captain 
Dudley  Nelson,  of  Gilmanton.  They  had  si.x 
children;  namely,  I{llen,  Jonathan,  PLUa, 
P^ben,  I'rank  K. ,  and  Wilbur.  Of  these  chil- 
dren, I'Lllen  and  Jonathan  died  young,  and 
IClla    tlied    at    the   age  of   twenty-three   years. 


35'' 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Ebon  lives  in  Gilmnnton  Village,  where  he 
carries  on  farming.  Wilbur  is  married  and 
has  two  children.  He  lives  near  Manchester 
and  carries  on  a  general  farming  business. 
Frank  is  not  married,  but  is  at  home  and 
assists  his  father  in  carrying  on  the  farm. 
Mrs.  Young  died  in  1883.  Mr.  Young  has 
spent  the  latter  jiart  of  his  life  in  Gilmanton 
on  the  farm  which  he  now  occupies.  He  has 
been  a  useful  citizen  and  is  well  regarded  by 
all  his  townsmen.  He  is  a  Deacon  of  the 
I'ree  Will  Baptist  church  at  Gilmanton  Iron 
Works. 


OHN  INGALLS  PIERCE,  a  venerable 
resident  of  Madbury  and  a  veteran  agri- 
culturist, is  the  worthy  representative 
of  one  of  the  old  families  of  this  part  of  New 
Hampshire.  He  was  born  October  2,  1818,  in 
Harrington,  on  the  homestead  farm  reclaimed 
by  his  paternal  grandfather,  Israel  Pierce, 
prior  to  the  Revolution.  There  also  his 
father,  Curtis  Pierce,  was  born  and  reared,  and 
brought  up  his  family.  John  Ingalls's  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Olive  Woodhouse, 
gave  birth  to  twelve  children;  namely,  Sally 
B.,  Mary  D.,  Olive  W.,  Elizabeth  B.,  Susan 
J.,  Almira,  James  B. ,  William,  John  I.,  An- 
drew I).,  John  W. ,  and  Curtis. 

John  Ingalls  Pierce  attended  the  district 
schools  at  such  seasons  of  the  year  as  his  help 
was  not  needed  on  the  homestead.  Subse- 
quently, he  further  educated  himself  by  choice 
reading.  He  remained  beneath  the  parental 
roof-tree  until  ready  to  establish  a  household  of 
his  own,  chiefly  occupied  in  farm  work.  In 
1853,  having  taken  upon  himself  the  responsi- 
bilities of  matrimony,  Mr.  Pierce  bought  the 
farm  in  Madbury  where  he  has  since  resided. 
He  has  managed  this  property  very  success- 
fully since.  The  estate,  containing  eighty 
acres  of  land,  is  situated  on  the  Langley  Road, 


seven  miles  west  of  Dover,  a  most  favorable 
location  for  a  general  farmer.  In  the  time  that 
has  since  elapsed,  by  his  integrity  and  up- 
right dealing  he  has  won  the  esteem  of  his 
neighbors.  In  his  political  affiliations  he  is  a 
stanch  Democrat. 

Mr.  Pierce  was  married  May  23,  1853,  to 
Miss  Phcebe  H.  Ham,  of  Somersworth,  N.  H., 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Hayes.  She 
died  September  13,  1877,  having  borne  her 
husband  three  children,  namely:  Mary  O. , 
born  December  11,  1853,  who  died  October  7, 
1870;  Martha  E. ,  born  August  28,  1857;  and 
William  C. ,  born  October  31,  1859,  whose 
death  occurred  March  6,   1870. 


ARREN  KELLEY  KIMBALL,  a 
farmer  of  Meredith,  was  born  April 
30,  1844,  son  of  Thomas  J.  and  Bet- 
sey B.  (Dolloff)  Kimball.  His  grandfather 
was  Joseph  Kimball,  a  farmer  of  New  Hamp- 
ton, who  lived  to  the  remarkable  age  of  one 
hundred  years.  The  father,  a  native  of  New 
Hampton,  born  in  181 1,  was  left  motherless 
at  an  early  age,  and  passed  his  boyhood  on  a 
farm,  acquiring  his  education  in  the  district 
schools.  On  coming  of  age  he  settled  in 
Meredith,  and  was  engaged  in  farming 
throughout  his  mature  years.  During  the  last 
thirty  years  of  his  life,  he  owned  and  lived 
upon  a  farm  in  the  south-west  end  of  the  town. 
He  married  Betsey  B.  Dolloff,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Dollotf,  of  Meredith,  and  died  in 
April,  1896.  They  were  both  members  of  the 
Baptist  church.  Of  their  six  children,  five 
are  living,  and  the  three  daughters  are  all 
happily  married.  Fllvina,  the  eldest  child, 
married  John  M.  Dow,  of  Meredith  Centre, 
and  now  lives  at  Franklin,  Mass.  ;  Sarah  Ann 
married  James  M.  Thompson,  of  Laconia ;  and 
Betsey  Frances  became  the  wife  of  Curtis  L. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


357 


Moore,  of  Centre  Harbor,  and  is  now  living  at 
Laconia.  The  sons,  Levi  J.  and  Warren  Kel- 
iey,  were  twins. 

Warren  Kelley  Kimball  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  Meredith.  lf[)on 
finishing  his  school  course  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, he  obtained  employment  in  the  car  shops 
of  Laconia,  where  he  remained  for  three  years. 

Shortly  after  his  marriage  he  bought  a  farm 
of  about  one  hundred  acres,  and  has  since  re- 
sideil  upon  it.  He  cultivates  about  sixteen 
acres  of  it,  and  does  considerable  butchering 
for  his  neighbors.  On  April  30,  1S68,  he 
married  Eliza  Jane,  daughter  of  Dudley  San- 
born and  Eliza  (Shaw)  Piper.  Her  mother 
was  a  daughter  of  Hilliard  Shaw.  Milliard 
Shaw  was  born  in  Chichester,  Merrimack 
County,  and  fought  in  the  War  of  1812.  He 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Peltiah 
Witham,  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  had  four 
children — Eliza,  Greenleaf,  Elijah,  and  Dan- 
iel. This  Eliza  married  a  farmer  of  Meredith, 
Dudley  Sanborn  Piper,  who  was  born  Novem- 
ber 24,  iSii,  and  became  the  father  of  seven 
children,   including  Eliza  Jane. 

In  politics  Mr.  Kimball  is  a  Democrat;  and 
he  has  served  as  Supervisor  and  Road  Agent  at 
different  periods  of  his  life.  Both  he  and  Mrs. 
Kimball  are  active  members  of  the  Free 
Baptist  church  at  Meredith  Centre.  They 
have  four  children:  Nettie  Eldora,  the  wife  of 
Luther  Flanders,  of  Manchester;  Herman 
Leroy ;  Frank  Blake;  and  Irville  Warren. 


fHOMAS  JOSEPH  WARD,  M.D.,  a 
promising  and  deservedly  popular  young 
physician  of  Dover,  Strafford  County, 
N.  H.,  is  a  native  of  Winthrop,  Kennebec 
County,  Me.  He  located  in  Dover  a  few 
months  after  obtaining  his  degree,  about  si.x 
years    since,    and    in   this    comparatively   brief 


time  has  made  rapid  advances  in  his  profes- 
sional career.  He  was  born  June  29,  1869, 
and  is  a  son  of  Michael  A.  Ward,  an  influen- 
tial citizen  of  Androscoggin  County. 

Michael  A.  Ward  was  born  and  breil  in 
Lewiston,  ;\Ie. ,  and  has  there  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  Me  has  long  been  jironii- 
nently  associated  with  the  mercantile  interests 
of  his  native  place;  and  now,  at  about  fifty 
years  of  age,  is  one  of  the  most  active  busi- 
ness men  and  a  leading  politician  of  Lewiston. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Catherine 
Sullivan,  died  in  1891,  aged  forty  years. 
They  were  the  parents  of  si.x  children,  as  fol- 
lows :  Thomas  J.,  Elizabeth  E.,  John  A., 
Paul  A.,  William  H.,  and  Gertrude. 

Thomas  J.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  re- 
ceived his  preliminary  education  in  Lewiston, 
Me.,  pursuing  his  studies  there  until  about 
nineteen  years  old,  when  he  was  admittetl  to 
Bowdoin  College,  becoming  a  student  in  the 
academic  department.  He  subsequently  en- 
tered the  Medical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  the  City  of  New  York,  a  well-known 
institution,  which  has  sent  forth  many  who 
have  won  distinction  in  the  medical  world. 
Having  been  graduated  from  this  university  in 
the  spring  of  1891,  Dr.  Ward  remained  in 
New  York  another  year,  practising  in  the 
Bellevue  and  Chambers  Street  Hospitals,  out- 
door department,  gaining  a  varied  and  valu- 
able experience  that  has  since  proved  of  ines- 
timable worth  to  him.  In  1892,  on  the 
27th  of  April,  the  doctor  opened  an  office 
in  Dover,  where  he  has  continued  in  active 
practice,  his  large  and  lucrative  i)atronage 
eiving  substantial  evidence  that  he  made  no 
mistake  in  selecting  a  location. 

Politically  Dr.  Ward  is  a  stanch  Re]nibli- 
can,  but  takes  no  active  part  in  the  manage- 
ment of  h)cal  affairs.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  Elks;  of  the   Foresters;  and  of   the 


358 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


K.  A.  E.  O. 
Surgeon. 


)f   which   he    is   the   Examining 


AMES  PLACE  LEIGHTON,  a  well- 
known  carpenter  and  builder  of  Centre 
Harbor,  was  born  in  this  town,  March 
20,  1856,  son  of  Alonzo  and  Sarah  M.  (Gl  id- 
den)  Leighton.  The  grandfather,  Jonathan 
Leighton,  born  in  1801,  attended  school  in 
Alton,  N.H.,  and  afterward  learned  the 
cooper's  trade,  which  he  followed  during  his 
active  period.  He  married  Nancy  Blackley, 
who  reared  five  of  her  six  children;  namely, 
John  R.,  Calvin,  Alonzo,  Delano,  and  Nancy 
Ann. 

Alonzo  Leighton,  father  of  James  P.,  was 
born  in  Moultonboro,  March  10,  1827.  After 
leaving  school  he  served  an  apprenticeship  at 
the  blacksmith's  trade,  and  followed  it  until 
he  was  twenty-six  years  old.  Then  he  became 
a  fireman  upon  the  lake  steamers,  and  served 
in  that  capacity  for  twenty  years,  after  which 
he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  engineer. 
He  is  now  in  charge  of  the  engine  of  the 
steamer  "Mount  Washington."  His  wife, 
Sarah  Maria,  whom  he  wedded  March  27, 
1854,  is  a  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Sally 
(Fall)  Glidden,  the  former  of  whom  was  born 
in  Alton,  N.H.,  June  i,  1798,  and  became  a 
prosperous  farmer.  Andrew  and  Sally  Glid- 
den were  the  parents  of  eleven  chiklren,  nine 
of  whom  grew  to  maturity;  namely,  Judith, 
Eliza,  Melissa,  Lovica,  Lydia  A.,  Louisa, 
Tristram,  Sarah  M.,  and  Phineas.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Alonzo  Leighton  have  had  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  the  living  are:  James  P.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Elenora  A.,  the  wife 
of  Gideon  Moore,  of  Meredith;  William  E., 
of  Centre  Harbor;  and  George  W. ,  also  of  this 
town. 

James  Place  Leighton  acquired  a  public- 
school  education,    and    then    learned   the  car- 


penter's trade.  Soon  after  becoming  a 
journeyman  he  engaged  in  business  for  himself 
as  a  builder.  Independence  Hall,  the  Morse 
&  Stanley  Block,  and  several  fine  residences 
in  Centre  Harbor,  are  specimens  of  his  work. 
In  October,  1879,  ^^-  Leighton  was  joined 
in  marriage  with  Harriet  E.  Smith,  daughter 
of  John  L.  Smith,  of  Moultonboro.  Of  their 
two  children,  Henry  J.  is  living.  Mr.  Leigh- 
ton is  a  member  of  Chocorua  Lodge,  V.  & 
A.  M.,  of  Meredith;  of  the  Patrons  of  Hus- 
bandry; and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 


ILLIAM  W.  MARTIN,  clerk  of 
the  IVobate  Court  of  Strafford 
County,  New  Hampshire,  is  one  of 
the  best  known  and  most  popular  citizens  of 
Dover,  his  courteous  and  genial  manners  hav- 
ing won  for  him  a  large  circle  of  friends.  He 
was  born  January  18,  1853,  in  Somersworth 
(at  one  time  known  as  Great  Falls),  this 
county,  a  son  of  William  B.  and  Clara  (Wall- 
ingford)  Martin,  of  Somersworth.  He  obtained 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
town,  being  graduated  from  the  high  school 
with  the  class  of  1870.  Subsequently  secur- 
ing a  situation  as  clerk  in  a  Somersworth 
store,  he  continued  there  for  a  time,  and  was 
afterward  employed  in  a  similar  position  at 
New  Market  for  four  years.  Returning  then 
to  his  early  home,  he  served  as  Town  Clerk 
until  April,  1893,  when  he  accepted  the  ap- 
pointment of  Registrar  of  Probate  Court  of 
this  county,  and  at  once  removed  to  Dover. 
Two  years  later  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same 
office  by  a  large  majority,  receiving  the  hearty 
support  of  both  Democrats  and  Republicans, 
which  indicated  in  a  marked  degree  his  popu- 
larity in  the  community.  In  1896  he  was 
again  nominated  for  the  same  position,  and 
elected    with    the    overwhelming    majority    of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


359 


about    twonty-soven    luiiulrcd    votes.       Politi- 
cally, Mr.  Martin  is  a  stanch  Republican. 

Mr.  Martin  was  united  in  marriage  Decem- 
ber 13,  1S93,  with  Miss  Belle  Richmond, 
dau,:;hter  of  Benjamin  and  Matilda  (Crawford) 
Richmond,  of  Dover.  He  is  a  member  of 
Prospect  Lodge,  No.  iS,  K.  of  P.,  of  Somers- 
worth;   and  of  Elks  Lodge,  No.   1S4,  of  Dover. 


jHARLES  C.  WHITTIP:R,  a  prosper- 
ous farmer  of  Gilford,  ]?elknap 
County,  N.H.,  is  descended  from 
sturdy  pioneer  stock,  his  paternal  grandfather, 
Deacon  Andrew  VVhittier,  being  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  this  section,  and  his  mater- 
nal grandfather,  Abel  Hunt,  a  Revolutionary 
patriot.  His  birth  occurred  here  in  Gilford, 
April  4,  1833,  his  parents  being  Andrew,  Jr., 
and  Mariam  (Hunt)  Whittier. 

Deacon  Andrew  Whittier,  the  grandfather 
of  Charles  C,  came  here  from  Massachusetts, 
where  he  had  married  Annie  Rowell.  They 
settled  about  a  mile  from  Gilford  Village, 
their  first  home  being  a  log  hut.  His  farm 
was  heavily  timbered  with  pine,  but  in  the 
gale  of  1 8 16  the  trees  are  said  to  have  been 
cut  off  like  mown  grass.  When  her  sister 
visited  them  shortly  afterward,  their  condition 
and  circumstances  were  so  poor  that  she  was 
moved  to  tears  by  the  contrast  between  the  hut 
in  which  they  were  living  and  her  own  Massa- 
chusetts home.  Upon  a  second  visit  seven 
years  later,  however,  she  found  them  more 
comfortably  situated  than  she  was  herself. 
Four  of  the  Whittier  family  came  to  Gilford 
together,  Andrew,  Phillip,  and  two  sisters, 
who  were  married  successively  to  Enoch  Hoyt, 
of  Gilford.  Deacon  Andrew  Whittier  lived 
and  died  on  the  farm  which  he  settled.  He 
was  a  leading  member  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church.      By   his   wife,    Annie,   he   hail  seven 


sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  spent 
their  lives  in  Gilfortl.  Though  their  father 
was  a  Whig,  the  sons  all  became  strong  Dem- 
ocrats. Deacon  Andrew  and  his  wife  both 
lived  to  be  about  eighty  years  of  age.  Their 
children  were:  Jonathan,  Henry,  Timothy, 
Jacob,  Moses,  Phillip,  Sally,  Lydia  I'ilizabeth, 
Nancy,  and  Andrew.  Jonathan,  a  wheel- 
wright, married  Lydia  Hoyt,  and  had  two 
daughters — Sally  and  Ploma;  Henry  married 
Mary  Whidden;  Timothy,  a  farmer  and  cooper 
by  trade,  married  Mary  Bean,  of  Gilmanton; 
Jacob  died  young;  Moses,  a  stone  mason,  mar- 
ried Sarah  Ayer,  who  bore  him  si.x  children; 
Sally  died  in  girlhood;  Lydia  l-^lizabeth  was 
killed  by  having  a  log  roll  upon  her;  Nancy 
became  the  wife  of  Noah  Danforth,  a  mu- 
sician and  the  first  singing-master  in  Gilford, 
who  died  in  Dover.  The  sons  were  all  noted 
for  their  mechanical  ability,  and  each  of  them 
learned  a  trade.  Jonathan,  who  owned  a  grist 
mill  and  wheelwright  shoj)  combined,  was  the 
first  to  introduce  the  threshing-mill  here.  He 
was  a  prosperous  man,  and  did  a  large  busi- 
ness. 

Andrew  Whittier,  Jr.,  the  father  of  Charles 
C,  after  completing  his  education,  which  was 
acquired  in  the  common  schools,  took  up  the 
shoe  and  harness  making  trades,  both  of  which 
he  learned  without  serving  an  apprenticeshij). 
When  about  thirty-five  years  old  he  purchased 
a  farm,  but  was  obliged  to  give  it  up  later  on 
account  of  illness.  Like  his  brothers  he  was 
of  a  retiring  disposition,  fontl  of  music  and 
reading,  and  the  enjoyments  of  home  life.  He 
sang  in  the  choir  of  the  Free  Baptist  church. 
Mariam,  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Abel  Hunt, 
was  one  of  whom  it  might  be  said  that  she  was 
generous  to  a  fault,  one  whose  sympathy  went 
out  to  all  who  came  within  reach  of  her  influ- 
ence. Being  an  expert  knitter,  one  of  her 
self-imposed  duties  was   to  supply  the  minis- 


360 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ters  of  the   parish  with   mittens,  and   she  was 
wont  to  say,   "I  will   keep  their  hands   warm, 
the    Lord     must    keep    their     hearts     warm." 
Abel  Hunt,  her  father,  was  noted  for  his  piety 
and    hospitality.       He  joined   the  army  when 
he  was  but   eighteen,  and   was  present  at   the 
surrender   of    Burgoyne.      Though    a    faithful 
soldier,  he  refused  to  become  a  pensioner,  giv- 
ing as  a   reason   that   he   could  very  well    sup- 
port  himself    under   the   form    of    government 
which  he  had  helped  to  establish.      He  was  a 
cabinet-maker  by  trade.      He  died  at   eighty- 
six    years    of    age.       His    wife,    Mariam,    the 
daughter  of  Sir  William   Johnson,  was  a  nat- 
ural  doctress;  but,    though    skilful    and    well 
informed  concerning  the  medicinal  qualities  of 
roots  and   herbs,  she  would   never  accept   pay 
for  her  services,  though   she   never  refused  to 
respond   to  a  call,  and  often  travelled   a   long 
distance  that  she  might  assist  some  suffering 
one.      Abel     and     Mariam     Hunt     had     three 
daughters;  namely,  Mariam,    Polly,  and    Har- 
riet.     Polly  was   a   nurse   by  profession ;   Har- 
riet married  Samuel  Welch.      After  the  death 
of  Mariam,  Abel  Hunt  married  a  Miss  Smart, 
who  bore  him    nine   children.      In   politics   he 
was  a  Democrat.     He  was  a  stanch  member  of 
the  P"ree  Baptist   church,  and   the   building  of 
this,  the  first  church  in  Gilford,  was  under  his 
direction.       Andrew    Whittier,    Jr.,    and    his 
wife,    Mariam,     had     five     chiltlren;     namely, 
Julia  S.,  Charles  C,  Andrew  H.,  Joseph   P., 
and  Mary  A.     Julia  lived  to  be  twenty-three 
years  old.      Andrew  H.  attended   New  Hamp- 
ton   Academy    and    Tilton    Seminary    with    a 
hope  of  entering  college,  but,  feeling  that   his 
services  were   needed   by  his  country,    he  en- 
listed   August    26,    1862,    and    was    killed    at 
Chancellorsville.      Joseph    enlisted    in    Com- 
pany G,  Twelfth   New   Hampshire  Regiment, 
in  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Cor- 
poral.     He  was   wounded    in   the   same   battle 


as  his  brother,  and  for  ten  days  lay  within  the 
enemy's  line.  Andrew  started  a  journal  of 
the  Twelfth  Regiment,  keeping  it  until  the 
day  of  his  death,  a  portion  of  which  was  taken 
from  him,  however,  by  the  Confederates. 

Joseph  P.  was  Deputy  Sheriff  two  years, 
1883  and  1884,  and  Collector  of  Taxes  two 
years.  He  served  as  President  of  the  Twelfth 
Regiment  Association,  and  often  made  ad- 
dresses in  behalf  of  the  company,  and  he  was 
also  a  charter  member  of  Chocorua  Lodge,  No. 
51,  L  O.  O.  F.  He  died  in  October,  1886, 
and  the  large  number,  five  hundred  or  more, 
who  assembled  to  pay  a  last  tribute  to  their 
friend,  shows  the  high  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held. 

Charles  C.  Whittier  received  a  common- 
school  education,  after  which  he  began  learn- 
ing the  trade  of  a  machinist  in  Manchester, 
N.H.  He  had  been  there  but  a  year  when 
his  father  was  taken  ill,  and  he  returned  home 
to  attend  to  the  work  and  to  care  for  his  par- 
ents. He  still  resides  with  his  sister  Mary  on 
the  hon>estead,  the  same  farm  that  his  grand- 
father Hunt  cleared;  but  its  present  owner  has 
added  to  it  by  the  purchase  of  adjoining  land. 
There  are  several  descendants  of  their  mater- 
nal grandfather  now  living.  Charles  C. 
Whittier  is  a  member  of  Chocorua  Lodge,  No. 
51,  L  O.  O.  F.  Mary  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Kpiscopal  church. 


fs^OHN  ALDRICH,  a  retired  manufacturer 
of  Laconia,  Belknap  County,  N.H., 
was  born  in  Franconia,  Grafton 
County,  N.  H.,  on  June  i,  1824,  son  of  John 
and  Hannah  Cole  Aldrich.  He  is  a  descend- 
ant of  a  distinguished  family  who  settled  in 
Mendon,  Worcester  County,  Mass.,  more  than 
two  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago. 

The   earliest   American   progenitor,    George 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3'"" 


Aldrich,  was  born  in  Derbyshire,  Kngland 
(ilate  unknown),  and  married  Katherinc  Lealcl, 
September  5,  1629;  emigrated  to  America, 
November  6,  1631;  and  first  settled  at  Dor- 
chester, Mass.  He  removed  to  Braintrcc, 
Mass.,  about  1640,  and  in  1663  became  a  pro- 
prietor and  a  first  settler  of  Mendon,  Worces- 
ter County,  Mass.,  where  he  died  March  i, 
16S2.      His  widow  died  January  11,    i6gi. 

His  descendants  in  this  line  were:  Jacob, 
born  February  28,  1652,  died  March  15,  1695; 
David,  born  May  23,  1685,  died  March  15, 
1771  ;  E^dward,  born  September  7,  171 1,  died 
in  F"ranconia,  N.H.,  in  1801;  John,  born 
April  22,  1765,  died  in  Franconia,  N.H.,  in 
1 841;  John,  born  March  23,  1797,  died  Octo- 
ber 6,   1S59;  John,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

The  Hon.  Nelson  VV.  Aldrich,  Senator  from 
Rhode  Island,  is  a  descendant  of  the  George 
Aldrich  who  settled  in  Mendon,  Mass.  The 
two  brothers  who  were  members  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Fifty-fourth  Con- 
gress—  the  Hon.  William  F.  Aldrich,  from 
the  Fourth  District  of  Alabama,  and  the  Hon. 
J.  F.  Aldrich  of  the  First  District,  Chicago, 
111.  —  are  also  of  the  same  family. 

John  Aldrich,  the  grandfather  of  the  present 
John  Aldrich,  was  born  in  1765,  and  removed 
in  1780  with  his  parents  from  Douglas,  Mass., 
to  Franconia,  N.H.  He  married  Sarah 
Taylor  in  1794,  and  resided  on  the  same  farm 
on  which  his  father  settled,  till  his  death  in 
1 841.  He  was  prominent  in  town  affairs, 
serving  as  Selectman,  and  he  was  elected  to 
the  legislature  in  1812. 

John,  the  father  of  John,  was  born  March 
23,  1797,  and  married  Hannah  Cole  in  1822. 
They  resided  in  Franconia  till  1844,  when 
they  removed  to  Lake  Village,  N.H.,  then  a 
part  of  the  town  of  Gilford,  now  a  portion  of 
the  city  of  Laconia,  N.H.  He  held  various 
offices  in   the  town   of   Franconia,    and   was   a 


])rominent  militia  officer  in  the  Thirty-second 
Regiment,  under  the  old  State  f>rganization. 

His  children  were:  Isaac,  John,  Caroline 
S.,  Myra  W.,  and  Martha.  Isaac  was  born 
January  12,  1823,  married  Sarah  Weeks,  and 
died  at  Lakeport,  N.H.,  February  3,  188S. 
John  was  born  June  i,  1824,  married  Mary  E. 
Cole,  April  12,  1846,  antl  has  resided  in  the 
limits  of  the  city  of  Laconia  since  that  time. 
Caroline  S. ,  born  May  8,  1830,  married  Kl- 
bridgc  E.  Webster  in  1850,  and  is  still  liv- 
ing, having  buried  her  husband  in  187S. 
Myra   W.,    born    October    28,    1833,    married 

A.  J.  Lane,  of  Manchester,  N.IL,  in  1854, 
and  they  are  now  living  in  Manchester. 
Martha,  born  April  22,  1838,  is  unmarried. 
She  graduated  at  New  Hampton  Institution, 
has  devoted  her  life  to  the  jirofession  of  teach- 
ing, and  has  been  very  successful  in  the  vari- 
ous schools  where  she  was  employed.  She 
has  travelled  e.\tensively  in  ICurope,  and  for 
the  past  eight  years  has  had  charge  of  a  young 
ladies'  school  in  Tokio  and  in  Kyoto,  Japan, 
under  the  auspices  of  a  New  York  society  of 
ladies  connected  with  the  Episcopal  church. 

John,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  received  a 
common-school  education  in  his  native  town, 
Franconia,  and  attended  one  term  at  Gilford 
Academy,  now  in  the  limits  of  Laconia,  and 
here  he  has  made  his  home  since  1844.  On 
April  12,  1846,  he  married  Mary  E.  Cole, 
and  they  celebrated  their  golden  wedding  in 
1896.      He  was  in   the  employ  of  the  firm    of 

B.  J.  Cole  &  Co.  as  clerk,  and  was  afterward  a 
partner  of  the  firm  till  after  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Rebellion,  when  he  disposed  of  his  in- 
terest there,  and  enlisted  in  the  P'iftcenth 
New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  was 
commissioned  Captain  of  Company  A,  and 
afterward  promoted  to  Major  in  the  same  regi- 
ment. His  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  De- 
partment of  the  Gulf,    under  General   Banks, 


362 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


where  they  experienced  the  privations  and 
hardships  incident  to  a  severe  campaign  in  an 
unhealthy  season  and  climate. 

During  the  long  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  the 
regiment  suffered  severely  in  officers  and  men, 
and  for  much  of  that  time  Major  Aldrich  was 
the  senior  officer  of  his  regiment,  and  at  times 
without  an  officer  in  the  regiment  for  duty, 
above  the  rank  of  Lieutenant,  to  assist  him. 
Though  partially  disabled  early  in  the  siege, 
he  continued  on  duty  until  the  surrender  of 
the  place,  and  received  the  commendation  of 
his  commander  and  the  confidence  of  his  com- 
rades. 

He  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  with  his 
regiment  at  the  close  of  its  term  of  enlist- 
ment, and  was  occupied  in  farming  and  lum- 
bering, a  portion  of  the  time  in  partnership 
with  Gardner  Cook,  till  1879,  when  he  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  knitting-machine 
needles,  and  for  twelve  years  successfully  con- 
ducted the  business  of  the  Wardwell  Needle 
Company,  now  owned  by  W.  Corey,  which 
has  become  one  of  the  leading  industries  of 
the  city. 

He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Lake 
Village  Savings  Bank,  established  in  1867, 
and  for  twelve  years  one  of  the  Trustees,  and 
since  1890  has  filled  the  position  of  Treasurer. 
He  is  also  a  Director  in  the  Building  &  Loan 
Association  at  Lakeport.  Politically,  he 
acted  with  the  Democrats  till  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska troubles  in  1854,  when  he  severed  con- 
nection with  them,  and  has  affiliated  with  the 
Republicans  since  the  organization  of  that 
party.  He  was  a  Representative  from  the 
town  of  Gilford  in  the  legislature  in  1855  and 
1856,  has  served  as  Selectman  in  that  town  for 
four  years,  and  Town  Treasurer  for  three  years, 
and  has  held  other  offices. 

Mr.  Aldrich  has  been  identified  with  Ma- 
sonry  for    forty   years,    being   a    member    of 


Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. ;  of  the 
Consistory,  thirty-two  degrees;  and  also  of 
Union  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons.  He  is  a 
member  also  of  Chocorua  I^odge,  No.  51. 
I.  O.  O.  F.  He  was  Worshipful  Master  of 
Mount  Lebanon  Lodge  in  1861  and  1862. 
He  has  been  connected  with  various  temper- 
ance organizations,  and  has  been  an  advocate 
of  total  abstinence  for  over  fifty  years.  He 
voted  in  the  State  legislature  for  the  original 
prohibition  law,  which  has  remained  on  the 
statutes  of  New  Hampshire  since  1855. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aldrich,  though  not  commun- 
icants of  any  church,  are  regular  attendants 
and  members  of  the  Free  Baptist  Society. 
They  are  without  children,  but  have  as  a  mem- 
ber of  their  family,  Miss  Edna  M.  Wardwell, 
who  is  a  grand-niece  of  Mrs.  Aldrich. 


'ON.  WILLIAM  H.  MORTON,  of 
Salmon  Falls,  son  of  William  and 
Sarah  (Griffith)  Morton,  was  born 
in  Portsmouth,  February  14,  1814.  His  grand- 
father, John  Morton,  received  a  government 
pension  for  distinguished  services  as  Captain 
of  a  company  in  the  French  and  Indian  War. 

The  father,  a  native  of  Boston,  born  in 
17S5,  was  quite  young  when  he  went  with  his 
parents  to  Portsmouth,  where  he  was  subse- 
quently educated.  Afterward  he  learned  the 
trade  of  a  carpenter,  and  was  in  business  for 
himself  in  Portsmouth  until  he  came  to  Sal- 
mon Falls.  Here,  under  the  direction  of 
James  Randlett,  he  laid  out  one  of  the  first 
woollen-mills  in  the  State,  and  erected  the 
original  hotel,  besides  a  large  number  of 
buildings  in  the  town.  The  present  road  to 
South  Berwick  was  laid  out  by  him  and  some 
friends,  who  with  him  were  joint  owners  of 
the  land.  He  also  built  several  of  the  mills 
at  Great  Falls,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he 


r' 

\m  *^  \i. 


RUFUS    FELLOWS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


365 


had  charge  of  the  cari)eiiter  work  in  the  Sal- 
mon I'"all.s  Mills.  While  he  was  earnestly 
interested  in  politics,  he  was  never  an  aspirant 
to  office.  By  his  wife,  Sarah,  he  was  the 
father  of  nine  children ;  namely,  William  H., 
Albert,  Edmund,  Eliza  Ann,  Mary  Hannah, 
James,  John,  Charles,  and  Isaac.  Albert  is 
now  residing  in  Florida;  Edmund,  in  Sacra- 
mento, Cal.  ;  John,  in  Haverhill,  Mass.;  and 
Isaac,  in  Tampa,  Fla.  Mary,  James,  and 
Charles,  are  deceased. 

William  H.  Morton  remained  in  his  native 
town  until  1S23,  when  his  parents  removed  to 
Salmon  Falls.  His  education  was  begun  in 
the  Portsmouth  schools,  and  finished  at  South 
Berwick  Academy.  He  pursued  his  studies 
with  diligence,  and  succeeded  in  acquiring  an 
education  that  well  qualified  him  for  his  sub- 
sequent successful  business  career.  In  1830 
young  Mr.  Morton  went  into  the  employ  of 
the  Salmon  Falls  Manufacturing  Company,  to 
learn  the  art  of  wool  sorting.  In  the  course 
of  the  four  years  spent  there  he  became  a  skil- 
ful workman.  When  the  mills  were  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1834,  he  went  to  Grafton,  Mass., 
and  was  there  employed  in  a  woollen-mill  for 
two  years.  After  that,  in  the  same  town,  he 
conducted  a  general  store  in  company  with 
another  party  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1S45 
he  returned  to  Salmon  Falls,  and  built  the 
double  house  where  he  now  resides.  Using  a 
part  of  this  building  for  a  store,  he  carried  on 
for  a  time  the  only  business  in  the  town. 
Upon  the  organization  of  the  Salmon  Falls 
Bank  in  185 1,  he  disposed  of  the  business, 
and  became  Cashier  of  the  bank,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  served  until  1894.  This  is  the  only 
hank  in  the  State  now  doing  business  under 
the  old  style  charter.  Mr.  Morton  was  one  of 
the  incorporators  of  the  Rollinsford  Savings 
Bank,  and  was  its  Secretary  and  Treasurer 
until  1894.      He  has  also  transacted   some    in- 


surance business.  In  |)(ilitics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican. Since  the  incorporation  of  Rollinsford 
in  1849,  he  has  been  Town  Treasurer,  and  is 
probably  the  only  man  in  the  State  who  has 
held  such  an  office  for  so  long  a  time.  He 
has  been  Town  Clerk  since  1853,  and  Justice 
of  the  Teace  since  1857.  Before  Rollinsford 
was  set  off  from  it,  he  was  Selectman  of 
Somersworth  for  two  years,  and  since  then  he 
has  been  Selectman  of  Rollinsford  three  years. 
In  1886  he  was  elected  to  the  New  Hampshire 
Senate,  and  while  there  he  was*  Chairman  of 
the  Legislative  Committee  on  Banking  for 
two  years.  At  one  time  the  demanils  of  his 
business  obliged  him  to  refuse  a  nomination 
for  the  legislature. 

In  1841  Mr.  Morton  married  Miss  Sarah  1'. 
Merriam,  of  Grafton,  Mass.  Of  the  three 
children  born  to  him,  his  daughter  I-2tta  is  the 
only  survivor.  The  first  Mrs.  Morton  died  in 
1849,  and  in  185  i  he  married  Armine  Leavitt, 
of  York,  who  was  the  mother  of  three  children 
— ^  Frederick,  William  A.,  and  Sarah  J.  She 
died  in  1866,  and  in  the  following  year  he 
married  Mary  Shackford,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morton  attend  and  support 
Christ  Episcopal  Church  of  Salmon  P'alls. 


UFUS    FELLOWS,  late  a  well- 


citizen  of  Centre  Harbor,  Belkn.ip 
}p  V^^  Cnuntv.  N.H.,  was  born  at  San- 
down,  in  this  State,  June  i,  1816  (the  son  of 
Captain  William  P^ellows,  of  that  town),  and 
died  May  23,  1889.  His  immigrant  ancestor, 
Samuel  P'ellows,  who  was  born  in  1619,  came 
to  this  county  previous  to  1647,  and  settled  in 
Salisbury,  Mass.,  where  he  died  in  1698. 
Samuel's  first  child,  Samuel,  Jr.,  was  born 
in  1647,  and  died  in  1729.  His  grandson 
Thomas,  representative  of  the  fourth  genera- 
tion  in   this   line,   born   in    171S,  moved  from 


3f>6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Salisbury,  Mass.,  to  Sandovvn,  N.  H.  He 
married  Sarah  Muchmoro,  of  the  Isles  of 
Shoals,  and  died  in  1778.  The  son  of  Thomas 
and  Sarah  received  the  name  of  his  grand- 
father and  great  -  grandfather,  Samuel.  He 
lived  in  Sandown,  and  his  son.  Captain  Will- 
iam l"'ello\vs,  was  the  father  of  the  suliject  of 
this  sketch. 

Rufus  Fellows  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade,  which  he  followed  for  a  time  during  the 
winter  season,  working  on  the  homestead  farm 
through  the  summer.  In  1850  he  engaged  in 
business  with  Mr.  James  Eaton,  of  Sandown. 
In  1856  he  moved  to  East  Weare,  where  he 
kept  a  general  country  store  and  was  station 
agent  and  postniaster.  He  was  later  engaged 
in  trade  in  Lancaster,  Mass.,  in  Manchester, 
N. H.,  and  in  Deerfield;  and  he  settled  finally 
in  1872  in  Centre  Harbor,  where  he  carried  on 
business  until  1886.  He  then  retired,  leaving 
the  store  to  his  sons-in-law,  F.  H.  Morse  and 
F.  B.  Stanley.  He  was  an  energetic  and  up- 
right business  man,  and  a  citizen  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability.  He  at  one  time  represented 
Sandown  in  the  State  legislature.  His  politi- 
cal principles  were  Republican.  He  was  mar- 
ried April  30,  1839,  to  Sarah  Ann  Silver. 
They  became  the  parents  of  six  children,  four 
of  whom  grew  to  maturity ;  namely,  Stark, 
Ella  Maria,  Henrietta  Francis,  and  Emma 
Josephine.  Stark  F"ellow.s,  the  only  son,  was 
born  April  15,  1840.  He  was  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  College  in  1862,  and  he  shortly 
afterward  raised  a  company  of  volunteers  in 
defence  of  the  Union,  attached  to  the  F'our- 
teenth  New  Hampshire  Regiment  as  Company 
D.  In  the  summer  of  1863  he  appeared  before 
the  Military  Board  of  Examiners  to  be  tested 
for  promotion  to  the  position  of  Major  in  a 
colored  regiment.  The  examination  was  so 
satisfactory  to  the  Board  that  he  was  made  a 
Colonel,    a  happy  surprise  to    him.      He    was 


commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Second  Regi- 
ment, United  States  Colored  Troops  at  Key 
West,  I'^Ia. ,  and  was  in  command  at  Fort  Tay- 
lor. He  died  May  23,  1864,  when  only 
twenty-four  years  old.  He  was  a  brave  officer, 
and  was  held  in  high  esteem  in  military 
circles  and  elsewhere. 

Ella  Maria,  the  eldest  daughter,  was  born 
July  12,  1849.  She  married  Charles  Pluni- 
mer,  of  Rollinsford,  N.H.,  April  8,  1S76,  and 
died  December  5,  1884.  Her  sister,  Henri- 
etta F"rancis,  was  born  October  8,  1853.  She 
married  Frank  H.  Morse  on  May  11,  1S76, 
and  has  one  son,  Howard. 

Emma  Josephine  Fellows,  the  fourth  child 
of  Rufus  Fellows  to  reach  adult  life,  was  mar- 
ried December  16,  1885,  to  Frank  B.  Stanley. 
He  was  born  in  Tamworth,  N.  H.,  October  10, 
1850,  son  of  Stephen  and  Nancy  (Merrill) 
Stanley.  His  father  was  a  son  of  Nehemiah 
Stanley,  of  Wenhani,  Mass.  He  was  born 
August  IS,  1 81 8,  and  died  March  25,  1887. 
His  wife,  Nancy  Merrill,  whom  he  wedded 
December  30,  1841,  was  the  mother  of  four 
children;  namely,  Lydia  Ann.,  Lucy  Jane, 
Julia  Ann,  and  Frank  B. 

Frank  B.  Stanley  acquired  a  common-school 
education  in  his  native'town,  and  resided  there 
until  reaching  manhood.  He  then  went  to 
Rochester,  N.  H.,  where,  except  for  a  short 
period  spent  in  Brighton,  he  lived  until  his 
marriage.  He  then  settled  in  Centre  Harbor, 
and  since  1886  has  been  associated  with  F.  H. 
Morse  in  mercantile  business.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  politically 
he  acts  with  the  Republican  party. 


LBRIDGE    W.    FOX,   a  prosperous  gen- 
eral merchant  of  Milton  Mills,  was  born 
in    this    town,    December    3,    1834, 
son     of     Captain     Asa    and     Harriet    (Wood) 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


367 


Fox.  His  gramlfathcr,  Daniel  I'^ox,  was  a 
farmer  and  Inmber  dealer  of  Acton,  Me.  Cap- 
tain Asa  Fox  was  born  in  Acton,  and  settled 
at  Milton  Mills  in  1834.  He  established  him- 
self in  trade  and  carried  on  a  thrivint;  general 
mercantile  business  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1S87,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight 
years.  At  first  a  Whig,  he  followed  the  ma- 
jority of  that  party  into  the  ranks  of  the  Re- 
publicans. He  was  for  many  years  identified 
with  local  affairs,  and  he  served  with  ability 
as  a  Selectman,  Town  Treasurer,  and  legis- 
lative Representative.  Prominent  in  military 
affairs,  he  held  the  commission  of  Captain  in 
the  State  militia.  His  wife,  Harriet,  who 
was  a  daughter  of  Enoch  Wood,  a  well-known 
resident  of  Acton  in  his  day,  became  the 
mother  of  three  sons.  These  were :  Charles 
D.,  who  died  in  1852;  Elbridge  W.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  and  Asa  A.,  who  is  resid- 
ing in  Milton  Mills.  Mrs.  Asa  Fox  died  in 
1882. 

After  attending  the  Wakefield  Academy  for 
a  time,  Elbridge  W.  Fox  completed  his 
schooling  at  the  New  Hampton  Literary  Insti- 
tute. He  began  his  mercantile  career  in  his 
father's  store.  With  the  excej^tion  of  a  year 
s|ient  in  the  grocery  busi'ness  in  l^oston,  he  has 
been  connected  with  his  present  business  ever 
since.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he  and 
his  son,  Everett  F.,  became  the  proprietors  of 
the  store,  but  the  business  is  still  carried  on 
under  the  firm  name  of  Asa  Fox  &  Son.  In 
the  capacity  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  he  trans- 
acts a  large  amount  of  legal  business.  He 
is  widely  known  as  a  reliable  and  upright  man. 
Since  his  first  Presidential  vote  was  cast  for 
John  C.  I^'remont  in  1856,  he  has  been  an 
active  supporter  of  the  Repidolican  jjarty. 
He  served  as  a  Selectman  and  as  Town  Treas- 
urer for  a  number  of  terms,  and  he  was  Post- 
master  from    1865   to    1885.      He   was  elected 


to  the  legislature  in  1876,  but  his  duties  as 
Postmaster  obliged  him  to  resign.  lie  was 
elected  again  in  1891,  and  afterward  served 
for  two  years.  He  was  one  of  the  incoriio- 
rators  of  the  Rochester  Savings  Hank,  is  \'ice- 
President  and  Trustee  of  the  Nute  High 
School  and  Library  of  Milton,  and  he  has  been 
the  statistical  correspondent  of  the  county  or 
the  United  States  Agricultural  Department  for 
the  jiast  quarter  of  a  century.  Me  was  both 
State  and  United  States  Delegate  to  the  first 
World's  Sunday-school  Convention  held  in 
London,  England,  in  July,  1889;  and  he  later 
made  a  tour  of  the  continent  of  lunope,  pro- 
longing his  visit  in  the  principal  centres  of 
France,  Ikdgium,  Germany,  Switzciland,  and 
Italy.  He  has  been  Chairman  of  the  Hoard  of 
Supervisors  of  the  Check  List  since  the  enact- 
ment of  the  law  creating  such  office  in  187S; 
and  he  has  held,  almost  without  exception, 
all  the  courts  in  Milton  for  the  trial  of  crimi- 
nal action,  for  many  years.  His  confidential 
counsel  is  constantly  sought  by  tlnjse  in  need 
of  advice  in  regard  to  financial  and  other 
matters,  and  for  years  he  has  been  the  manager 
and  investor  of  trust  funds,  both  large  and 
small,  for  neighbors,  townspeople,  and  others. 
Mr.  Vox  married  Miss  Sarah  IC.  Puck, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Reuben  Buck,  a  prominent 
physician  of  Acton.  Mrs.  Fox  is  the  mother 
of  one  son,  Everett  V.,  who  is  now  connected 
in  business  with  his  father,  as  previously  men- 
tioned. Mr.  ]'"ox  is  a  Deacon  of  the  Congie- 
gational  church,  and  has  been  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday-school  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years. 


rmo 


1-:()RGI':    V.   KNCnVLICS,  an  extensive 

\  P~F     manufacturer   residing   in    l?arnstcad, 

J5elknap  County,  N.  IL,   was   born    in 

this  town    January  25,    1849,    son   of   Samuel 

B.  and  Olive  Stevens  (Bunker)  Knowlcs.      On 


368 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


the  maternal  side  he  is  a  descendant  of  Joseph 
Hunker,  a  native  of  Durham,  N.  H.,  who  came 
to  Barnstead  when  a  young  man,  settled  upon 
a  tract  of  wild  land  situated  a  half-mile  north- 
east of  Parade.  He  cleared  away  the  growth 
of  pine  and  oak  timber,  and  improved  his  land 
into  a  good  farm.  May  8,  1779,  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  a  Battalion  arised  by  the  State, 
and  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War  under 
Colonel  George  Reid.  As  a  reward  for  meri- 
torious conduct,  he  received  on  May  11,  1781, 
from  the  hands  of  Jedediah  Jewett,  a  sum  of 
money  as  a  gratuity  from  the  State,  pursuant 
to  an  act  of  Congress  passed  March  iS,  1780. 
He  was  a  public-spirited  man  and  an  active 
member  of  the  Congregational  church  at 
I'arade,  and  his  name  appears  among  those 
who  subscribed  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
first  settled  minister.  He  married  a  lady  of 
French  descent,  who  was  described  as  active, 
small,  sprightly,  and  tasty.  His  son,  Enoch, 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church  in  Barnstead.  Meetings  were  held  at 
I'^noch  Bunker's  house  previous  to  building  the 
church,  and  he  became  one  of  its  first  deacons. 
Later  in  life  he  moved  to  Maine.  He  married 
a  Miss  Wiggin,  and  his  son  Joseph,  maternal 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  Barnstead.  This  son,  Jo- 
seph Bunker,  fell  from  a  staging  while  assist- 
ing a  neighbor  to  build  a  chimney  on  the  Con- 
gregational church.  His  skull  was  fractured, 
and  he  lived  but  a  few  days  after  the  accident. 
His  daughter,  Olive  Stevens,  who  was  for  sev- 
eral years  a  school  teacher,  married  Samuel  B. 
Knowles,the  father  of  .George  F.  Knowles. 

Samuel  B.  Knowles  came  from  Epsom, 
N.  H.,  to  Barnstead.  He  had  three  own  sis- 
ters and  two  brothers ;  namely,  Martha,  Ruth, 
Frank,  Josiah,  and  Esther.  His  half-brother, 
the  Rev.  Jonathan  Knowles,  preached  in  La- 
conia  and  Manchester  for  many  years,  and  was 


the  highest-salaried  minister  in  New  Hamp- 
shire in  his  day.  Martha  became  the  wife  of 
Aldp  Thayer,  a  well-to-do  business  man  of 
Worcester,  Mass.  Her  husband  was  a  promi- 
nent Baptist,  and  erected  at  his  own  expense 
a  church  edifice  in  that  city.  Ruth  married 
Samuel  D.  Nutter,  of  Barnstead.  Frank 
Knowles  is  living  in  Chester,  N.H.,  and  was 
eighty  years  old  in  November,  1896. 

Samuel  B.  and  Olive  Knowles  were  the 
parents  of  the  following  children:  Martha; 
John;  Henry;  Samuel  P.,  who  died  young; 
George  F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Jona- 
than A.  ;  Olive  T.  ;  and  Samuel  Parker,  who 
resides  in  Lynn,  Mass.  John  Henry  Knowles, 
who  occupies  the  homestead,  is  a  prominent 
Democrat,  and  has  held  various  town  offices. 
He  has  been  twice  married.  Martha  died 
young. 

George  F.  Knowles's  opportunity  for  obtain- 
ing an  education  was  limited  to  eight  weeks' 
attendance  at  school.  When  eleven  years  old, 
he  began  to  learn  the  shoemaker's  trade  with 
Lewis  Swain  in  Northwood,  where  he  remained 
for  six  months.  He  was  next  employed  by 
J.  R.  Towle  for  eight  months,  receiving  one 
hundred  dollars  for  his  work ;  and  he  lived  in 
Northwood  four  years,  during  which  time  his 
wages  as  a  teamster  averaged  four  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  per  week.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
became  ambitious  to  better  his  circumstances, 
and  going  to  Lynn,  Mass.,  he  was  engaged  at 
twelve  dollars  per  week  by  the  Rev.  H.  M. 
Bryant,  a  preacher  and  a  shoe  manufacturer. 
A  year  later  he  was  engaged  by  Breed  & 
Doake  to  do  machine  work  at  a  salary  of  fifteen 
dollars  per  week,  and  after  remaining  with 
them  two  years  he  spent  the  succeeding  three 
years  in  fitting  stock  by  the  piece  for  P.  A. 
Chase.  His  last  employment  as  a  journeyman 
was  for  Luther  Johnson,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained a  short    time  at    a    weekly    salary    of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


369 


twenty  dollars  per  week.  lacing  invited  to 
become  a  partner  with  John  H.  Stevens,  he 
accepted,  and  this  investment  proved  success- 
ful, as  from  a  small  beginning  the  firm  became 
extensive  manufacturers,  and  when  Mr. 
Knowles  offered  to  buy  his  partner's  interest, 
or  sell  his  own,  his  jiartner  bought.  Mr. 
Knowles  then  engaged  in  manufacturing 
women's  shoes  by  contract,  and  in  1883  he 
patented  a  lady's  sporting  shoe.  Although 
there  was  little  encouragement  offered  at  the 
start,  he  believed  in  the  ultimate  popularity  of 
these  goods,  and  ere  long  they  were  in  great 
demand.  Later  he  sold  his  business,  which 
was  valued  at  thirty-four  thousand  dollars,  and, 
with  a  view  to  lessening  his  business  cares,  he 
took  charge  of  J.  R.  Towle's  factory  in  North- 
wood  at  a  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars  per 
year.  Si.\  months  later,  at  the  urgent  request 
of  Governor  Tuttle  in  behalf  of  the  citizens  of 
Pittsfield,  he  established  a  shoe  manufactory 
in  that  town  in  company  with  M.  A.  Poole. 
On  November  i,  1891,  this  concern  began 
business  in  a  new  building  one  hundred  and 
fifty  by  forty-five  feet  and  two  stories  high. 
Business  increased  to  such  an  e.xtent  that 
more  room  was  needed,  and,  taking  possession 
of  two-thirds  of  an  adjoining  building,  two 
hundred  by  thirty-five  feet  and  four  stories 
high,  they  added  this  to  their  floor  space. 
This  factory  has  been  open  continously  since 
its  establishment,  and  has  kept  its  output  up  to 
the  average  all  through  the  recent  dull  times. 
An  average  force  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
hands  are  employed,  and  their  business  amounts 
to  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually. 
Acting  upon  his  father's  advice,  Mr.  Knowles 
bought  the  widow  Young's  farm  in  Barnstead, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  si.\ty-five  acres, 
and  he  has  erected  a  residence  upon  the  place 
which  cost  him  five  thousand  dollars.  He 
makes  a  specialty  of  raising  stock  and  horses, 


and  lately  owned  the  finest  herd  of  Jersey  cows 
in  this  county.  Many  fine  horses  have  been 
raised  upon  this  farm,  some  of  which  have 
brought  high  prices,  and  its  proprietor  has  at 
the  present  time  a  colt  which  promises  to 
make  a  record  for  speed  in  the  near  future. 
Mr.  Knowles  is  a  Republican,  but,  as  he 
believe  it  impossil)le  to  attend  to  business  and 
politics  at  the  same  time,  and  do  justice  to 
both,  he  has  never  aspired  to  public  office. 
He  has  never  known  what  a  vacation  is,  and 
his  capacity  for  hard  work  is  still  unabated. 
He  is  capable  of  operating  any  one  of  the 
dilferent  machines  in  the  factory,  and  labors 
as  many  hours  per  day  as  any  operative  in  his 
employ.  He  has  never  forgotten  his  struggle 
for  prosperity,  and  is  ever  ready  to  assist  any 
ambitious  young  man  who  is  deserving  of  helj). 


P.  WHHATLKY,  M.D.,  one  of  the 
leading    physicians    of    I'"armington, 

-^  ^  ^  N.H.,  was  born  June  3,  1857,  in 
Brookfield,  Vt.,  the  home  of  his  ancestors. 
His  father,  Nathaniel  Wheatlcy,  now  seventy- 
four  years  old,  is  spending  his  declining  days 
in  Brookfield.  His  grandfather,  Nathaniel 
Wheatley,  was  a  son  of  Colonel  Nathaniel 
Wheatley,  who  attained  his  title  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  during  which  he  commanded 
a  regiment  for  several  years.  The  father,  who 
is  a  prosperous  farmer,  has  been  very  promi- 
nent in  local  and  county  affairs.  He  was  Se- 
lectman for  many  terms,  County  Commissioner 
for  some  years,  and  he  was  twice  elected  to 
the  lower  branch  of  the  State  legislatuie.  His 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Betsey  Wood, 
was  born  in  Westford,  Vt.  They  reared  five 
children:  Alice  J.;  Edith;  Hannibal  1'.,  the 
doctor;  Irving  N.  ;  and  Tenney  H.  The  last- 
named  is  a  physician  in  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 

H.  P.  Wheatley  graduated  from  the  academy 


37° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


at  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  in  1S76.  Three  years 
later  he  received  his  diploma  at  the  University 
of  Vermont,  and  in  1881  he  graduated  from 
the  medical  department  of  the  latter  in- 
stitution. In  the  succeeding  year,  after  begin- 
ning the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Brad- 
ford, Vt.,  he  came  to  Farmington,  where  he 
has  since  gained  a  large  patronage.  His  repu- 
tation for  knowledge  and  skill  is  founded  upon 
his  successful  treatment  of  difficult  and  stub- 
born cases  of  disease.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  he  has  served  as  a  member  of  the 
town  Hoard  of  Health  for  the  past  two  years. 

Dr.  Wheatley  was  married  June  3,  1S84,  to 
Miss  Josie  Frost,  of  Brownfield,  Me.,  daugh- 
ter of  Larkin  L.  and  Olive  (Mack)  Frost.  He 
was  made  a  Mason  at  the  Eastern  Star  Lodge 
in  Brookfield,  Vt.  ;  and  he  is  a  member  of 
Woodbine  Lodge,  No.  41,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  of 
Farmington;  and  of  the  Rebecca  Lodge 
therewith  connected.  Both  he  and  Mrs. 
Wheatley  attend  the  Congregational  church  of 
Farmington,  whose  teachings  harmonize  with 
their  religious  beliefs.  Both  are  well  known 
in  the  social  circles  of  this  vicinity,  and  their 
hosjiitable  home  is  an  attractive  centre  for 
their  hosts  of    friends. 


ORACE     NUTTER     COLBATH,     a 
farmer  of   Barnstcad,  N.  H.,  was  born 

■^^  V '"    that    town,    October    13,    1834. 

He  is  the  son  of  George  and  Ann  (Nutter) 
Colbath.  His  great -great-grandfather,  George 
Colbath,  was  the  first  one  of  the  family  to 
come  to  this  country,  and  lived  with  his  son 
Pitman  in  Newington,  N.H.  Pitman  had 
four  sons  and  five  daughters.  John  Colbath, 
one  of  the  four  sons  was  grandfather  of 
Horace,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In  1772, 
when  he  was  thirty  years  old,  he  settled  in 
Barnstcad,  where  he  owned  about  one  hundred 


acres  of  land.  He  married  and  commenced 
general  farming,  which  he  carried  on  for  some 
time,  and  he  was  afterward  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness, travelling  between  his  own  town  and 
Portsmouth.  He  bought  and  sold  land  in 
Barnstcad  as  the  town  became  more  thickly 
settled.  He  also  speculated  to  some  extent, 
and  was  always  successful  in  his  undertakings, 
and  was  considered  a  remarkable  man  for  those 
times.  He  was  a  member  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church,  formed  in  1804.  By  his 
wife,  Letticc,  he  had  three  children,  as  fol- 
lows: George,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Lucy;  and  Jane.  Of  these  children 
Lucy  married  Daniel  Drew,  and  resided  in 
Barnstcad  until  her  death.  Jane  married 
Jerry  Howard  for  her  first  husband,  and  for 
her  second,  Nathaniel  Pickering,  a  soldier  of 
the  War  of  1812.  She  lived  to  be  ninety 
years  of  age. 

George,  father  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch, 
was  born  in  1804.  The  farm  and  property 
were  willed  to  him.  He  did  general  farming 
to  a  large  extent,  but  did  not  deal  in  real  es- 
tate as  did  his  father.  He  was  a  conscien- 
tious, retired,  scrupulously  honest  man.  He 
married  Ann  Nutter,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Nutter,  a  farmer,  and  they  had  five  children, 
as  follows:  John;  George;  Horace  N.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  James  H.;  and  Helen 
M.  Of  these  children,  John  was  in  the  shoe 
business  for  years,  but  has  now  retired,  and  is 
living  at  present  with  his  brother  Horace. 
He  married  Augusta  Weiitworth,  of  Milton, 
N.H.,  who  died  about  1870.  George  went 
West  to  Minnesota,  where  he  was  a  successful 
merchant,  but  died  from  injuries  received  at  a 
fire.  James  also  went  West  in  1857,  and  en- 
listed in  the  War  of  1861  from  Minnesota  as 
Lieutenant  in  the  First  Cavalry.  After  the 
war  he  returned  home,  and  for  two  years  was 
engaged  with  his  brother  Horace  in  the  manu- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


37 » 


facturo  of  shoes  in  Lynn,  Mass.  After  a  year 
in  Springfield,  lie  returned  to  Barnstead, 
N.  H.,  where  be  built  the  first  shoe  shop.  In 
1 87 1  he  was  Assistant  Clerk  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  He  died  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-four  years,  leaving  a  widow  and  five 
children. 

Horace  Colbath,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
attended  the  Pittsfield  Academy,  where  he  was 
a  classmate  of  ex-Governor  Tuttle.  Finishing 
his  course  there,  he  learned  the  shoemaker's 
trade  and  general  farming,  remaining  at  home 
on  the  farm  until  1S60,  when  he  purchased  a 
place  at  Centre  Barnstead,  and  manufactured 
shoes  there  for  one  year.  In  1861  he  went 
West  to  look  after  his  interests  there,  remain- 
ing in  that  part  of  the  country  for  two  years; 
and  he  is  said  to  have  accumulated  property 
during  that  time  by  speculation.  He  returned 
to  the  homestead  in  Barnstead  in  1863.  He 
has  added  considerable  to  the  original  farm, 
and  has  dealt  in  real  estate  to  some  extent. 
He  now  owns  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 
acres.  In  1S64  he  was  elected  to  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  was  on  the  Committee 
on  "Apportionment  of  the  State  Tax." 
While  there  he  favored  allowing  soldiers  in 
the  field  to  vote,  and  always  had  the  courage 
of  his  convictions,  which  he  followed  without 
regard  to  results.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  has  been  Moderator  for  many  years, 
and  has  also  held  other  minor  offices,  having 
been  a  member  of  the  School  Committee  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  is  very  active  in  town 
meetings,  and  is  a  capable  man  and  a  useful 
citizen.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church,  of  which  he  has  been 
Clerk  fifteen  years,  and  Deacon  for  ten  years. 
He  is  also  a  Mason,  having  become  one  at 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  he  was  the  first 
Master  of  the  grange  in  Barnstead. 

On  August  22,   i860,  he  married  Lucinda  I. 


Nutter,  daughter  of  John  L.  Nutter,  of  Soutii 
Barnstead.  John  Nutter  was  a  large  farmer, 
son  of  an  early  settler,  and  he  was  a  leading 
man  in  his  time,  having  held  many  of  the  im- 
portant offices  within  the  gift  of  the  town. 
Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Colbath  have  had  three  chil- 
dren, two  boys  who  died  in  infancy,  and  one 
girl,  Helen  M.,  now  living.  She  taught 
school  until  her  marriage  with  Charles  H. 
Morrison.  She  has  one  daughter,  Grace 
Helen,  born  August  22,  1887,  since  whose 
birth  four  generations  have  lived  together  in 
the  old  homestead. 

Mr.  Colbath  is  a  shrewd  and  keen  man  in 
business.  He  is  well  read,  and  is  .said  to  be  a 
very  forcible  speaker.  He  is  a  recognized 
leader  in  the  church  and  in  all  matters  which 
will  benefit  his  native  town.  In  18S4  he 
wrote  a  history  of  the  "Reunion  of  the  Sons 
and  Daughters  of  Barnstead,"  which  took  place 
August  30,  1882.  The  book  contains  one 
hundred  and  thirty-twt)  pages,  and  is  illus- 
trated with  portraits  of  natives  and  old  resi- 
dents of  the  town. 


^ATHANIEL  G.  PINKHAM,  Post- 
master of    IMilton,    Strafford    County, 

^  *■  N.H.,  was  born  in  this  town,  Sep- 

tember 10,  1834,  son  of  James  and  Sally 
(Jewett)  Pinkham.  His  grandfather  was  Na- 
thaniel Pinkham,  of  Dover  Point,  N.H. 
James  Pinkham  was  a  custom  shoemaker,  and 
followed  that  business  in  Milton,  for  the 
greater  part  of  his  active  period.  He  lived  to 
be  seventy  years  old.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Whig.  His  wife,  Sally  Jewett  Pinkham,  be- 
came the  mother  of  eleven  children,  five  of 
whom  are  now  living. 

Nathaniel  G.  Pinkham  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  this  town.  When  a  young 
man  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Great  Falls 


372 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Manufacturing  Company,  and  for  the  past 
thirty -five  years  he  has  been  in  charge  of  the 
watcr-])ovver  of  that  concern.  In  1885  he  was 
appointed  Postmaster  by  President  Cleveland, 
and  served  through  that  administration.  He 
was  again  appointed  in  1893,  and  his  courtesy 
and  efficiency  as  a  public  official  are  recog- 
nized and  appreciated  by  all  parties  irrespec- 
tive of  politics.  Mr.  Pinkham  married  Emily 
Collins,  a  native  of  Wolfboro,  and  has  two 
children  —  Ilattie  L.  and  James  D. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  lodge  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows at  Milton  Mills,  and  the  family  attend 
the  Congregational  church. 


(^Thoi 


HOMAS  HAM,  of  Lakeport,  Belknap 
Jl  County,  N.H.,  President  of  Lake  Vil- 
lage Savings  Bank,  was  born  in  Canter- 
bury, this  State,  February  23,  1817,  son  of 
Joseph  Ham,  Jr.  His  great-great-grandfather 
Ham,  who  was  for  many  years  a  ship-carpenter 
of  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  died  in  Deerfield  at  a 
ripe  old  age. 

His  grandfather,  Joseph  Ham,  Sr. ,  settled 
in  Canterbury,  where  he  carried  on  a  farm. 
He  was  a  Deacon  of  the  Orthodo.v  church 
there  for  almost  forty  years.  Deacon  Ham 
and  his  wife,  Betsey  Page,  of  Deerfield,  had 
six  children,  the  four  sons  being:  Joseph,  Jr., 
Daniel,  John,  and  Thomas. 

Joseph,  Jr.,  the  first-born  son,  was  born  in 
Canterbury,  and  lived  there  for  many  years,  a 
well-known  farmer  and  carpenter.  He  carried 
on  his  agricultural  pursuits  quite  extensively, 
having  one  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres,  and  another  of  forty  acres.  He  was 
quite  prominent  in  town  affairs,  being  Select- 
man for  a  long  period;  and  he  was  also  Repre- 
sentative for  his  town  in  the  State  legislature, 
although  public  speaking  was  distasteful  to 
him.     He  succeeded  his  father  as  Deacon   of 


the  church.  His  wife,  Susan  Sargent,  liveil 
to  be  eighty  years  old,  he  surviving  her  four- 
teen years,  and  dying  at  the  extreme  old  age 
of  ninety-four.  Their  five  children  were: 
Betsey  P.,  Thomas,  Warren,  Charles,  and 
Maria.  Betsey  P.  is  now  dead,  and  Warren 
lives  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  Charles  holds 
a  government  position  for  life,  the  office  of 
Appraiser,  drawing  a  salary  of  seventy-five 
hundred  dollars  per  annum. 

Thomas,  the  eldest  son,  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  Canterbury. 
After  his  school-days  were  over,  he  served  an 
apprenticeship  with  a  wheelwright,  Mr.  Will- 
iam M.  Kimball,  of  Fisherville,  and  followed 
the  trade  for  some  time.  He  built  saw  and 
grist  mills  in  Lawrence,  Exeter,  and  in  Mere- 
dith. In  1849  he  became  the  superintendent 
of  the  Laconia  Lake  Company,  and  was  in 
charge  of  the  building  of  dams  for  eight  or  ten 
years.  He  later  made  patterns  in  the  machine 
shops  of  B.  J.  Cole.  At  the  time  of  the 
organization  of  the  Lake  Village  Savings 
Bank,  Mr.  Ham  was  elected  Treasurer;  and 
this  office  was  his  until  1S95,  when,  after  as- 
sociation with  the  bank  for  more  than  twenty- 
seven  years,  he  was  elected  President. 

In  1844  Thomas  Ham  married  Mary  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Captain  Smith,  of  New 
Hampton,  N.H.  Her  father,  who  received 
his  title  of  Captain  from  service  in  the  mili- 
tia, was  proprietor  of  a  store  and  hotel,  and 
was  for  many  years  the  Postmaster  of  New 
Hampton. 

Mr.  Ham  is  one  of  the  principal  supporters 
of  the  Orthodox  church  of  Canterbury,  and  is 
a  regular  attendant  of  divine  service.  Polit- 
ically, he  was  formerly  what  is  known  as  an 
old-line  Whig,  and  is  now  a  Republican.  His 
first  Presidential  vote  was  cast  in  1840  for 
William  Henry  Harrison.  He  has  held  the 
office  of  Tax   Collector,  and  has   served   as  a 


:SMm^Sm 


CHARLES    A.    BUSIEL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


375 


Representative  to  the  lej^islature  for  two 
terms.  VVliile  in  the  legislature  during  the 
years  1859  and  i860,  he  was  on  the  Committee 
for  Division  of  Towns.  In  Masonry  Mr.  Ham 
not  only  belongs  to  lodge,  chapter,  and  coun- 
cil, but  has  taken  the  thirty-second  degree. 
He  is  a  member  of  Mount  Horeb  Commandery, 
K.  T.,  in  Concord;  and  of' Edward  A.  Ray- 
mond Consistory  at  Nashua. 

A  highly  successful  business  man  and  an 
influential  citizen,  Mr.  Ham  is  also  a  man  of 
considerable  musical  ability.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  played  the  E-flat  tuba  in  the  Man- 
chester Cornet  Band  and  in  the  Uelknap 
Cornet  Band  of  Laconia,  and  he  played  the 
flute  in  the  Baptist  and  the  Free  Baptist 
churches  of  that  place.  Mr.  Ham  has  for 
some  time  resided  in  his  present  dwelling  on 
Park  Street,  and  it  was  from  this  house  that 
he  and  his  wife  saw  pass  the  first  train  of  cars 
over  the  O.  &  M.  Railroad. 


"ON.  CHARLES  ALBERT  BUSIEL, 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire  in  1895 
and  1896,  is  one  of  the  leading 
statesmen  of  New  England  to-day.  Now  a 
resident  of  Laconia,  he  was  born  November 
24,  1842,  in  Meredith  Village,  Belknap 
County,  son  of  John  W.  and  Julia  (Tilton) 
Busiel.  His  father,  a  native  of  Moultonboro, 
Carroll  County,  was  born  in  1815. 

After  spending  some  time  in  Meredith, 
occuiiied  in  carding  rolls  and  dressing  cloth  in 
a  small  mill  hired  of  Daniel  Smith,  John  W. 
Busiel  removed  with  his  family  in  1846  to 
Laconia,  where  he  resided  for  the  rest  of  his 
life.  In  1853  he  bought  a  tract  of  land  with 
its  water-power,  situated  in  Meredith,  now 
Laconia,  and  in  the  following  year  erected 
thereon  a  brick  factory.  Upon  the  completion 
of  the  building  he  started  in  it  the  manufacture 


of  Saxony  and  German  yarns  and  satinet  cloth, 
adding  at  a  later  date  that  of  hosiery.  lie 
received  a  gold  medal  from  the  Crystal  I'alace 
E.vhibition  in  London  for  the  best  mi.xture  of 
cotton  and  wool  yarn.  The  Civil  War  consid- 
erably stimulated  his  business.  Subsequently 
he  restricted  himself  to  hosiery,  and  was  the 
first  in  the  country  to  use  patented  machines 
in  producing  it.  He  personally  conducted  hi's 
mill  until  within  a  short  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  July  27,  1872.  His  wife, 
Julia,  born  in  Meredith,  daughter  of  Stephen 
and  Julia  Tilton,  bore  him  four  children, 
namely:  Charles  A.  Busiel;  John  Tilton 
Busiel;  Frank  E.  Busiel;  and  one  daughter, 
Julia  M.  Busiel,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eight 
months.  Both  parents  were  members  of  the 
Congregational  church. 

Charles  Albert  Busiel  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  the  ]niblic  schools  of  Laconia  ami  in 
the  academy  of  Gilford,  N.H.  After  leaving 
school  he  was  employed  by  his  father  suc- 
cessively in  all  the  departments  of  the  mill,  in 
order  that  he  might  thoroughly  learn  the  busi- 
ness. In  1863  he  purchased  the  mill  since 
known  as  the  Pitman  Manufactory,  which, 
after  conducting  it  for  a  few  years,  he  sold. 
Then,  in  1869,  he  and  his  brother  John  T. 
entered  into  a  partnership,  and  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  hosiery.  Frank  K.  Busiel 
joined  the  firm  in  1872,  when  the  name  was 
changed  to  J.  W.  Busiel  &  Co.  The  three 
brothers  have  continued  in  the  business  since 
with  increasing  prosperity.  At  an  early  stage 
of  his  career  Charles  Albert  Busiel  also  began 
to  invest  in  railroads.  Quite  prominent 
among  the  stockholders,  he  is,  perliajis,  the 
most  enterprising  railroad  man  in  New  Eng- 
land at  ]iresent.  It  was  mainly  owing  to  his 
energy  that  the  Lake  Shore  Railroad  was 
built.  Convinced  some  time  ago  that  the 
electric  railroad  is  tlestined   to  be  the  railroad 


376 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


of  the  future,  he  has  become  an  active  pro- 
moter of  this  mode  of  transit,  undeterred  by 
tlie  hostility  of  those  interested  in  the  main- 
tenance of  steam  railroads.  He  was  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Laconia  Fire  Department  for 
many  years;  and  through  his  efforts  the  depart- 
ment passetl  from  the  old  hand-tub  to  all 
modern  apparatus,  with  steam  fire-engines, 
hook-and-ladder  trucks,  and  ample  hose  car- 
riages, also  a  city  hydrant  service. 

Mr.  liusiel  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  pol- 
itics for  many  years.  Declining  to  believe 
that  either  of  the  two  great  parties  is  endowed 
with  infallibility,  he  considers  it  no  compli- 
ment to  be  described  as  a  stanch  Republican 
or  a  true-blue  Democrat.  Earnest  in  his 
political  convictions,  he  cannot  support  any 
person  or  measure  against  the  decision  of  his 
better  judgment.  He  represented  Laconia 
two  terms  in  the  legislature,  187S  and  1879, 
also  was  a  delegate  to  the  Cincinnati  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention  in  1880.  He  was 
made  first  Mayor  of  Laconia  for  two  years  by 
an  election  in  which  he  was  the  Republican 
candidate,  although  the  city  was  Democratic 
by  a  majority  of  three  or  four  hundred  votes  at 
that  time.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  he 
left  a  Republican  majority  in  the  city  and  the 
senatorial  district,  and  the  entire  Council,  as 
well  as  all  the  city  offices,  in  the  hands  of  the 
party. 

He  was  elected  Governor  in  1895  by  a 
majority  of  ten  thousand  and  a  plurality  of 
almost  thirteen  thousand.  This  was  the 
largest  plurality  any  governor  of  the  State  had 
ever  received.  On  that  occasion,  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  New  Hampshire,  every 
county  was  carried  by  the  Republicans,  and  all 
the  county  officers  came  under  Republican 
control.  So  great  has  been  his  influence  with 
the  people  that,  when  compelled  to  leave  the 
Democratic  party  because  of  its  antagonism  to 


protective  tariffs,  about  ten  thousand  voters 
followed  his  example.  During  his  adminis- 
tration he  paid  two  huiulred  thousand  dollars 
of  the  State  debt  and  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars  to  defray  expenses  incurred  and  left  due 
by  previous  administrations.  By  his  vetoes  of 
unnecessary  measures  passed  by  the  legislat- 
ure Governor  Busiel  practically  saved  a  mill- 
ion dollars  for  the  State;  and,  when  he  retired 
from  office,  he  left  in  the  State  treasury  five 
hundred  and  ninety-four  thousand,  seven  hun- 
dred and  six  dollars  and  seven  cents,  according 
to  the  report  of  the  auditing  committee. 

In  1864,  November  21,  he  was  married  to 
Eunice  Elizabeth  Preston,  daughter  of  Worces- 
ter Preston.  He  has  one  daughter,  P'rances 
E.  Busiel.  She  married  Wilson  Longstreet 
Smith,  of  Germantown,  Pa.  ;  and  they  have 
one  son,  born  March  i,  1895,  named  Charles 
Albert  Busiel  Smith. 

At  the  present  time  Mr.  Busiel  is  President 
of  the  Laconia  National  ]5ank,  also  President 
of  the  City  Savings  Bank.  He  attends  the 
Congregational  Church  of  Laconia.  The 
secret  orders  with  which  he  has  affiliation  are: 
the  Masonic  Society,  as  a  member  of  Mount 
Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  Union  Chapter,  No. 
7,  and  Pilgrim  Commandery;  the  Knights  of 
Pythias;  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows. 

The  manifest  sincerity  of  ex-Governor 
Busiel's  opinions,  joined  to  his  loyalty  to  the 
common  people  and  his  friends  —  to  which  his 
remarkable  success  in  public  life  has  been  jus- 
tifiably attributed  —  may  well  carry  him  to 
a  higher  sphere  of  usefulness  with  advantage 
to  the  country.  He  was  a  prominent  candi- 
date for  United  States  Senator  in  1896;  and 
he  was  New  Hampshire's  candidate  for  a 
member  of  President  McKinley's  cabinet, 
having  the  practical  support  of  the  entire 
Republican  party  of  his  State. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


377 


WIl.LIAAF    C.     MAKSll.A].; 
known  nianufactLiror  uf  wt 


I.L,  a  well- 
k'ooUen  yarn 
in  Laconia,  was  born  October  8, 
1843,  in  I'clham,  Hillsborough  County,  son  of 
Daniel  and  Hannah  Jane  (Campbell)  Marshall. 
His  grandfather,  Isaac  Marshall,  was  one  of 
two  brothers  who  served  alternately  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  the  family  being  too  poor 
to  spare  the  services  of  both  at  the  same  time. 

Grandfather  Marshall  attained  the  rank  of 
Captain.  He  was  a  stage  driver,  and  he  also 
owned  the  farm  in  Pelham  now  occupied  by 
his  son  Daniel.  Many  valuable  relics  col- 
lected by  Isaac  Marshall  on  Revolutionary 
battlefields  are  now  cherished  by  his  grand- 
sons. Isaac  married  a  Miss  Tenney,  a  con- 
nection of  Frank  Tenney,  the  well-known 
hotel  proprietor  of  Washington,  N.  H.  Their 
children  were:  Daniel,  and  a  daughter  who 
died.  The  father  was  a  highly  respected 
member  of  the  old  Presbyterian  church  on 
Gage  Hill  in  Pelham.  He  passed  away  at  the 
age  of  eight-si.x  years. 

Daniel  Marshall,  who  was  born  on  the  old 
homestead,  November  19,  1816,  is  a  farmer. 
He  also  serves  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  he 
has  probably  settled  more  estates  than  any 
man  in  the  county,  having  had  as  many  as 
thirty  on  his  hands  at  one  time.  He  officiated 
as  Selectman  for  several  terms  besides  filling 
other  offices.  During  the  War  he  served  as 
Representative  from  Pelham,  and  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  held 
in  1876.  In  his  political  affiliations  he  is  an 
old-time  Democrat.  He  still  lives  on  the 
old  homestead,  where  he  was  born  and  reared. 
His  wife,  Hannah  Jane,  to  whom  he  was  mar- 
ried January  9,  1838,  is  a  daughter  of  Captain 
William  Campbell,  who  received  his  title  from 
the  old  militia.  The  Captain  was  a  descend- 
ant of  an  old  family  in  Windham,  Rocking- 
ham County.      His  wife,  who  was  a  relative  of 


William  Hu.se,  of  Nashua,  bore  him  fifteen 
children.  Their  daughter  Hannah  Jane,  who 
was  born  in  Windham,  .August  3,  1S17,  is 
still  living,  having  celebrated  her  golden  wed- 
ding nine  years  ago.  Daniel  Marshall  and  his 
wife  have  had  si.x  children,  namely:  Isaac  C, 
who  lives  on  the  old  homestead;  Louisa,  who 
married  Edwin  V.  BcU,  and  lives  in  Lowell, 
Mas.s.  ;  William  C,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  ; 
Clara,  who  died  in  her  fifth  year;  Moses  R., 
of  the  1*".  H.  Rovve  Hosiery  firm  of  Laconia, 
N.  H.  ;  and  Lyman,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years.  Both  parents  are  active  members 
of  the  Pelham  Congregationalist  church. 

William  C.  Marshall  had  excellent  educa- 
tional advantages,  attending  common  school, 
Crosby  Academy  and  Comer's  Commercial  Col- 
lege in  Boston,  Mass.,  graduating  from  the  last- 
named  institution  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years. 
For  two  years  thereafter  he  was  book-keejier  of 
the  Merrimac  Mills  in  Lowell,  Mass.  After 
resigning  his  positit)n,  he  leased  a  small  mill 
in  Pelham,  where  he  engaged  for  some  time  in 
the  manufacture  of  woollen  flannels.  Later 
he  bought  another  mill  in  Meredith  Centre, 
N.  H.,  and  continued  to  operate  both  factories 
until  1876.  He  then  came  to  Laconia  anil 
purchased  the  Belknap  Mills.  On  taking  jios- 
session  of  this  property,  he  became  associated 
with  the  late  J.  W.  Johnson,  George  W.  Arm- 
strong, of  the  Armstrong  Transfer  Company, 
and  L.  A.  Roby,  of  Nashua,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Armstrong,  Marshall  &  Co.  They 
had  manufactured  woollen  yarns  for  three  years 
when  Mr.  Marshall  bought  nut  his  associates, 
and  thereafter  conducted  the  factory  alone. 
Under  his  able  management  the  business  has 
flourished,  yielding  handsome  returns.  In 
1896  Mr.  Marshall  bought  the  Round  ]iay 
Farm,  in  which  he  is  greatly  interested.  In 
1895  he  became  associated,  with  Mr.  Ridlon, 
of  Boston,  in  the  Belknap  h'lectric  Power  Com- 


378 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


paiiy,  of  Laconia.  He  is  also  interested  to 
some  extent  in  real  estate  here,  and  is  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Belknap  Mills. 

On  December  24,  1 866,  he  was  married  to 
Carrie  C,  daughter  of  Benjamin  F.  Chase,  of 
Hudson,  Hillsborough  County.  They  have 
one  son,  Lyman  C,  who  is  in  the  electric 
power  business.  In  politics  Mr.  Marshall 
affiliates  with  the  Republican  party.  He  has 
recently  been  appointed  trustee  of  the  State 
Indian  School.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member 
of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  & 
A.  M.  ;  of  Union  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  7  ; 
and  of  Pythagorean  Council,  No.  6,  Royal  and 
Select  Masons.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marshall  at- 
tend the  Congregational  Church  of  Laconia. 


§OSIAH  H.  WHITTIER,  a  resident  of 
East  Rochester,  and  connected  with  the 
Cocheco  Mills,  is  a  native  of  Deerfield, 
N.H.,  where  he  was  born  April  25,  i860,  his 
parents  being  Addison  S.  and  Susan  F.  (Rob- 
inson) Whittier.  Mr.  Whittier's  ancestry, 
going  back  through  eight  generations,  begins 
with  Thomas  Whittier,  who  was  born  in  Eng- 
land about  the  year  1622.  Nathaniel  Whittier, 
son  of  Thomas,  born  in  1658,  settled  in  Salis- 
bury, Mass.,  and  married  Mary  Osgood.  Their 
son  Reuben,  born  in  1686,  resided  in  Salisbury, 
and  married  Deborah  Pillsbury.  Reuben's 
fourth  child,  also  named  Reuben,  who  was  born 
in  1716,  married  Mary  Flanders,  and  their  son 
Daniel  was  born  in  1753. 

Daniel  Whittier  served  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  being  a  member  of  Captain  Runnell's 
company  in  Colonel  Tasker's  regiment.  He 
married  Mary  Quimby,  and  their  youngest  son 
was  Josiah,  born  1794.  Josiah  fought  in  the 
second  war  with  England  in  181 2,  and  was  at 
the  battle  of  Plattsburg.  He  re-enlisted  as 
Corporal    in    Captain   Samuel    Collins's    com- 


pany, and  was  at  one  time  stationed  at  Ports- 
mouth. He  married  Hannah  Heath,  antl 
their  si.Nth  child  was  Addison  S.,  born  1830. 
When  Addison  was  five  years  old  his  parents 
removed  to  the  farm  where  he  has  since  resided 
in  Deerfield,  receiving  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  that  town.  He  is  a  substan- 
tial farmer,  and  is  much  respected  by  his 
townsmen.'  The  town  had  the  benefit  of  his 
services  in  the  capacity  of  Selectman  for  a 
time.  Mr.  Whittier  is  a  member  of  the  Free 
Will  ]5aptist  church,  and  an  active  worker  in 
its  various  departments.  His  three  children 
are:  Josiah  H.  Whittier;  Harlan  P.  Whittier, 
of  Raymond;  and  Josephine  M.,  who  died  in 
1891. 

Josiah  H.  Whittier  obtained  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  at 
Raymond  High  School,  and  at  Coe's  Academy 
in  Northwood.  He  then  engaged  in  teaching 
school  for  a  time.  In  January,  1882,  he  went 
to  work  in  the  Amoskeag  Mills  of  Manches- 
ter. He  left  the  mill  two  months  after,  and 
obtained  employment  in  the  grocery  store  of 
A.  H.  Gray  of  that  city.  In  October  of  the 
same  year  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Cocheco  Woollen  Manufacturing  Company  at 
East  Rochester  as  assistant  clerk,  and  he  has 
held  that  position  since.  Mr.  Whittier  was 
a  delegate  to  the  New  Hampshire  Constitu- 
tional Convention  held  in  1889.  He  was  a 
prime  mover  in  securing  the  enactment  of  the 
library  legislation  of  1891,  which  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  a  Library  Commission  for 
the  purpose  of  encouraging  the  establishment 
of  public  libraries,  by  extending  aid  from  the 
State  Treasury.  On  January  5,  1892,  he  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  commission  for  a 
term  of  four  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
he  was  reappointed  for  a  second  term.  He 
has  been  the  Secretary  of  the  commission 
since  its  organization. 


£^'' 

^w' 

J.  H.  Whittier,  East  Rochester. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


379 


In  i8y3  Mr.  Whittior  issued  a  pamphlet  for 
free  distribution,  wliicli  advocated  tiie  plan  of 
mai<ing  the  support  of  town  libraries  compul- 
sory, and  two  years  later  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  the  proposed  plan  embodied  in 
a  State  law.  He  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  organization  and  maintenance  of  the  East 
Rochester  Reading-Room  Association,  which 
was  started  in  1885  for  the  purpose  of  sup- 
porting a  free  library  and  reading-room.  He 
is  a  Trustee  of  the  Rochester  Public  Library. 
He  is  a  member  of  Humane  Lodge,  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.  ;  of  Orphan  Council,  Palestine  Com- 
mandery;  and  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 
He  has  also  membership  in  Cocheco  Lodge, 
L  O.  O.  P.,  and  Rochester  Grange. 


fc^ONES  W.  WHITEHOUSE,  a  practi- 
cal farmer  of  Middleton,  Strafford 
County,  was  born  upon  the  farm  he  now 
owns  and  occupies,  May  2,  1S42,  son  of  John 
C.  and  Julia  Ann  (Jones)  Whitehouse.  His 
grandfather,  Amos  Whitehouse,  was  the  first 
of  the  family  to  settle  in  Middleton,  and  he 
resided  here  until  his  death.  John  C.  White- 
house  was  a  native  of  this  town,  and  he  culti- 
vated the  farm,  now  occupied  by  his  son,  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  forty- 
three  years  old.  In  ])olitics  he  was  a  Repub- 
lican. He  married  Julia  Ann  Jones,  and 
reared  two  children:  Jones  W. ,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  and  Hannah. 

Jones  W.  Whitehouse  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  Middleton,  and  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  took  charge  of  the  homestead  farm. 
He  inherited  the  property,  which  contains  one 
hundred  acres  of  desirably  located  land,  and 
he  tills  the  soil  energetically  and  with  good 
results.  Politically,  he  supports  the  Republi- 
can party,  but  has  never  taken  any  active  in- 
terest in  i)ublic  affairs  beyond  casting  his  vote. 


Mr.  Wliilchouse  inarrieti  Abijie  M.  Harvey, 
a  native  of  Seekonk,  R.I.,  and  lias  by  her  two 
children—  Harvey  J.  and  Lizzie  A.  The 
family  attend  the  l^aptist  church. 


■fgTn<AM     RAND,    a    retired     farmer    of 
r=rl       Harnstead,    was    born    here    April    5, 

J-^  V ,   1S27,    son    of   Moses   H.    and    Ann 

(Bunker)  Rand.  His  great-grandfather,  Moses 
Rand,  came  from  the  neighborhood  of  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  and  was  one  of  the  very  early 
settlers  of  Barnstead,  when  the  district  was 
largely  a  wild  and  wooded  country.  In  1772 
Moses  Rand  bought  an  extensive  tract  of  land 
near  Beauty  Hill,  very  slightly  cleared,  and 
there  made  his  residence.  He  was  an  honored 
citizen,  and  was  a  Selectman  of  his  town.  He 
married  Abigail  Wentworth,  an  own  cousin  of 
Governor  John  Wentworth,  and  they  had  three 
.?ons—  Samuel,  Wentworth,  and  Jonathan. 
The  two  latter  were  soldiers  in  the  War  of 
1812. 

Samuel  Rand,  grandfather  of  the  sul)ject  of 
this  sketch,  received  from  his  father  a  tract 
of  land  in  ]5arnstead,  bought  at  the  time  the 
latter  settled  there.  He  lived  on  this  farm 
throughout  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  was  a 
well-to-do  man,  considering  the  large  family 
he  had  to  support.  He  married  Mary  Hill, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Hill,  of  Strafford,  and 
was  the  father  of  seven  children  —  Moses  H., 
Pamelia,  Ruth  E.,  Lydia  A.  W.,  Pha:be, 
Mary  and  Samuel.  Pamelia  married  Deacon 
John  Kaime  of  Barnstead  and  died  leaving  two 
children.  Ruth  and  Lydia  remained  unmar- 
ried. Phcebe  became  the  wife  of  Benjamin 
White,  of  Chester,  N.  H.  Mary  marrietl 
Henry  Hunkins,  of  Boston.  Samuel  married 
and  went  to  live  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  and  at  his 
death  left  one  child.  Samuel  Rand  died  in 
northern  New  York. 


380 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Moses  K;iik1,  father  of  Iliram,  came  into 
possession  of  his  father's  farm,  and  spent  his 
life  on  the  place,  being  one  of  the  most  snc- 
cessfiil  farmers  in  that  section.  He  was  a 
quiet,  incliistrioiis  man  and  a  shrewd  trader, 
but  scrujniloiisly  honest.  Averse  to  office- 
holding,  he  had  no  political  aspirations.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Free  Baptist  church  of 
rittsfield,  N.  H.  His  wife,  Anna,  was  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Joseph  Bunker,  of  Barnstead 
Parade.  The  latter  was  son  of  Eli  Bunker, 
who  belonged  to  a  prominent  family  of  that 
locality.  Moses  Rand's  children  were;  Jo- 
seph B. ,  Hiram,  Mary  K. ,  and  Lydia  A. 
Joseph,  who  studied  medicine  at  Dartmouth 
College,  after  receiving  his  degree  established 
himself  in  Hartford,  Vt. ,  becoming  a  very 
successful  physician,  and  subsequently  retired 
from  practice.  Mary  married  Isaac  A. 
Fletcher,  a  grocer  and  merchant  of  Lowell, 
Mass.  Lydia,  now  deceased,  became  the  wife 
of  John  L.  Woodhouse  and  resided  in  Iowa. 
The  father  died  in  1885,  within  a  month  of 
the  age  of  eighty-two. 

Hiram  Rand  attended  the  district  schools  in 
his  native  town,  and  also  went  to  private 
schools.  After  his  schooling  was  finished,  he 
worked  on  the  farm  with  his  father,  and  later 
on  went  to  Lowell,  Mass.,  where  he  remained 
three  years,  employed  as  engineer  in  a  saw- 
mill. He  then  returned  to  Barnstead,  and 
was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  com- 
pany with  a  Mr.  Merrill  for  two  years.  His 
last  move  was  back  to  the  old  farm,  where  he 
has  since  lived,  highly  respected  by  his  towns- 
men. At  the  age  of  twelve  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Congregational  church,  and  he  has 
been  Deacon  of  the  same  for  the  past  thirty 
years.  In  politics  he  is  an  active  Republican. 
In  1 85 1  Mr.  Rand  was  married  in  Lowell  to 
Harriet  N.  Hoitt,  who  was  born  in  April, 
1826,    daughter    of    Benjamin   and    Mehitable 


(Babson)  Hoitt.  Mrs.  Rand's  ancestry  on  the 
maternal  side  is  a  proud  one,  as  she  is  a  great- 
grandchild of  Geneial  John  Stark,  of  Revolu- 
tionary fame.  General  Stark  married  I'^liza- 
beth  Page,  the  Molly  Stark  of  history,  and 
they  had  eleven  children.  Of  these,  Eliza- 
beth married  Isaac  Babson,  and  had  four  chil- 
dren. I^lizabeth's  daughter,  Mehitable,  mar- 
ried Benjamin  Hoitt,  and  they  had  twelve  chil- 
dren, among  whom  were  Thomas  and  Harriet. 
A  more  detailed  account  of  the  family  may  be 
found  in  the  sketch  of  the  Thomas  Hoitt  just 
mentioned.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rand  have  had  two 
children  —  Anna  Florence  and  John  S.  The 
daughter  married  Dr.  C.  B.  Sturtevant,  of 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  and  died  in  New  Boston, 
N.  H.,  in  1879.  John  S.  is  doing  an  exten- 
sive dry-goods  business  in  Pittsfield,  N.  H. 
He  is  a  prominent  Republican,  and  was  this 
year  elected  to  the  State  legislature  from 
Pittsfield.  Some  time  ago  he  married  Hattie 
F"oote,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Ann 
(Eastman)  Foote,  of  Pittsfield. 


EDSON  ROBERTS,  a  thrifty,  in- 
dustrious farmer  of  the  progressive 
type,  son  of  Sewell  T.  and  Mary 
(Savage)  Roberts,  was  born  on  his  present 
farm  in  East  Alton,  N.  H.,  August  27,  i860. 
He  is  the  worthy  representative  of  an  old  and 
highly  respected  family,  one  of  the  oldest  in 
Alton. 

Joseph  Roberts,  his  great-grandfather,  was 
an  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  By  a 
commission  bearing  the  date  of  April  12, 1775, 
he  was  appointed  by  the  State  President, 
Meshech  Weare,  Second  Lieutenant  of  the 
Seventh  Company  in  the  Tenth  New  Hamp- 
shire Regiment,  and  took  the  oath  of  alleg- 
iance, necessary  for  qualification,  before  his 
own  father,    as    Justice    of    the    Peace.       His 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


38. 


commission  as  First  Lieutenant  of  the  same 
company,  dated  April,  1779,  bears  the  signa- 
ture of  State  President  John  Langdon  (after- 
ward Governor  John  Langon)  ;  and  this  time 
the  necessary  oath  of  allegiance  was  adminis- 
tered by  Joseph  Badger,  Jr.,  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  All  his  lifetime  Joseph  Roberts  con- 
tinued to  take  a  deep  and  active  interest  in 
local  military  matters. 

After  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  mi- 
grated, with  his  wife  and  four-year-old  son 
Richard,  in  the  month  of  April,  1792,  from 
Portsmouth  to  New  Durham,  N.  H.  Four 
years  later,  in  1796,  New  Durham  was  divided, 
the  so-called  "New  Durham  gore"  being  set 
apart  and  incorporated  under  a  town  govern- 
nieiit  of  its  own  and  given  its  present  name  of 
Alton.  Joseph  Roberts,  on  his  arrival,  took 
up  a  large  tract  of  wild  land,  and  proceeded 
to  reclaim  it  from  the  wilderness  and  reduce 
it  to  cultivation.  Heat  first  built  a  log  cabin 
for  his  occupancy,  and  here  he  and  his  family 
continued  to  live  for  some  fourteen  years,  when 
his  temporal  affairs,  having  become  sufficiently 
prosperous,  by  his  industry  and  thrift,  he 
erected  a  frame  house  of  such  substantial  sort 
that  his  descendants  to  the  fourth  generation 
have  continued  to  occupy  it  ever  since.  It 
has  always  been  kept  in  good  repair  and  im- 
proved as  occasion  demanded,  but  the  timbers 
of  the  original  frame-work  have  remained  in- 
tact and  are  standing  to-day  as  fast  and  firm  as 
when  first  put  together.  Here  Mr.  S.  Edson 
Roberts  resides  at  the  present  time,  proud  of 
the  record  both  of  his  family  and  his  mansion, 
and  here,  too,  he  carefully  and  sacredly  pre- 
serves, to  transmit  to  his  descendants,  many  a 
precious  ancestral  heirloom  and  relic  of  bygone 
days.  Close  at  hand  is  the  Roberts  family 
burial  lot,  where  rest  the  mortal  remains  of 
departed  members,  former  occupants  of  the 
homestead.      Joseph   Roberts,    Sr. ,    the  father 


of  the  New  Durham  pioneer,  was  buried  at 
Fast  Alton,  about  one  mile  away.  In  the 
early  days  the  jieople  of  Alton,  with  strong, 
unfailing,  religious  instinct,  then  the  most 
marked  characteristic  of  New  iMiglandcrs,  in 
default  of  suitable  h()uses  of  worshi[i,  were 
wont  to  gather  for  religious  service,  in  the 
summer  season  at  least,  in  barns.  Joseph 
Roberts  was  an  earnest.  God-fearing  man  of 
the  early  New  lingland  type,  and  alwa)'s  took 
an  active  and  foremost  part  in  the  religious 
life  of  his  town. 

One  little  incident  of  considerable  interest 
in  connection  with  Joseph  Roberts  we  will 
here  insert.  He  had  at  one  time  an  appren- 
tice in  his  employ,  Paul  Leathers  by  name; 
and  this  name  having  been  turned  into  ridi- 
cule, the  apprentice  determined  to  have  it 
changed  by  process  of  law,  which  was  accord- 
ingly done  on  May  II,  181  I.  In  the  follow- 
ing July,  his  term  being  out,  he  started  for 
Boston,  Mass.,  and  walked  all  the  way  thither. 
In  the  course  of  time,  as  the  result  of  charac- 
ter and  ability,  he  rose  to  the  dignity  of  lie- 
coming  the  President  of  the  Five  Cents  Insti- 
tution for  Savings  in  that  city. 

Lieutenant  Joseph  Roberts  lived  to  a  good 
old  age.  He  had  a  family  of  six  children, 
namely:  Richard,  born  in  1788,  who  migrated 
with  his  father;  Nancy,  who  married  Mr.  Pen- 
dergast,  and  lived  in  Newburyport,  Mass.  ; 
Martha,  who  married  William  Crockett,  and 
was  left  a  widow;  Betsy,  who  married  Joscjih 
Davis,  and  lived  in  Wolfboro,  N.  H.  ;  Sally 
married  Deacon  Solomon  Hayes,  and  resided 
in  New  Durham  ;  and  Polly,  who  married 
Jonathan  McDuffie,  of  Alton. 

Richard  Roberts,  the  son  of  Lieutenant 
Joseph  Roberts,  and  the  next  in  the  ancestral 
line,  was  a  civil  engineer  of  considerable  re- 
pute and  more  than  an  ordinary  person  in 
many  ways.      When  a  young   man,  feeling  dis- 


382 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


satisfied  with  the  homely  routine  and  monot- 
ony of  farm  life,  he  left  his  father's  house  one 
evening  and  took  service  in  the  army,  it  being 
the  time  of  the  War  of  1812  with  the  British. 
He  was  stationed  lor  a  long  time  at  Carlisle, 
Pa.,  and  there  contracted  a  fever,  whose  after- 
effects continued  to  trouble  him  as  long  as  he 
lived.  He  was  subsequently  stationed  at 
Portsmouth  for  a  considerable  time,  and 
finally  returned  to  Alton  in  the  year  181 5. 
He  never  left  home  again  for  any  length  of 
time.  After  his  return  he  went  into  the  busi- 
ness of  civil  engineering,  and,  becoming  a 
contractor,  surveyed  and  built  public  roads, 
sometimes  employing  as  many  as  one  hundred 
men  at  a  time.  He  laid  out  and  built  the  road 
between  Alton  ]3ay  and  Laconia,  and  many 
more  besides.  While  thus  engaged  he  did  not 
neglect  his  farm,  which  he  continued  to  culti- 
vate and  improve.  He  lived  to  be  seventy- 
eight  years  of  age,  and  died  in  1866. 

He  was  a  man  of  sterling  worth  of  character, 
who  led  an  upright,  blameless  life.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  P'ree  Will  Baptist 
church  of  East  Alton,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber fifty  years,  and  one  of  its  P)eacons  for 
more  than  forty  years. 

His  quiet,  consistent  Christian  walk  through 
life  was  a  constant  rebuke  to  evil  and  incen- 
tive to  good  in  the  community  in  which  he 
lived.  His  fellow-townsmen  regarded  him 
with  affection  and  confidence.  They  elected 
him  to  represent  them  in  the  State  legislature 
for  two  different  terms,  somewhere  about  the 
years  1S44  and  1845;  and  he  also  filled  other 
offices  of  trust.  liichard  Roberts  married 
Hannah  Willey,  and  had  a  family  of  eight 
children,  five  boys  and  three  girls,  namely: 
Joseph,  drowned  when  sixteen  years  of  age; 
Sewell  T.,  the  father  of  S.  Edson ;  Harriet, 
who  married  Nathaniel  Willey,  kept  a  tavern 
at  Ossipee,  N.H.,  and  died   leaving  two  chil- 


dren ;  Lydia,  who  married  Benjamin  P".  Evans, 
lived  first  in  Boston,  Mass.,  but  subsequently, 
in  1866,  removed  to  Minnesota;  Samuel 
Woodbury,  who  was  graduated  at  the  Dart- 
mouth Medical  School,  married,  has  become 
a  prominent  medical  practitioner  in  Wakefield, 
N.  H.,  and  one  time  was  the  President  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Medical  Association;  Rich- 
ard, who  is  married,  has  a  family  and  resides 
in  Dover;  Clara  and  Orrin,  who  both  died 
young. 

Sewell  T.  Roberts,  the  second  son,  was 
born  on  the  patrimonial  farm,  P'ebruary  22, 
1822.  Pie  lived  on  this  farm  until  he  re- 
moved to  Somersworth,  N.H.,  and  left  it  to 
his  son,  S.  Edson.  Pie  was  a  member  and 
clerk  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church  of  East 
Alton.  He  twice  represented  his  town  in  the 
State  legislature,  about  1859  and  1S60. 
Sewell  T.  Roberts  died  in  the  year  1894.  He 
was  three  times  married:  first  to  Ellen  Hurd, 
and  by  her  had  one  child,  a  daughter,  who 
married  the  Hon.  O.  J.  M.  Gilman.  His  sec- 
ond" wife  was  Mary  Savage,  a  sister  of  Colonel 
G.  D.  Savage,  and  by  her  he  became  the 
father  of  S.  Edson,  her  o,nly  child.  His  third 
wife  was  Ann  Beech,  and  by  her  he  had  three 
children,  a  son  and  two  daughters,  as  follows: 
John  P.  Roberts,  of  Somersworth;  Ellen  E., 
wife  of  John  Tash,  of  Dover;  and  Annie  M., 
now  in  her  second  year  at  Bates  College. 

S.  lulson  Roberts,  the  special  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools  of  Alton  and  at  Wolfboro  and  Wake- 
field Academies,  and  was  a  successful  school 
teacher.  When  about  twenty-one  years  old, 
he  went  out  to  Cedar  P'alls,  in  the  State  of 
Iowa,  and  remained  there  a  year,  during  which 
time  he  joined  the  Baptist  church  in  that 
town.  In  the  year  1883  his  father  ceded  to 
him  the  possession  of  the  homestead  estate 
of    some  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres,    upon 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


3S3 


which  he  had  alrcad)'  wdikod.  licrc  he  still 
carries  on  the  business  of  tanning,  making 
a  specialty  of  the  milk  business  and  keeping 
summer  boarders.  He  married  I--lla  Trask, 
daughter  of  William  Trask,  of  Chestnut  Cove 
in  Alton,  and  has  two  sons,  namely ;  George 
F.,  who  is  attending  school;  and  Charles  E. 
Mr.  Roberts  is  a  highly  esteemed  citizen  of 
Alton,  and  noted  for  being  an  unusually  in- 
dustrious, hard-working  man.  He  is  an  ambi- 
tious farmer,  practical,  full  of  energy  and  de- 
termined ideas,  and  is  an.\ious  that  his  affairs 
should  show  a  handsome  profit  as  the  result 
of  his  efforts.  His  wife  is  a  true  helpmate 
to  him  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  they 
have  a  bright  and  interesting  family.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Roberts  were  charter  members  of 
Alton  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  and  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen 
at  South  VVolfboro. 


(^tAMES  H.  DEMERITT,  a  successful 
y^~s  I  agriculturist,  and  the  descendant  of 
vCj/  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Strafford 
County,  resides  in  the  town  of  Madbury,  on 
the  homestead  where  his  birth  occurred  Febru- 
ary 17,  1843.  His  father,  Alfred  Demeritt, 
and  his  grandfather,  Eli  Demeritt,  were  like- 
wise born  on  the  same  farm.  The  latter  was 
a  son  of  Jonathan  Demeritt,  who  settled  on 
this  place  in  Colonial  times,  and  lived  here 
until  his  demise,  August  31,  1833,  aged 
eighty  years  and  one  day.  lili  Demeritt,  the 
succeeding  owner  of  the  estate,  who  performed 
his  part  in  clearing  and  improving  the  land, 
swinging  his  axe  and  driving  his  plough  to 
good  purpose,  was  ninety  years,  eight  months, 
and  twenty  days  old  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
October  1 1,   1877. 

Alfred    Demeritt,    who   successfully    carried 
on    general    farming,    died    here    January    14, 


1894,  after  a  long  and  useful  life  of  eighty- 
four  years,  si.\  months,  and  twenty-four  days. 
His  body  was  burietl  beside  that  of  his  wife  in 
the  family  cemetery  on  the  farm,  which  con- 
tained all  that  was  mortal  of  the  three  preced- 
ing generations  of  the  Demeritt  family.  He 
married  Mary  E.  Torr,  who  died  July  28, 
'875,  aged  sixty-two  years,  three  months,  and 
sixteen  da)s.  Their  family,  besides  James 
H.,  inclutled  seven  other  children,  of  whom 
the  following  is  the  record:  Sally  died  No- 
vember 22,  1847,  aged  fourteen  years,  two 
months,  and  eleven  days;  Alfred  died  April 
24,  1842,  aged  seven  months  and  thirteen 
days;  Caroline  died  March  iG,  1863,  aged 
twenty-three  years,  ten  months  and  twelve 
days;  Cyrus  died  December  10,  1863,  aged 
sixteen  years,  two  months  ant!  ten  days;  Sarah 
E.  married  Edward  I'endexter,  of  Madbury, 
and  died  January  16,  1894,  aged  forty-two 
years;  Charles  E.,  who  married  Ellen  Tuttle, 
of  Dover,  is  a  retired  farmer,  and  lives  in 
Dover;  and  Mary  A.,  the  wife  of  Daniel  E. 
Hanson,  is  also  a  resident  of  Dover.  The 
father,  who  was  an  active  and  stanch  member 
of  the  Republican  ranks,  served  in  the  State 
legislature  at  two  different  times,  performing 
the  duties  there  devolving  upon  him  in  a  man- 
ner most  satisfactory  to  all  concerned. 

James  H.  Demeritt  obtained  a  practical 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  Madbury 
and  the  Durham  Academy.  VVhik>  assisting 
his  father  in  the  daily  labors  of  the  homestead, 
he  received  a  training  in  farming  that  has 
been  most  valuable  to  him.  On  arriving  at 
man's  estate,  Mr.  Demeritt  assumed  the 
charge  of  the  farm,  on  which  he  has  since  car- 
ried on  general  farming,  stock-raising,  and 
fruit-growing  with  success.  His  large  orchard 
has  been  especially  profitable.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Republican,  following  in  the  footsteps  of 
his  father,  and  he  takes  an   active   part    in  the 


384 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


local  campaigns  of  that  organization.  A  pub- 
lic-spirited and  energetic  man,  lie  has  the  re- 
spect of  his  townsmen,  by  whom  he  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  for  the  sessions  of 
1896  and  1897.  He  is  not  connected  by  mem- 
bership with  any  religious  body,  but  he  is 
always  ready  and  willing  to  assist  the  cause 
of  Christianity. 

ILLIAM  ROBERTS  GARVIN,  the 
](•)%/  well-known  market-gardener  and 
milk  producer  of  Rollinsford,  was 
born  in  that  town,  March  15,  1830,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Susan  (Roberts)  Garvin.  Mr. 
Garvin's  family  has  been  well  and  favorably 
known  in  this  section  of  the  State  for  four 
generations.  There  is  a  very  interesting  story 
attaching  to  the  life  of  his  great-grandfather. 
Captain  James  Garvin.  It  is  said  that  he 
came  from  Ireland  as  a  "stowaway"  about  the 
year  1700,  and  settled  on  the  present  site  of 
the  town  of  Rollinsford.  He  was  a  sturdy  sea 
captain  of  the  old  school,  and  was  largely  en- 
gaged in  trade  with  the  West  Indies,  when 
American  shipping  was  manned  by  Ameri- 
cans. Thomas  Garvin,  son  of  Captain  Garvin, 
born  July  3,  1759,  married  Betty  Randall. 
His  son,  Samuel  Garvin,  was  born  in  Rol- 
linsford, September  12,  1804.  Samuel  lived 
on  his  father's  farm  until  his  marriage,  having 
received  such  education  as  was  afforded  by  the 
district  schools.  Then  he  bought  the  farm 
now  owned  by  his  son,  William  R.,  and  car- 
ried it  on  until  his  death.  He  did  also  a 
large  teaming  business,  and  owned  a  number 
of  o.xen.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and 
he  served  the  community  in  the  capacity  of 
Tax  Collector,  and  in  other  offices.  His  wife, 
a  daughter  of  Stephen  Roberts,  of  Rollinsford, 
and  a  consistent  member  of  the  South  Ber- 
wick Baptist  Church,  had  three  children,  of 
whom  William  R.  is  the  only  survivor. 


William  Roberts  Garvin  was  sent  ])y  his 
parents  to  the  common  schools,  and  later  to 
the  academy  at  South  Berwick.  He  has 
always  resided  on  the  home  farm.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  go  over  his  place  and  observe  its 
scientific  arrangements,  and  to  watch  the 
different  operations  that  are  carried  on,  from 
spring  to  fall.  His  produce  is  marketed  in 
the  surrounding  towns,  and  is  sometimes  dis- 
posed of  by  the  carload.  He  cultivates  about 
ninety  acres,  and  on  an  average  cuts  about 
eighty  tons  of  hay,  and  one  hundred  tons  of 
ensilage.  He  has  the  largest  silo  anywhere 
in  the  vicinity,  and  can  pack  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  tons  into  it.  This  is  fed  in  the 
winter  to  the  stock,  consisting  principally  of 
fifty  head  of  registered  Ayrshire  cattle.  Mr. 
Garvin  prides  himself  upon  the  purity  of  the 
breed,  and  it  is  a  pleasure  for  any  one  inter- 
ested in  handsome  and  well-kept  cattle  to  in- 
spect his  herds.  His  dairy  yields  from  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  quarts  of 
milk  per  day.  A  large  quantity  of  garden 
truck  is  .produced,  especially  cabbage,  many 
tons  of  which  are  annually  shipped  to  the 
West.  He  also  raises  a  large  amount  of 
celery  for  the  market.  Usually  he  has  the 
earliest  varieties  of  vegetables,  as  he  starts 
their  growth  in  a  hot-house.  Five  horses  are 
kept  at  work  mowing,  reaping,  or  drawing  the 
produce  to  the  place  of  shipment. 

In  politics  Mr.  Garvin  is  a  Democrat,  as  was 
his  father  before  him.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  School  Board  and  a  Selectman  of  the 
town.  His  wife,  Frances  H.  (Yeaton)  Gar- 
vin, a  daughter  of  Leavitt  H.  Yeaton,  became 
the  mother  of  seven  children —  Annie  Bertha, 
Clara  W.,  William  R.  Garvin,  Jr.,  Susie  E., 
Homer  H.,  Gertrude  G.,  and  Samuel  R.  Clara 
is  now  the  wife  of  Elisha  Sanderson,  of  Hop- 
kinton;  Susie  married  Samuel  E.  Meserve,  of 
Richmond,  Me. ;  and   Homer  resides   in   Bos- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


38s 


ton.  Mr.  Garvin  is  a  nicnihcr  nt  the  Baptist 
Cinirch  of  South  I?ervvic]<.  Mrs.  (larvin,  who 
clieil  in  1894,  was  also  a  member  of  that 
church,  and  her  death  was  felt  as  a  severe  loss 
to  the  membership. 


SA  I.  SMITH,  Postmaster  at  Belmont, 
was  horn  in  that  part  of  Giimanton, 
which  has  since  been  incorporated 
as  the  town  of  Belmont,  December  12,  1831, 
son  of  Ithiel  and  Deborah  (Tower)  Smith. 
Ithiel  Smith  was  a  lifelong  resident  of  Gii- 
manton, and  followed  agricultural  pursuits 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was 
seventy  years  old.  His  wife,  Deborah  Tower, 
who  was  a  native  of  Cummington,  Mass.,  be- 
came the  mother  of  si.\  children;  namely, 
William,  Lucy,  Isaac,  Mary,  Matilda,  and 
Asa  I.  Of  these  Mary  and  Asa  I.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  are  the  only  ones  now 
living. 

Asa  I.  Smith  obtained  a  common-school 
education,  antl  when  a  young  man  engaged 
in  shoemaking,  teaming,  and  farming,  which 
he  followed  until  1889.  He  was  then  ap- 
pointed Postmaster,  which  position  he  still  re- 
tains. He  is  also  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  in  this  town,  and  carries  a  well- 
selected  stock  of  goods,  having  by  his  honor- 
aiile  business  methods  secured  a  large  and 
profitable  trade.  He  has  voted  with  the  Re- 
publican party  since  attaining  his  majority, 
but  is  broad-minded  and  by  no  means  a  narrow 
partisan. 

Mr.  Smith  has  been  three  times  married, 
and  the  maiden  name  of  his  present  wife, 
whom  he  wedded  in  1887,  was  Louisa  Eaton. 
He  is  the  father  of  three  childrcTi  —  Dora,  Al- 
bert A.,  and  Mary  E.  His  daughters,  who 
are  both  married,  reside  in  Massachusetts, 
and   his  son,    Albert   A.,    is   now    in    the    gro- 


cery, grain,  and  meat  business,  in  Belmont. 
Mr.  Smith  is  i)roniinently  identified  with  local 
public  affairs,  and  his  son  is  at  the  present 
time  a  member  of  the  Jkiard  of  Selectmen. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Christian  church 
for  the  ]iast  twenty-one  years,  eleven  of  which 
he  has  acted  as  Deacon,  and  he  has  also  served 
as  Secretary  and  Treasurer  of  the  society. 


T^IIARLES  E.  HOITT,  a  progressive 
I    ^      farmer  of    Ihudiam,  .Strafford   County, 

^<__^'  was  born  in  Lee,  this  county, 
March  8,  1849,  son  of  General  Alfred  and 
Susan  (Demerritt)  Hoitt.  The  father  was  born 
in  Northwood,  this  county,  in  1808.  lie 
began  his  unusually  successful  career  by  work- 
ing on  a  farm  for  nine  dollars  a  month.  After 
he  grew  to  manhood  he  moved  to  Lee,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  farming  and  hotel-keeping. 
He  then  went  to  Boston,  Mass.,  remaining 
there  in  the  hay  business  for  twenty  years. 
From  1858  to  1879  he  conducted  a  general 
merchandise  trade  in  Durham.  He  subse- 
quently rem.ovcd  to  Dover,  N.  II.  His  politi- 
cal support  was  given  to  the  Democratic  jiarty. 
He  served  as  Representative  from  Durham, 
and  as  Senator  from  Lee,  and  at  one  time  he 
was  General  of  the  Home  Guards.  His  wife 
bore  him  thirteen  children;  namely,  l""ranklin 
VV.,  Alvina,  IClizabcth,  Alfred  D.,  Samuel  P., 
Mary  J.,  Martha  A.,  Sylvia  V.,  George  I., 
Washington,  Charles,  Lydia  C. ,  and  Henri- 
etta. General  Hoitt  was  in  symjiathy  with 
religious  movements,  and  contributed  liberally 
to  the  support  of  the  church.  He  died  in 
Dover  in  18S3,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four. 

Charles  ¥..  Hoitt  acquired  a  common-school 
education,  and  from  his  father,  with  whom  he 
was  fortunately  associated  until  1883,  an  ex- 
cellent business  training.  Since  his  father's 
death  he  has  given  his  whole  attention   to  the 


386 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


farm,  greatly  to  the   betterment   of   the   prop- 
erty. 

lie  was  united  in  marriage  with  Martha  J. 
Langley,  who  was  also  a  resident  of  this  town. 
In  politics  Mr.  Hoitt,  like  his  much  esteemed 
father,  affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party. 
He  has  acceptably  served  as  Chairman  of  the 
Hoard  of  Selectmen,  and  he  is  at  present  on 
the  board.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of 
Scammel  Grange,  and  in  religion  he  is  an  at- 
tendant of  the  Congregational ist  church. 


"GRACE  U.  WOOD,  an  enterprising 
manufacturer  of  Lakcport,  Belknap 
County,  N.H.,  doing  business  under 
the  firm  name  of  H.  H.  Wood  &  Co.,  was  born 
in  Hillsborough,  N. H.,  April  21,  1842.  His 
parents  were  Alanson  and  Mary  (Colby)  Wood. 
His  paternal  grandfather,  Levi  Wood,  was  a 
native  of  Henniker,  Merrimac  County,  N.  H., 
and  was  by  occupation  a  farmer.  He  married 
a  Miss  Gould,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
four  children,  all  of  whom  are  dead.  Levi 
Wood  was  a  highly  respected  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

His  son,  Alanson,  the  father  of  Horace  H., 
was  born  in  Henniker.  After  acquiring  his 
education  in  the  public  schools,  he  became  a 
miller.  Energetic  and  capable,  he  at  different 
periods  was  engaged  in  running  grist  and  saw 
mills  in  Hillsborough,  Henniker,  Manchester, 
and  Contoocook.  He  married  a  daughter  of 
Silas  Colby,  of  Henniker.  Five  children,  all 
of  whom  are  living,  were  the  result  of  their 
union.  Both  parents  have  passed  to  the  life 
immortal.  The  father  did  not  affiliate  with 
any  religious  denomination. 

Horace  H.  Wood  was  educated  in  Henniker, 
comjiloting  his  course  of  study  in  the  high 
school,  and  for  several  years  thereafter  he 
worked    at    farming.       When    he    was    in    his 


twenty-first  year,  he  was  employed  in  Holden's 
Mills  in  West  Concord,  N.  H.  Later  he  was 
in  the  jirint  works  at  Manchester,  N.  H.,  for 
two  years;  and  in  1865  he  came  to  Laconia 
and  in  the  carding  room  of  Belknap  Mills 
served  two  years  as  second  hand,  being  then 
promoted  to  the  position  of  overseer  of  the 
room,  which  he  efficiently  filled  for  two  years. 
He  was  ne.\t  engaged  in  a  photograph  gallery 
with  E.  D.  Ward,  and  afterward  he  was  em- 
ployed for  five  years  at  the  Gilford  hosiery  at 
Laconia.  Mr.  Wood  subsequently  became  as- 
sociated with  William  Belford  of  the  Durkee 
Brook  Mills  in  the  manufacture  of  shoddy, 
doing  custom  work  for  about  a  year.  From 
Durkee  Brook  Mills  he  came  to  Lake  Village, 
now  Lakeport,  and  established  the  same  enter- 
prise, but  was  burned  out  within  a  year.  He 
then  went  to  East  Andover,  N.  H.,  where  he 
leased  a  mill,  and,  in  company  with  Mr.  E.  A. 
Colvin,  engaged  for  a  few  months  in  the  manu- 
facture of  hosiery  and  underwear.  In  Marl- 
borough, N.  H.,  he  also  served  as  boss  carder 
and  spinner  for  three  or  four  months,  having 
previously  served  five  years  in  that  capacity  in 
Gilford.  In  1882  he  established  his  present 
plant  in  a  small  way,  with  si.x  employees.  Mr. 
Wood  has  managed  his  business  so  wisely  and 
well  that  it  is  now  one  of  the  most  important 
industries  in  the  State.  He  employs  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  hands,  and  has  an  exten- 
sive trade  throughout  the  United  States. 

On  November  23,  1870,  he  w-as  married  to 
Mary  J.,  a  daughter  of  David  R.  Lovejoy,  of 
Meredith,  N.H.  Formerly  he  affiliated  with 
the  Democratic  party.  Fraternally,  he  is 
identified  with  the  membership  of  the  United 
Order  of  Pilgrim  Fathers,  in  which  he  has 
held  various  chairs ;  Union  Chapter,  R.  A.  M., 
No.  7;  and  Pilgrim  Commandery,  K.  T.,  all  of 
Laconia.  He  is  also  a  thirty-second  degree 
Mason  and  belongs  to  the  Mystic  Shrine. 


HORACE    H.    WOOD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


389 


TEI'HKN  P.  CHESLEV,  of  Dur- 
ham, one  of  the  enterprising  and 
t^—^^^  prosperous  ai^riculturists  of  Straf- 
ford County,  was  born  July  22,  1862,  in  Dur- 
ham, on  the  farm  wliere  he  now  lives.  This 
property  has  been  in  the  possession  of  the 
Chesley  family  for  many  years.  Its  original 
owner  was  Samuel  Chesley,  the  great-grand- 
father of  Stephen  P.  He  came  here  from  the 
neighboring  town  of  Madbury,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  present  century,  and  was  from  that 
time  until  his  death  actively  engaged  in  clear- 
ing the  land.  His  body  lies  buried  in  the 
family  cemetery  on  the  estate. 

John  S.  Chesley,  the  father  of  Stephen  P., 
was  born  September  30,  1839,  in  Macliniry, 
which  was  also  the  birthplace  of  his  father. 
With  his  parents  he  came  to  Durham  in  child- 
hood, and  here  grew  to  maturity  on  the 
Chesley  homestead.  He  engaged  in  farming 
and  lumbering.  Besides  looking  carefully 
after  his  private  interests,  he  was  active  in 
public  affairs,  serving  as  Selectman  of  Dur- 
ham, being  for  a  part  of  the  time  Chairman  of 
the  board.  In  politics  he  was  an  unswerving 
Democrat.  He  departed  this  life,  October  13, 
1896,  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  that 
beautiful  resting-place  of  the  dead.  Pine  Hill 
Cemetery.  He  married  Miss  Addie  Sanborn, 
a  native  of  Loudon^  Merrimack  County,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  seven  children; 
namely,  Stephen  P.,  James  S.,  VVilbcrt  S. , 
Edgar  D.,  Gadie  E. ,  lilizabeth  VV.,  and 
Ivyian  M. 

Stephen  P.  Chesley  obtained  his  education 
in  the  district  schools  of  Durham,  and  at 
Franklin  Academy  and  Coe's  Academy  in 
Northwood,  N.H.  On  the  home  farm  from  an 
early  age  he  was  familiar  with  farm  work,  and 
proved  himself  an  apt  and  faithful  assistant  to 
his  father  in  its  management.  Tiie  estate 
contains  three  hundred   acres   of    land,  all    but 


fifty  of  which  are  in  the  old  homestead.  Here 
father  and  son  have  carried  on  general  farming 
and  dairying  in  a  ])ractical  and  successful 
manner.  A  cider-mill  on  the  place,  to  wincli 
the  neighiiors  bring  their  a[)plcs  for  a  few 
weeks  in  the  autumn,  is  also  a  source  of  in- 
come. ]?orn  and  reared  in  a  Democratic 
household,  Mr.  Chesley  has  always  remained 
faithful  to  the  principles  of  that  party.  He 
has  never  sought  political  favors,  but  he  has 
served  as  Town  Auditor.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Durham  Grange. 


<sjYOHN  WEBSTER  WICLLS,  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  highly  esteemed 
farmers  of  Belknap  County,  now  living 
in  retirement  in  the  town  of  Belmont,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Gilmanton,  this  county,  born  July  17, 
1823.  A  son  of  Dudley  and  Mehitabel  (Bur- 
leigh) Wells,  he  comes  of  noble  ancestry.  On 
the  father's  side  he  is  a  descendant  of  John 
Wells,  who  died  at  Eoudon,  N.H  ,  about  tlie 
year  1796;  and  on  that  of  his  paternal  grand- 
mother, his  descent  is  traced  to  Ca|)tain  Roger 
Dudley,  who  was  slain  in  early  life,  in  one  of 
England's  wars,  about  the  year  15S6. 

Nathaniel  Wells,  son  ol"  Joim  Wells,  of 
Loudon,  was  born  at  Raymond,  N.H.,  Febru- 
ary 22,  1750,  and  died  at  Gilmanton,  N.H., 
January  6,  1833.  He  marrieil  Mary  Dudley, 
who  was  born  at  I'^xcter,  August  11,  175S, 
and  died  at  Gilmanton,  July  5,  1836.  Her 
father,  Joseph  Dudley,  was  born  in  l^.\etcr  in 
1728,  antl  ilied  at  Raymond  in  1792.  His 
father,  James,  who  was  born  June  11,  1690,  at 
Exeter,  and  died  in  the  same  town,  was  a  son 
of  Stephen,  who  was  born  in  E.xeter,  and  died 
there  in  1734.  The  Rev.  .Samuel  Dudley,  the 
father  of  Stephen,  was  born  in  1606  at  North 
Hampton,  England,  and  died  l-'ebruary  10, 
1683.      He    was   a    son    of    Governor    Thomas 


39° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Dudley,  who  was  bom  at  North  Hampton, 
Knglaiul,  in  1576,  and  died  July  31,  1653,  at 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  having  come  to  this  country 
in  1630.  Nathaniel  and  Mary  (Dudley) 
Wells  had  six  children  —  John,  Eunice, 
Mary,  James,  Dudley,  and  Sarah.  Dudley 
Wells,  the  fifth  child,  was  born  November  11, 
1793,  in  Pittsfield,  N.  H.,  and  died  at  Gilman- 
ton,  January  24,  1831.  His  marriage  with 
Mehitabel  Burleigh  was  solemnized  September 
14,  1817.  She  was  born  in  Gilmanton,  Janu- 
ary 29,  1797,  a  daughter  of  Stevens  and  Abi- 
gail (Taylor)  Burleigh,  and  died  in  Belmont, 
May  II,  1873.  The  fruit  of  their  union  was 
two  sons  —  James  Dudley  and  John  Webster. 

John  Webster  Wells  received  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Gilmanton,  after 
which  he  took  up  farming  and  land  surveying, 
and  all  through  his  years  of  activity  pursued 
these  lines  of  employment.  In  1851  he  mar- 
ried Julia  Ann  Clark,  who  was  born  in  Gil- 
manton, N.H.,  December  5,  1828,  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Hannah  (Fellows)  Clark. 
Her  father,  who  was  born  in  Loudon,  N.H., 
August  14,  1798,  died  in  Belmont,  June  3, 
1879;  and  her  mother,  who  was  born  in  Plym- 
outh, N.H.,  December  19,  1801,  died  in  Bel- 
mont, October  5,  1879.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wells 
have  two  sons  and  a  daughter  —  Walter  Clark, 
Fannie  May,  and  Thomas  Dudley.  Walter 
Clark,  after  graduating  from  New  Hampton 
Institution,  engaged  in  farming  and  land  sur- 
veying. His  farming  is  pursued  successfully 
on  the  old  homestead,  which  he  purchased 
some  time  ago.  He  is  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
has  held  important  town  offices,  and  is  an  all- 
round,  reliable  business  man.  In  1891  he 
married  Kate  B.  Keysar,  of  Pittsburg,  N.  H., 
a  graduate  of  Tilton  Conference  Seminary  and 
Female  College,  Tilton,  N.  H.  Fannie  May 
graduated  at  Tilton  Seminary,  and  was  for 
several  years  Preceptress  of  that   institution. 


She  was  a  thorough  student,  and  later  spent 
some  time  abroad  in  travel  and  study,  after 
which  she  resumed  teaching,  and  was  Precep- 
tress at  Troy  Conference  Academy,  Poultncy, 
Vt.,  and  Wilbraham,  Mass.  This  last  position 
she  resigned,  and  married  the  Rev.  William 
Love,  of  North  Dakota.  Thomas  Dudley,  who 
was  a  zealous  student,  fitted  for  college  at 
Tilton  Seminary,  and  graduated  from  Wes- 
leyan  University,  Middletown,  Conn.,  class 
of  1887.  He  is  now  editor  of  the  Watcrbury 
Daily  Republican^  and  a  Director  of  the  Con- 
necticut State  Prison. 

In  politics  John  Webster  Wells  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  has  been  a  member  of  the  School 
Committee  for  several  years,  Town  Treasurer 
for  seventeen  consecutive  years.  Selectman 
for  three  years,  County  Commissioner  for 
three  years,  and  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for 
forty-five  years.  Both  he  and  his  wife  have 
been  members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church  for 
fifty-four  years,  and  for  the  past  thirty  years 
he  has  served  as  Deacon. 


HARLES  WEBSTER  KNOWLES, 
a  well-known  citizen  of  Belmont, 
where  he  owns  a  fine  farm,  was 
born  in  that  part  of  Gilmanton,  N.H.,  now 
known  as  Belmont,  November  5,  1843,  a  son 
of  Joseph  and  Mary  Dudley  (Wells)  Knowles. 
His  parents  were  married  April  22,  1838. 
Mary  D.  (Wells)  Knowles  was  a  daughter  of 
John  Wells,  and  a  grand-daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel and  Mary  (Dudley)  Wells.  An  ac- 
count of  the  ancestors  of  Mary  Dudley,  wife  of 
Nathaniel  Wells,  may  be  found  in  the  sketch 
of  John  Webster  Wells  immediately  preced- 
ing. The  parents  of  our  subject  had  three 
children:  Oren  Wells,  born  at  Gilmanton, 
N.H.,  September  12,  1839;  Syrena  Frances, 
born  August  22,   1841;  and  Charles  Webster. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


39 « 


Orcn  Wells  Knowlcs  inairicil  in  1X69  Nellie 
M.  Bryant.  He  lived  in  Belmont  until 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  then  removed  to  \'er- 
mont,  and  subseciuently  from  that  State  to 
Boston,  Mass.  lie  is  a  mason,  builder,  and 
contractor,  and  has  his  residence  in  Roslin- 
dale,  Mass.,  but  is  engaged  on  contracts  in 
different  places  throughout  that  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts. He  has  been  very  successful,  and 
owns  a  large  amount  of  real  estate.  He  has  no 
children.  Syrona  F.  Knovvles  married  John 
I'hilbrook,  November  25,  1863.  Her  husband 
formerly  carried  on  the  wheelwright  business 
with  good  success,  but  on  account  of  failing 
health  took  up  agricultural  work,  and  now  re- 
sides on  a  farm  in  Northfield.  They  are  the 
parents  of  five  children — Leon,  Lena,  Charles, 
Ernest,  and  Omer,  of  whom  but  three  are  liv- 
ing. Leon,  who  is  unmarried,  resides  in 
Concord,  N.H.,  where  he  carries  on  a  success- 
ful business  as  a  builder  and  contractor. 

Charles  Webster  Knowles,  after  receiving 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Belmont 
and  Tilton,  took  up  farming  on  the  place 
where  he  was  born,  and  of  which  he  is  the 
owner.  It  is  a  good  farm  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  acres,  and  of  recent  years  he  has  let  it, 
and  spends  his  time  as  a  travelling  agent  for 
M.  E.  Wheeler  &  Co.,  of  Rutland,  Vt.,  and 
for  Adriance  &  Piatt,  of  Ploughkeepsie,  N.Y., 
selling  farming  implements.  He  does  quite 
an  extensive  business,  and  is  popular  with  the 
farmers  in  those  parts  of  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire  through  which  he  travels.  Though 
taking  no  prominent  part  in  public  affairs,  he 
has  always  been  alive  to  the  interests  of  the 
town,  and  at  one  time  he  served  on  the  School 
Committee.  He  has  been  many  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church,  and  for 
ten  years  has  held  the  office  of  Deacon  therein. 
He  belongs  to  Lawrence  Grange  in  Belmont. 

Mr.  Knowles  has  twice  married.      His  first 


wife,  to  whom  he  was  united  September  4, 
1866,  was  in  maidenhood  Adelia  A.  Whichcr, 
of  Northfield.  She  passed  from  this  life, 
October  27,  1872,  and  the  only  child  by  that 
union  died  in  infancy.  On  November  5, 
1S73,  at  ]?oscawen,  N.H.,  Mr.  Knowles  was 
again  joined  in  matrimony,  this  time  to  Miss 
Annie  E.  Seavey,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Al- 
mira  (Emery)  Seavey.  Mrs.  Knowles's  father 
was  born  in  Manchester,  N.IL,  in  1818,  her 
mother  being  a  native  of  Moultonboro,  N.  H. 
They  had  five  children,  four  daughters  and  one 
son,  all  of  whom  are  living  and  married: 
Lottie  Josephine  is  the  wife  of  George  Henry 
Stone,  of  Webster,  N.H.  Marion  H.  married 
Edgar  Flanders,  of  Boscawcn.  Isabel  married 
Frank  L.  Gcrrish,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth 
College,  and  a  man  of  considerable  means.  He 
is  quite  prominent  in  political  affairs  in 
Boscawen ;  has  been  Selectman  for  years, 
served  as  County  Commissioner,  and  has  held 
other  offices  within  the  gift  of  the  towns- 
people. He  is  one  of  the  leading  members  of 
the  Cf)ngregational  Church,  toward  the  support 
of  which  he  is  a  liberal  contributor.  Edward 
Seavey,  the  son,  married  Harriet  Hale,  of 
Boscawen,  and  is  a  furniture  manufacturer  in 
Manchester,  N.H.,  the  firm  being  known  as 
Joslyn  &  Seavey.  They  do  an  extensive  busi- 
ness. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knowles  have  had  four  chil- 
dren—  Lena  Adelia,  Mabel,  Harry  Clinton, 
and  Helen.  Lena  A.  and  Mabel  died  in 
childhood;  Harry  and  Helen  are  attending  the 
jniblic  schools. 


/STreENLEAF  C.  KENNISTOX,  a 
Vp  I  well-known  farmer  of  Lee,  Strafford 
County,  was  born  in  New  Market, 
N.H.,  March  20,  1836,  son  of  Zebu  Ion  and 
Ik'tsey  (Randall)  Kcnniston.  He  removed 
with  his  parents  to  lapping,  N.IL,  at  the  early 


39  = 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


age  of  four,  remaining  there  until  he  was  fifteen 
years  old.  From  1841  to  1843  he  was  in  New 
Market,  and  then  he  went  to  Nottingham, 
N.M.  From  that  town  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany D,  of  the  Eighth  New  Hampshire  Regi- 
ment, Volunteer  Infantry,  being  mustered  in 
at  Manchester,  N.II.,  in  December,  1861. 
lie  served  at  Georgia  Landing,  and  in  the  two 
engagements  at  Port  Hudson.  Having  re- 
ceived a  wound,  he  was  carried  to  Mariners' 
Hospital,  New  Orleans,  where  he  remained 
until  he  was  honorably  discharged  in  August, 
1864.  Mr.  Kenniston  then  returned  to  Not- 
tingham, but  since  1865  he  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Lee.  Including  wood  lots,  he  owns 
two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land.  He  car- 
ries on  general  farming  with  profit. 

On  December  4,  1863,  he  was  married  to 
Mary  F.  Kenniston,  by  which  union  there  are 
four  children.  These  are:  Frederick  H., 
born  April  3,  1866;  Joseph  Burleigh,  born 
September  24,  i86g;  Herbert  W.,  born  June 
26,  1874;  and  Harry  F.,  born  September  24, 
1878.  In  politics  Mr.  Kenniston  gives  his 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  Frater- 
nally he  is  identified  with  Perkins  Post,  No. 
80,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Epping. 


/  ^^^HToRGE  LINCOLN  PLIMPTON, 
y^J  A.B.,  President  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Conference  Seminary  and  Fe- 
male College,  at  Tilton,  Belknap  County, 
N.  IL,  was  born  in  Sturbridge,  Mass.,  July  8, 
1865,  son  of  James  H.  and  Elizabeth  (Fair- 
banks) Plimpton.  He  prepared  for  college  at 
the  Hitchcock  High  School,  Brimfield,  Mass., 
and  was  graduated  at  the  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity, Middletown,  Conn.,  in  the  class  of  1891, 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  was 
soon  afterward  called  to  the  New  Hampshire 
Conference  Seminary  and   P^emale   College,  as 


instructor  in  Latin  and  Greek,  and  ably  filled 
that  chair  until  1895.  Upon  the  resignation 
of  the  Rev.  Jesse  M.  Durrell  in  February  of 
that  year,  he  was  a])pointed  Acting  President, 
and  at  the  Trustee  meeting  in  April'  he  was 
elected  President,  being  the  first  layman  to 
occupy  that  position. 

On  August  10,  1892,  Mr.  Plimpton  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Etta  lone  Ferry, 
daughter  of  Lorenzo  C.  Ferry,  of  Brimfield, 
Mass.  Mrs.  Plimpton  was  graduated  at  the 
Hitchcock  High  School  in  1885,  and  at  the 
Westfield  Normal  School  in  1S87.  She  then 
studied  one  year  at  the  Boston  University, 
after  which  she  taught  school  in  New  York 
City.  She  has  resided  in  Tilton  since  her 
marriage,  and  is  now  Preceptress  at  the  semi- 
nary. 

Mr.  Plimpton  is  a  member  of  the  Delta 
Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity  of  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity.     Politically,  he  is  an  Independent. 


AMES  W.  BURNHAM,  the  junior 
member  of  the  firm  Demeritt  &  Burn- 
ham,  of  Durham,  was  born  January  22, 
1854,  in  the  village  of  Durham,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  (Langley)  Burnham.  His  parents 
had  three  other  children,  namely:  Robert, 
who  resides  in  Providence,  R  I.  ;  Mary  A. ; 
and  Samuel  F.  James  W.  acquired  the  rudi- 
ments of  his  education  in  the  pul^lic  schools 
of  Durham.  Afterward  he  attended  the  Ber- 
wick Academy  two  years,  and  the  Phillips 
E.xeter  Academy  for  an  equal  length  of  time. 
On  reaching  man's  estate  he  established  him- 
self in  business  as  a  lumber  dealer,  forming  a 
co-partnership  with  Mr.  Albert  Demeritt,  and 
beginning  in  a  modest  way.  With  the  lapse 
of  time  the  business  largely  increased  in  di- 
mensions. In  the  past  year  the  firm  handled 
two  hundred  million  feet  of  lumber  and  three 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


393 


tlioLisand  cords  of  wood.  Having  purchased 
several  wood  lots  for  their  timber,  Mr.  Hurn- 
hani  now  owns  about  one  thousand  acres  of 
land  in  Durham.  In  1893  he  founded  the 
livery  business  which  he  is  successfully  carry- 
ing on,  making  somewhat  of  a  specialty  of 
horse  dealing.  Genial  and  accommodating, 
he  is  an  agreeable  man  to  do  business  with. 

Mr.  Burnham  was  married  December  20, 
1877,  to  Miss  Lydia  A.  Buzzell,  daughter  of 
John  E.  and  Esther  (Young)  Buzzell,  of  Dur- 
ham. Five  children  have  blessed  the  union; 
namely,  Fanny,  Robert,  Joseph,  Esther,  and 
Mary.  Jn  1SS8  Mr.  Burnham  represented  his 
district  in  the  State  legislature.  He  served 
for  a  time  in  the  capacity  of  Town  Treasurer. 
He  was  nominated  for  both  positions  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  which  he  invariably  sup- 
ports, having  indorsed  the  principles  of  the 
party  since  he  became  a  voter. 


jHARLES     WHIPPLE     MORRISON, 

the  well-known  druggist  and  local 
agent  of  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company  in  Meredith,  Belknap  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  at  Sanbornton  Bridge,  Au- 
gust 9,  1849,  son  of  Charles  Henry  and  Sarah 
R.  (Ames)  Morrison.  His  great-grandfather, 
Henry  Morrison,  was  a  resident  of  Sanborn- 
ton, N.  H.  He  was  accidentally  killed  while 
assisting  a  neighbor  in  raising  a  house.  He 
was  the  father  of  six  children,  as  follows: 
Eliza  and  Abigail,  twins;  Hannah;  Eben- 
ezer;  Joseph,  who  kept  a  hotel  in  Plymouth, 
N.H.;  and  Isaiah,  who  died  in  New  Hampton, 
N.H. 

Henry  Smith  Morrison,  grandfather  of 
Charles  W.,  was  born  in  Sanbornton  in  179O. 
He  was  a  miller,  and  operated  at  different 
times  grist-mills  at  Sanbornton  Bridge, 
Franklin,     and     Gilnianton,     N.H.,     working 


upon  shares.  While  residing  in  the  last- 
named  town  he  carried  on  what  is  now  known 
as  Jones's  Mill.  He  died  in  Sanbornton 
Bridge,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one  years.  By  his 
first  wife,  Abigail  Smith,  of  Woodstock,  Vt., 
whom  he  married  in  1.S12,  he  h.id  three  chil- 
dren, namely:  Charles  Henry;  Luther  C,  who 
was  for  some  years  a  mill  operative  in  Lowell, 
Mass.,  and  died  at  Sanbornton  Bridge  in 
1837;  and  Ruth  J.,  who  married  a  farmer  of 
Gilmanton,  and  is  no  longer  living.  Ff)r  his 
second  wife,  Henry  Smith  Morrison  wedded 
Sally  Judkins,  of  Sanbornton.  By  this  union 
there  were  two  children:  Luther,  who  is  a 
shoemaker  of  Haverhill,  Mass.;  and  Asa,  who 
became  station  agent  in  Belmont,  N.H.,  and 
committed  suicide  in  1S90. 

Charles  Henry  Morrison,  son  of  Henry  and 
Abigail  (Smith)  Morrison,  was  born  in 
Loudon,  N.H.,  in  1827.  When  he  was  thir- 
teen years  old  his  parents  moved  to  Gilman- 
ton. He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
at  Sanbornton,  and  at  the  Sanbornton  Acad- 
emy. In  young  manhood  he  began  to  learn 
the  wheelwright's  trade  at  Sanbornton,  but 
after  working  at  it  for  two  years  he  decided  to 
become  a  cabinet  maker,  and  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship at  that  trade.  In  1850  he  went 
to  Concord,  N.  H.,  where  he  entered  the  em- 
ployment of  Charles  Austin,  maker  of  reed  in- 
stnmients,  and  remained  with  him  for  sixteen 
years.  F"or  the  same  length  of  time  he  subse- 
quently worked  in  the  shops  of  the  Northern 
Railway  at  Concord,  finishing  cars,  and  for  a 
brief  period  he  was  engaged  in  the  same  work 
for  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company  in  Bos- 
ton. Relinquishing  his  trade  in  1887,  he  ]nir- 
chased  a  farm  in  Gilmanton,  N.H.,  built  a 
house  upon  it,  and  is  now  engaged  in  tilling 
the  soil.  He  is  exceedingly  strong  and  active 
for  one  of  his  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, deeply  interested    in    public   affairs,  but 


394 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


lias  never  aspireil  to  office.  He  is  connccteil 
with  White  Mountain  Lodj;e,  No.  5, 
1.  O.  O.  F.,  Concord,  N.Il.;  I'enacook  En- 
campment, No.  3,  I.  O.  O.  1'".,  Concord;  and 
Merrimacii  Council,  No.  499,  A.  L.  N.,  and 
has  occupied  all  of  the  imiiortant  chairs  in 
these  organizations. 

Charles  Henry  Morrison  has  been  twice 
married.  His  first  wife,  Sarah  R.  Ames, 
whom  he  wedded  August  25,  1S45,  was  born 
in  Sanbornton.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Will- 
iam B.  Ames,  M.D.,  a  physician  who  came 
from  Vermont,  and  died  shortly  after  settling 
at  Sanbornton  Bridge  in  this  State.  He  left 
a  widow  and  sevefi  children,  as  follows:  Mi- 
chael, who  became  a  prominent  lawyer  of  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  and  died  in  that  city;  William 
B.,  who  settled  in  St.  Paul,  and  died  very  sud- 
denly of  heart  disease;  Lyman  B. ,  who  be- 
came a  druggist,  and  carried  on  business  sev- 
eral years  at  Tilton,  N.  H.,  also  in  Pittsfield, 
N.H.,  where  he  died  of  heart  disease;  Ange- 
line,  who  married  Henry  Whipple,  a  carpen- 
ter of  Concord,  became  a  widow,  and  died  at 
the  residence  of  her  mother  in  Sanbornton; 
Sarah  R.,  who  became  the  wife  of  Charles  H. 
Morrison;  Auroline,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
seventeen;  and  Roancy,  who  died  at  fifteen. 
Mrs.  Sarah  R.  (Ames)  Morrison  died  in  Con- 
cord, March  21,  1874,  aged  forty-five  years, 
si.x  months,  leaving  four  sons,  namely: 
George  Asa,  a  resident  of  Dunbarton,  N.  H.  ; 
Charles  W.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  ;  Walter 
S.  and  Henry  H.,  both  of  whom  live  in  Con- 
cord. Charles  H.  Morrison's  second  wife, 
who  was  before  marriage  Laura  E.  Allen,  is 
still  living.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Cyrus 
Allen,  formerly  a  well-known  blacksmith  of 
Gilmanton,  who  was  suddenly  stricken  with 
heart  disease,  and  died  while  driving  in  his 
sleigh. 

Charles    Whipple    IVIorrison    was   reared    in 


Concoril,  N.H.,  and  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  city.  He  obtained  his  first 
knowledge  of  the  drug  business,  working  with 
his  uncle,  Lyman  B.  Ames  in  Tilton,  N.  H. 
He  remained  there  some  three  years,  and  then 
went  to  Franklin,  N.H.,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  drug  clerk  for  about  the  same 
length  of  time.  F"rom  Franklin  he  returned 
to  Tilton;  and,  as  he  had  learned  telegraphy, 
he  was  for  a  while  in  charge  of  the  telegraph 
ofifice,  and  also  of  the  clerical  department  of 
the  express  ofifice  in  that  town,  under  station 
agent  R.  S.  Perkins.  He  went  thence  to 
Pittsfield,  N.H.,  to  which  town  Lyman  B. 
Ames,  his  uncle,  had  removed,  and  he  was  in 
his  uncle's  drug  store  there  for  one  year.  He 
was  then  engaged  by  George  M.  Burleigh,  a 
druggist  of  Meredith,  in  whose  store  the  tele- 
graph office  was  located,  and  he  remained 
there  as  clerk  and  operator  for  si.x  years.  He 
next  became  telegraph  operator  at  the  railroad 
station  in  Meredith,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  for  a  year,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
he  went  to  work  for  Dr.  F.  L.  Mason,  who 
succeeded  Mr.  Burleigh  as  proprietor  of  the 
drug  store.  Mr.  Morrison  managed  the  Mason 
store  for  several  years ;  and,  after  Dr.  Mason 
sold  out  to  George  F.  Sanborn,  he  remained 
with  him  till  April,  1888,  when  he  bought  his 
present  store  in  C.  S.  Wiggin's  block.  Mr. 
Morrison's  store  is  centrally  located,  and 
aside  from  carrying  a  large  and  varied  line  of 
drugs,  chemicals,  fancy  goods,  and  so  forth, 
he  has  attended  to  the  commercial  business  of 
the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  in 
this  town  since  1889,  the  office  being  in  his 
store.  Mr.  Morrison  has  also  been  the  Mere- 
dith correspondent  for  the  Laconia  Democrat 
most  of  the  time  for  the  past  fifteen  years. 

On  October  22,  1S87,  Mr.  Morrison  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Etta  E.  Smith,  daugh- 
ter of    Jacob   Smith,    of    Moultonboro,    N.H. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


395 


In  politics  Mr.  Morrison  is  a  Democrat. 
Since  coming  to  Meredith  he  has  gained  the 
friendship  of  tiie  most  prominent  residents, 
and  he  is  highly  esteemed,  both  for  his  busi- 
ness ability  and  his  excellent  character  as  a 
citizen.  Mr.  Morrison  is  a  member  of  the 
l^'ree  Baptist  chiircli. 


§OHN  B.  HUCKINS,  a  prominent  agri- 
culturist of  Madbury,  Strafford  County, 
was  born  October  9,  1827,  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  lives,  son  of  the  late  Robert 
Huckins.  liobert  Huckins  was  engaged  in 
farming  and  lumbering,  making  good  progress 
in  clearing  a  homestead  for  himself  and  family. 
Like  other  pioneers,  he  found  the  task  tedious 
and  troublesome,  little  of  the  machinery  that 
now  facilitates  farming  having  been  then  in- 
vented. He  was  fortunate  in  securing  for  his 
wife  Miss  Mary  Daniels,  who  proved  a  loyal 
heliMiieet  and  bore  him  seven  children.  The 
latter  were:  Eliza,  John  B. ,  Harriet  E. ,  Au- 
gusta A.,  Charles  L. ,  I^obert  L. ,  and 
George  H. 

John  B.  Huckins,  with  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  obtained  his  education  in  the  district 
school,  and  remained  with  his  parents  until 
after  attaining  his  majority.  Going  then  to 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  he  served  two  years  as  an 
apprentice  at  the  machinist's  trade,  becoming 
an  adept  in  the  use  of  tools.  Returning  then 
to  the  old  home,  Mr.  Huckins  assisted  in  the 
care  of  the  farm,  and  at  the  same  time  worked 
at  his  trade  for  many  years.  Some  forty  years 
ago  he  purchased  of  his  father  the  thirty  acres 
of  land  included  in  the  homestead,  and  built 
the  house  where  he  now  lives.  Since  then  he 
has  succeeded  to  the  homestead,  which  now 
receives  his  undivided  attention.  He  is  an 
active,  capable  business  man,  his  worth  being 
fully  recognized  by    his  fellow-townsmen,  who 


have  frequently  elected  him  to  offices  of  trust. 
In  1.S66  and  1867,  I\Ir.  Ihickins  represented 
his  native  town  in  the  State  legislature.  He 
was  Selectman  for  fourteen  years,  having  been 
Chairman  of  the  board  for  twelve  years.  He 
has  been  Town  Treasurer  for  eight  years,  and 
Moderator  for  the  jiast  fifteen  years.  In  18S0 
he  took  the  census  of  this  town,  and  since 
1862  he  has  acted  as  Justice  of  the  Peace.  In 
his  [lolitical  affiliations  he  is  a  steadfast  Re- 
publican, firmly  believing  that  the  principles 
of  that  party  are  the  best  for  the  preservation 
of  our  institutions. 

On  July  7,  1851,  Mr.  Huckins  married  Miss 
Mary  A.  Morrison,  who  was  born  at  Alton, 
N.H.,  July  5,  1 83 1,  daughter  of  General  Ne- 
hemiah  and  Mary  Erench  Morrison.  General 
Morrison,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  afterward  held  a  general's  commis- 
sion in  the  State  militia,  after  residing  in 
Alton  during  his  earlier  years,  came  to  Mad- 
bury in  1S45,  and  subsequently  resided  there 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Huck- 
ins have  five  children,  namely:  Ida  M.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years;  Eilward, 
who  died  in  infancy;  E.  Austin,  who  is  a 
resident  of  Danvers,  Mass.;  Belle  V.,  who  is 
the  wife  of  D.  VV.  Cate,  of  Farmington,  this 
county;  and  Mary  A.,  who  also  lives  in  h'arn)- 
ington. 


^^•^» 


MOV.  G.  H.  WHITCHICR,  who  for 
some  time  was  a  memiier  of  the  fac- 
ulty of  the  New  Hamixshire  College, 
is  now  one  of  the  most  active  business  men  of 
Durham,  this  county.  He  was  born  Novem- 
ber 23,  i860,  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Straf- 
ford, son  of  Joseph  A.  and  Martha  ICmerson 
Whitcher.  Brought  up  on  ;i  farm,  he  received 
his  elementary  education  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  town.  Subseepiently,  he  attended 
Coe's  Academy  at  Northwood,  N.ll.,  and  then 


396 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


complctcil  the  course  of  the  New  Ilaniiishiie 
Agricultural  College,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated, with  a  good  record,  in  1881.  During 
the  succeeding  two  years,  he  was  engaged  as 
a  nianufacturer  in  South  Acton,  Mass.  This 
place  he  left  to  accept  the  position  of  Superin- 
tendent of  the  farm  connected  with  the  agri- 
cultural college  from  which  he  had  previously 
received  his  diploma.  In  1S86  he  was  chosen 
Professor  of  Agriculture  in  that  institution, 
and  in  1S88  he  was  appointed  a  director  of  the 
experiment  station,  holding  both  positions 
until  1891.  In  that  year  the  college  was  re- 
moved to  Durham,  apd  Professor  VVhitcher 
was  given  charge  of  the  construction  of  the 
new  agricultural  buildings,  which  are  particu- 
larly well  equipped  and  furnished  for  their  pur- 
poses. In  1894  the  professor  severed  his 
connection  with  the  college,  and  has  since  car- 
ried on  an  extensive  business  as  a  real  estate 
dealer. 

Professor  Whitcher  has  become  prominently 
identified  with  the  best  interests  of  Durham 
since  taking  up  his  residence  in  the  town, 
lending  his  aid  and  influence  to  all  beneficial 
enterprises.  He  is  especially  interested  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  education  of  the 
young,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  School 
lioard.  He  also  fills  the  office  of  Town  Treas- 
urer. In  [lolitics  he  is  a  stanch  Democrat. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Good  Samaritan  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Hanover,  and  he  is  connected 
by  membership  with  the  Congregational 
Church  of  Durham. 


t^TERBERT  NATHANIEL  SANBORN, 
r^H       a  prosperous    dairy  farmer    of    Mere- 

-i^'  V. clith,    was  born    in    Laconia,    N.H., 

August  4,  1862,  son  of  Charles  F.  and  Clara 
N.  (Gray)  Sanborn.  He  is  a  descendant  of 
Nathaniel   and    Mary    (French)    Sanborn,    who 


were  the  jjarents  of  his  great-grandfather, 
Stephen  Sanborn.  Stephen  Sanborn  was  a 
resident  of  Meredith,  and  he  married  I^sther 
Thom]ison,  of  Massachusetts. 

Nathaniel  Sanborn,  the  grandfather  of 
Herbert  N.,  was  born  in  Meredith,  June  5, 
i8oi.  He  settled  on  the  site  of  Laconia,  ami 
owned  the  farm  which  is  now  the  property  of 
his  son,  Charles  F.  Sanborn.  In  his  later 
years  he  supported  the  Republican  party  in 
politics.  In  his  religious  relations  he  was  a 
Free  Baptist.  He  married  Sarah  Roberts, 
who  was  born  December  S,  1807,  daughter  of 
Joseph  and  Molly  (Davis)  Roberts.  Joseph 
Roberts  was  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Famice 
(Leavitt)  Roberts.  Molly  Davis  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Molly  (Boynton)  Davis. 
Nathaniel  and  Sarah  (Roberts)  Sanborn  had 
nine  children,  as  follows:  Mary  Rosetta,  born 
October  15,  1826;  Phcebe  Ann,  born  August 
7,  1828;  Olive  Esther,  born  November  7, 
1830;  Sarah  Jane,  born  November  6,  1S33; 
Joseph  Noah,  born  March  6,  1836;  Charles 
Francis,  born  October  11,  1838;  Wesley  Cur- 
tis, born  August  11,  1841  ;  Anna  Comfort, 
born  April  21,  1844;  and  Fred  Milton,  born 
F"ebruary  8,  1850.  Charles  P'rancis  Sanborn, 
Herbert  N.  Sanborn's  father,  was  born  in  La- 
conia, and  has  always  resided  upon  the  home- 
stead farm.  His  property  consists  of  about 
one  hundred  acres,  and  he  raises  general  farm 
products.  In  politics  he  acts  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
School  Board.  His  wife,  Clara,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  Gray,  had  three  children, 
namely:  P"rank  M.,  now  a  resident  of  Laconia; 
Herbert  N.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
Ella  G.  Mrs.  Charles  V.  Sanborn  was  a 
member  of  the  F"ree  Baptist  church. 

Herbert  Nathaniel  Sanborn  accpiired  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Laconia. 
He  resided  at  home   until  after  his  marriage. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


397 


and  then  moved  to  the  village.  In  1M.S6  he 
bought  his  present  farm  in  Mereditli,  and  has 
since  devoted  his  attention  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  owns  sixty-five  acres  of  desirable 
lanti,  keeps  eight  cows,  including  five  neat 
stock  high-grade  Jerseys,  eight  hogs,  has  a 
hennery,  and  supplies  the  Laconia  market  with 
butter  and  eggs. 

On  April  25,  18S3,  Mr.  Sanborn  wedded 
Susie  E.  Noyes,  daughter  of  William  F.  G. 
and  Charlotte  (Hoynton)  Noyes.  Her  father 
was  a  native  of  Moultonboro,  N.  H.,  and  her 
mother  was  born  in  what  is  now  Laconia. 
Mrs.  Sanborn's  paternal  grandfather,  William 
Noyes,  an  iron  moulder  by  trade,  who  was  a 
man  of  considerable  literary  ability  and  was 
active  in  local  politics,  married  Mary  Graves. 
William  F.  G.  Noyes  was  born  December  28, 
1821.  After  receiving  a  somewhat  limited 
education,  he  learned  the  trade  of  tanner  and 
currier,  which  he  followed  for  several  years. 
Failing  health  at  length  compelled  him  to 
relintpiish  his  trade,  and  he  then  turned  his 
attention  to  farming,  which  he  followed  as 
long  as  he  was  able  to  work.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Republican,  and  he  was  connected  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in 
I'rankliii,  N.  H.  Ilis  wife  Charlotte  was  a 
daughter  of  Worcester  Francis  ]?oynton,  a 
native  of  New  Raleigh,  Mass.,  and  by  trade  a 
tanner  and  currier,  who  was  a  Selectman  of 
Meredith  (now  Laconia)  for  several  years  and 
at  one  time  Sheriff  of  Strafford  County.  Mr. 
Boynton  was  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Whig 
party,  and  in  his  later  years  he  voted  the  Re- 
iniblican  ticket.  His  wife  before  marriage 
was  Mary  Gilman.  Mrs.  Sanborn's  maternal 
great-grandfather  was  David  Boynton,  and  the 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Molly  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Sanborn  is  the  only  child  her  parents 
had.  By  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Sanborn  she 
is    the    mother    of     three     children  —  Ernest 


Noyes,  Charlotte  Clara,  and  Clarence  Herbert. 
In  politics  Mr.  Sanborn  is  a  Democrat. 


c]t(^IIN  TAKKl'lR  SMIill,  a  prosperous 
grocer  of  Laconia,  was  horn  I'"ebruary 
8,  1854,  in  New  Hampton,  N.H.,  son 
of  John  Parker  and  I';iiza  Smith.  He  is  de- 
scended from  an  early  colonist  who  settled  at 
Hamilton,  N.  H.,  about  the  year  1640.  His 
great-grandfather,  John  Smith,  was  a  native  of 
North  Hampton,  N.  H.,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  farming.  Parker  Smith,  son  of  John,  was  a 
native  of  New  Hampton,  and  was  a  highly  re- 
spected farmer.  ]?y  his  marriage  there  were 
si.\  children,  of  whom  John  Parker  Smith,  Sr. , 
was  the  eldest. 

John  Parker  Smith,  Sr. ,  who  was  born  in 
Centre  Harbor,  Belknap  County,  removed  to 
New  Hampton,  where  he  was  a  successful 
farmer,  and  served  the  community  in  the 
capacities  of  Selectman  and  County  Commis- 
sioner. His  wife  Eliza,  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Potter  Smith,  of  New  Hampton,  is  still  living 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  Her  grand- 
father fought  for  the  country's  independence  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  She  had  four  chil- 
dren, of  whom  the  present  John  Parker  Smith 
was  the  third.  The  father  was  a  highly  re- 
spected member  of  the  Free  Will  Bajitist 
church,  in  which  he  served  as  Deacon  ami 
Sunday-school  superintendent.  He  dieil  at 
the  age  of  si.xty-si.x  years. 

John  P.  .Smith,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
com])leted  his  school  education  in  New  Hamil- 
ton Academy.  He  was  then  employed  for 
three  years  in  a  grocery  store  of  New  Hamp- 
ton. In  1879  he  came  to  Laconia,  and  there- 
after worked  for  six  years  in  the  grocery  suc- 
cessively owned  by  Wiggin  &  Co.  and  J.  H. 
Tilton.  Pending  the  settlement  of  the  estate 
after  Mr.    Tilton's  death    in    March,    i8yj,  Mr. 


398 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Smith  coiuluctcd  tlic  store  in  behalf  of  the  heirs 
for  a  few  months.  Then  he  and  Mr.  R.  C. 
Dickey  bought  the  stock,  and  for  a  short  time 
carried  on  the  business  under  the  style  of 
Smith  &  Dickey.  The  partnership  was  dis- 
solved in  April,  1894,  since  which  time  Mr. 
Smith  has  been  the  sole  proprietor.  He  is 
also  interested  in  the  Belknap  Savings  Bank, 
of  which    he   is  a   Director. 

In  1884  Mr.  Smith  married  Hattie  F. 
Greeley,  daughter  of  George  I.  Greeley,  of 
Franklin,  N.  H.  They  have  had  one  child,  a 
son,  who  died  in  early  infancy.  In  politics 
Mr.  Smith  affiliates  with  the  Republican 
party.  His  connection  with  fraternal  organ- 
izations includes  membership  in  Winnipi- 
seogee  Lodge,  No.  7,  and  Laconia  Encamp- 
ment, No.  9,  I.  O.  O.  F.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Congregationalist  church,  in  which  he 
has  officiated  as  Deacon  for  a  number  of  years. 


M 


ANA  P.  JONES,  a  prominent  resi- 
dent of  New  Duriiam,  Strafford 
County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  this 
town,  October  31,  1853,  son  of  John  L.  and 
Ann  (Berry)  Jones.  His  father  was  a  native 
of  New  Durham,  and  his  mother  of  Alton, 
N.  II.  Samuel  Jones,  grandfather  of  Dana  P., 
came  from  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  settled 
upon  a  farm  adjoining  the  property  now  occu- 
pied by  his  grandson. 

John  L.  Jones,  father  of  our  subject,  was  a 
lifelong  resident  of  New  Durham,  and  his 
active  period  was  devoted  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  was  a  successful  farmer  and  promi- 
nent citizen,  and  for  many  years  was  Justice 
of  the  Peace.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat. 
He  served  as  Tax  Collector,  and  ably  repre- 
sented this  town  in  the  legislature  in  1875  and 
1876.  His  first  wife,  Nancy  Chamberlain,  bore 
him  two  sons:  George  F. ,  a  resident  of   New 


Durham;  anil  John  1{. ,  who  is  no  longer  liv- 
ing. His  second  wife,  Ann  Berry,  became  the 
mother  of  two  children  :  Dana  P.  ;  and  Nancey 
M.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  John 
L.  Jones  died  in  1884,  aged  seventy  years. 

Dana  P.  Jones  began  his  education  in  the 
common  schools,  and  later  completed  a  course 
of  study  at  a  private  school  in  this  town.  He 
then  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade,  which  he 
followed  until  he  was  thirty  years  old.  Suc- 
ceeding to  the  ownership  of  the  homestead 
after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  has  since  car- 
ried on  the  farm  with  marked  success.  He 
owns  seventy-five  acres  of  fertile  land,  and, 
as  it  is  well  adapted  to  dairy  farming,  he  pro- 
duces considerable  butter.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  New  Durham 
Mutual  F"ire  Insurance  Company.  He  takes 
an  active  interest  in  all  matters  bearing  on  the 
welfare  and  advancement  of  the  community, 
and  was  formerly  Clerk  of  the  School  District 
in  which  he  resides.  He  was  also  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  fourteen  years,  and 
acted  as  its  chairman  ten  years.  Mr.  Jones 
married  P'anny  M.  Dearborn,  a  native  of  this 
town,  and  has  one  son,  Wilbur  C.  The  fam- 
ily attend  the  F"ree  Baptist  church. 


SCAR  DUNCAN,  who  has  followed 
the  trade  of  blacksmith  in  Alton, 
]5elknap  County,  for  the  past  ten 
years,  was  born  November  28,  1861,  in  Para- 
dise, Annapolis  County,  N. S. ,  son  of  David 
and  Eliza  (Cole)  Duncan,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Chester,  Lunenberg  County,  N.  S. 
The  father  followed  the  sea  in  his  younger 
days,  but  subsequently  engaged  in  the  saw- 
mill and  cooperage  business  at  Paradise,  N.  S., 
following  it  successfully  up  to  about  fifteen 
years  ago,  when  he  took  up  the  nursery  busi- 
ness.     In   early   boyhood   he   united    with    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


399 


lipiscopal  church,  and  after  he  attained  the 
years  of  manhood  he  served  as  church  warden. 
I'.liza,  his  wife,  bore  him  eight  children; 
namely,  Norman,  Fannie,  Oscar,  Jidwin  M., 
Sophia,  Annie,  Arthur,  and  Cliff.  Norman 
died  when  two  years  old;  Fannie  is  married 
to  William  I'".  Morse,  and  resides  in  Provi- 
dence, R.I.  ;  Edwin  conducts  a  grocery  store 
in  l^everly,  Mass.  ;  Sophia  is  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Martin,  now  of  Hyde  Park,  Mass;  Annie  mar- 
ried John  Warwick,  and  her  home  has  since 
been  in  Larenstown,  N.  S.  ;  Arthur,  who  is 
unmarried,  is  at  home ;  and  Cliff  is  also  at 
home. 

Oscar  Duncan  received  an  education,  attend- 
ing the  graded  schools  of  his  native  town. 
After  spending  a  year  learning  the  trade  of  a 
blacksmith  with  William  ]?ath,  he  emigrated 
to  l^oston,  Mass.  During  the  first  eighteen 
months  of  his  stay  in  that  city,  he  was  em- 
ployed in  a  grain  elevator  at  Constitution 
Wharf,  owned  by  the  Fitchburg  Railroad 
Company.  He  next  worked  at  his  trade  for  six 
months,  after  which  he  went  to  Lower  Gilman- 
ton,  N.H.,  where  he  was  employed  at  his  trade 
for  about  a  year  by  Charles  Kelley.  Follow- 
ing that  he  worked  at  the  iron  works  in  Gil- 
manton,  spent  a  few  months  with  a  Mr.  Marsh, 
then  came  to  Alton  to  work  for  H.  F.  Muzzey. 
A  year  later  he  returned  to  Gilmanton  Iron 
Works.  In  March,  1883,  he  started  in  busi- 
ness for  himself  in  that  place,  where  he  re- 
mained four  years.  Coming  to  Alton  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  he  purchased  a  shop  here, 
and  has  since  built  up  a  very  desirable  busi- 
ness. 

In  January,  1883,  while  living  at  the  Iron 
Works,  and  shortly  before  he  set  up  in  busi- 
ness for  himself,  Mr.  Duncan  was  married  to 
Miss  Nellie  J.  Sanborn,  daughter  of  Charles 
Sanborn  of  that  place.  Mr.  Duncan  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics.      In    189C  he  was  a  candidate 


for  the  State  legislature,  but  was  defeated  by 
the  Republican  candidate.  He  has  always 
taken  much  interest  in  town  affairs.  T'or 
three  years  he  was  Chief  luigineer  of  the  fire 
department,  and  he  was  a  policeman  for  an 
equal  length  of  time.  He  is  a  member  of 
Woodbine  Lodge,  No.  41,  I.  O.  O.  F. ,  at 
Farmington,  N.  H.  ;  also  of  Cocheco  Lodge, 
No.  28,  Knights  of  Pythias,  being  eligible  to 
a  seat  in  the  Grand  Lodge.  In  the  society  of 
the  Second  Free  Baptist  Church,  he  is  a  chair- 
man of  the  executive  committee,  and  the  pres- 
ent superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school.  Mr. 
Duncan  is  counted  among  the  representative 
men  of  the  town. 


LANSON  J.  STERLING,  a  prosper- 
ous and  progressive  farmer,  owning 
and  occupying  one  hundred  and  six- 
teen acres  of  land  within  tlie  city  limits  of. 
Dover,  was  born  July  29,  1843,  in  Atkinson, 
Piscataquis  County,  Me.,  son  of  Ephraim  and 
Susan  (Ham)  Sterling.  His  parents  were 
well-known  residents  of  that  section  of  the 
Pine  Tree  State,  his  father  having  there  been 
engaged  in  sawing  lumber  for  many  years. 
They  reared  fourteen  children,  of  whom  nine 
are  now  living,  namely:  Alanson  J.  ;  Wesley 
B.  ;  Elziia,  who  married  Henry  Hope,  of  Low- 
ell ;  Sumner  H.  ;  Laura,  who  married  John 
Kimball,  of  Dover;  Amanda,  who  married 
Walter  Gage,  of  Dover;  Bell  married  William 
Pray,  of  Dover;  Truman,  who  is  in  California; 
and  John  Sterling. 

Alanson  J.  Sterling  acquired  his  education 
in  his  native  town,  studying  at  public  and  pri- 
vate schools,  and  remaining  beneath  the  pa- 
rental roof  until  nineteen  years  old.  Then, 
fired  by  the  ambition  of  youth,  he  turned  his 
steps  westward,  going  by  way  of  the  Isthmus 
to  California.      After  spending  a  time   in    San 


400 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Francisco,  he  proceeded  to  Sacramento;  but 
not  finding  satisfactory  employment  there, 
went  to  Carson  City,  Ncv.,  where  he  worked 
on  a  ranch  for  the  following  three  years.  The 
next  two  years  he  had  charge  of  a  hay  farm. 
Then  he  spent  an  equal  length  of  time  in  the 
livery  business,  after  which  he  drove  a  six- 
horse  team  for  two  years.  After  that  he  was 
employed  as  a  salesman  in  a  wholesale  and 
retail  store,  dealing  in  groceries,  hardware, 
and  so  forth.  In  1879  he  returned  to  New 
lingland,  and  soon  after  settled  on  his  present 
farm,  where  he  has  since  been  inilustriously 
engaged  in  general  farming.  In  connection 
therewith  he  has  an  e.\tensive  milk  route  in 
the  city.  Being  a  man  of  good  judgment, 
honorable  and  upright  in  his  dealings,  he  has 
placed  himself  among  the  leading  farmers  of 
this  vicinity. 

On  October  17,  1874,  while  living  in  the 
West,  Mr.  Sterling  married  Miss  Ella 
Blethen,  of  San  Francisco,  daughter  of  James 
E.  and  Lydia  (Fall)  Blethen,  both  of  whom 
were  born  in  the  State  of  Maine.  Of  the 
hapjiy  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sterling  three 
children  have  been  born,  as  follows:  Herbert 
E.,  July  12,  1875;  Fannie  L.,  March  6,  1877; 
and  Lillian  C,  July  29,  1886.  In  politics 
Mr.  Sterling  invariably  supports  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party,  while  he  has  never 
been  an  aspirant  for  official  honors.  Although 
he  is  not  connected  by  membership  with  any 
religious  organization,  he  is  a  generous  con- 
tributor to  the  support  of  the  church. 


|HARLES  E.  PLUMMER,  of  Gilman- 
tnn,  whose  mature  years  have  been 
successfully  occupied  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  was  born  here,  October  29,  1831,  son 
of  Joseph  and  Sally  (Lamprey)  Plummer. 
Joseph     Plummer,     Sr.,     the    grandfather     of 


Charles  E.,  was  born  and  grew  to  maturity  in 
Belmont,  then  Gilmanton.  In  yoinig  manhood 
he  came  to  the  portion  of  the  town  of  Gilman- 
ton which  is  now  the  home  of  his  grandson. 
He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Norris,  sister  of 
Cajitain  David  Norris,  a  prominent  and  well- 
to-do  farmer.  They  had  two  sons,  Joseph  and 
Samuel.  Samuel  married  Miss  Nancey  Lam- 
[jrey,  who  had  by  him  three  sons.  These 
were:  Jefferson,  who  died  in  boyhood;  Benja- 
min, who  lived  to  be  fifty  years  of  age,  and 
never  married;  and  George,  now  living  in  Bel- 
mont, who  married  and  became  the  father  of 
three  children,  of  whom  Florence  is  living. 
Joseph  Plummer,  father  of  Charles  E. ,  born 
in  Gilmanton,  now  Belmont,  was  by  occupa- 
tion a  farmer,  which  he  began  to  follow  in 
early  youth.  After  his  marriage  he  settled  on 
the  farm  now  occupied  by  his  son,  and  which 
then  contained  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres.  He  died  suddenly  of  diphtheria,  aged 
forty-five  years.  Six  children  were  born  to 
him  and  his  wife;  namely,  Eliza,  Sarah  J., 
Charles  E. ,  Mary  E. ,  Martha  O. ,  and  Laura 
A.  Llliza  married  William  Ayers,  a  prosper- 
ous farmer,  after  which  she  resided  in  the 
State  of  Maine.  Sarah  J.  died  when  twenty- 
four  years  old.  Mary  E.  became  the  wife  of 
Henry  Marsh,  and  continued  to  live  in  Gil- 
manton. Martha  married  Benjamin  Bryer, 
and  afterward  made  her  home  in  Maine. 
Laura  is  the  wife  of  Horace  Drew. 

As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough,  Charles  E. 
Plummer  assisted  in  the  farm  work.  Being 
the  only  son,  he  eventually  succeeded  his 
father  in  the  ownership  of  the  homestead  farm. 
In  its  management  since  he  has  taken  a  pardon- 
able pride.  Broad  in  acres,  rich  in  pasture- 
age,  and  with  its  tillable  land  under  good  cul- 
tivation, it  does  credit  to  its  owner.  In  years 
past,  sheep-raising,  before  it  became  unprofit- 
able in  this  section  of  the  country,  was  an  im- 


V 


JOHN     H.    CAVERLY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


403 


poitaiit  feature  of  his  farming.  Always  tem- 
perate in  his  habits,  industrious  and  economi- 
cal, and  exercising  good  judgment  in  his  busi- 
ness dealings,  he  is  now  able  to  live  in  com- 
fort, and  grows  more  and  more  attached  to  this 
mode  of  life. 

On  April  7,  1853,  Mr.  Plummer  married 
Mary  H.  Moody,  daughter  of  Stephen  Moody. 
She  is  a  direct  descendant  of  William  Moody, 
who  came  from  England  to  Ipswich,  Mass.,  in 
1633,  and  settled  in  Newbury  in  1635.  The 
first  descendant  of  William,  of  whom  special 
mention  is  made,  is  Stephen,  who  graduated 
from  Harvard  College  in  1790,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1793.  That  same  year  he 
opened  an  ofifice  in  Gilmanton,  N.  H.,  being 
the  first,  and  for  some  time,  the  only  lawyer 
practising  in  Belknap  County.  Charles  E. 
and  Mary  H.  Plummer  have  had  three  chil- 
dren—  Etta  J.,  Carrie  E.,  and  William  A. 
Etta  J.,  now  deceased,  and  who  was  the  wife 
of  Edwin  Sanborn,  of  Gilmanton,  had  four 
daughters,  of  whom  one  is  deceased.  These 
are:  Myrtie  B. ,  who  studied  at  the  Normal 
School,  Plymouth,  N.  H.  ;  Carrie,  who  at- 
tended Gilmanton  Academy,  was  afterward  en- 
gaged in  teaching,  and  has  since  married 
I'^ank  Eurber,  of  Alton,  and  become  the 
mother  of  two  children;  Mabel  Moody;  and 
Josephine.  William  A.  Plummer  is  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer  in  Laconia,  N.  H. 


§OHN  H.  CAVERLY,  a  thrifty  and 
successful  agriculturist  of  Dover, 
Strafford  County,  was  born  in  Alton, 
Belknap  County,  June  2,  1826,  son  of  Daniel 
Caverly. 

The  father's  birth  occurred  January  23, 
1798,  in  that  part  of  ]5arrington  now  Straf- 
ford. He  followed  the  several  occupations  of 
farmer,    carpenter,    and    shoemaker.      He    sold 


his  shoes  in  Hax'erhill,  Mass.  In  1839  he  re- 
moved from  ;\lton  to  the  town  of  Strafford, 
this  county.  Two  years  later  he  went  to  the 
neighboring  town  of  Harrington,  where  he 
purchased  a  farm,  and  thereafter  lived  on  it 
until  his  death,  which  happened  April  22, 
1 891,  in  his  ninety-fourth  year.  He  was 
twice  married,  on  the  first  occasion  to  Nancy 
Hill,  who  bore  him  four  children.  These 
were:  Eliza,  born  July  21,  1821,  who  died 
March  31,  1840;  Mary  A.,  born  May  13, 
1823,  who  married  John  C.  Peavey  ;  John  H., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Darius,  who 
became  a  member  of  Company  H,  Seventh 
New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  died 
in  the  hospital  of  a  wound  received  at  the 
storming  of  Vovt  Wagner.  After  the  death 
of  his  first  wife,  the  father  married  Isabel  hi 
Morrison,  by  whom  he  had  two  children, 
namely:  Nancy  I.,  born  August  25,  1831, 
who  died  October  or  November  13,  1886,  at 
the  age  of  fifty-five  years;  and  Jane  E.,  the 
wife  of  Matthew  Hale,  of  Cohway,  N.  II. 

John  H.  Caverly  grew  to  manhood  in  the 
town  of  Earrington,  whither  his  parents  re- 
moved when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age. 
After  leaving  the  district  schools,  he  attended 
the  Strafford  Academy  for  a  time,  and  after- 
ward remained  on  the  home  farm  assisting  his 
father  until  1853.  Then,  with  a  hope  of  bet- 
tering his  financial  condition,  Mr.  Caverly 
started  for  California,  the  PHdorado  of  the 
West,  going  by  way  of  the  Isthmus.  During 
the  first  year  after  his  arrival  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, he  worked  out  on  a  farm.  The  re.st  of 
his  stay  was  spent  in  mining,  the  first  season 
being  spent  in  the  San  Jose  Valley,  and  the 
remainder  in  Vreka,  on  the  Indian  Creek, 
where  he  was  quite  successful.  In  1S59  Mr. 
Caverly  returned  to  Harrington,  and  for  the 
next  six  years  helped  to  carry  on  the  home 
farm.      Coming  to   Dover   in    1S65,  he   worked 


404 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


for  a  year  in  the  Cochcco  Mills,  and  then 
leased  the  farm  which  he  now  owns  and  occu- 
pies. Two  years  later  he  bought  the  property, 
consisting  of  seventy  acres  of  fertile  land,  and 
has  since  carried  on  general  farming,  selling 
the  milk  obtained  in  bis  dairy  with  consider- 
able profit. 

Mr.  Cavcrly  was  married  August  4,  1S59,  to 
Miss  Susan  A.  Quimby,  a  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Mehitable  (VValdron)  Quimby,  for  many 
years  respected  citizens  of  Dover.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Caverly  are  caring  for  a  daughter  named 
Margaret.  Mr.  Caverly  is  a  stanch  advocate  of 
the  principles  promulgated  by  the  Republican 
party.  In  1879  he  was  selected  by  his  constit 
uents  to  represent  the  town  of  Dover  in  the 
legislature.  His  connection  with  secret  organ- 
izations is  limited  to  affiliation  with  the 
I.  O.  O.  F. ,  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge,  of  Dover. 
He   is   a    member    of    the    Baptist  church. 


'TEPHEN  W.  SARGENT,  who 
owns  a  large  farm  in  Gilmanton,  is 
a  native  of  Alton,  Belknap  County, 
N. H.,  born  August  30,  1829.  His  parents 
were  Daniel  and  Louisa  (Watson)  Sargent. 
The  father  and  mother  of  Daniel  Sargent  both 
died  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  he  serving  as 
a  soldier  and  she,  as  a  nurse,  killed  upon  the 
field  of  battle  by  a  stray  shot.  Louisa,  the 
wife  of  Daniel  Sargent,  was  a  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph Watson,  who  owned  a  good  farm  in 
Alton,  and  was  an  industrious  and  esteemed 
citizen.  Joseph  Watson  was  twice  married, 
and  had  two  children,  Love  and  Louisa,  by  the 
first  union.  l?y  his  second  marriage  he  had 
ten  children;  namely,  Joseph,  Jonathan,  John, 
Rosclla,  Mary,  Jeremiah,  Ann  E.,  Susan,  Lo- 
vina,  and  Jonas.  Joseph  is  now  living  in 
Alton;  Jonathan,  a  widower,  resides  in  Barn- 
stead;  and  John  in   Gilmanton.      Rosella   mar- 


ried for  her  second  husband  Augustus  Smith, 
and  lives  in  Gilmanton;  Mary  lives  in  Alton; 
Jeremiah  resides  just  outside  of  Manchester; 
Ann  E.,  the  wife  of  John  Foss,  lives  in  Gil- 
manton; Susan,  now  deceased,  married  John 
Adams;  Lovina,  also  deceased,  married 
Charles  Duntley;  Jonas  has  been  twice  mar- 
ried; and  Love,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 
John  Willey,  of  New  Durham.  When  his 
parents  died,  Daniel  Sargent  was  adopted  by 
Peter  ]^ean,  a  prosperous  and  iironiinent  citi- 
zen of  Alton,  with  whom  he  lived  for  some 
time.  After  his  marriage  he  had  charge  of 
the  Cogswell  farm  for  some  years.  Then,  for 
over  thirty  years,  he  had  charge  of  a  farm  near 
Mount  Belknap,  called  the  Sanborn  farm. 
Daniel  and  Louisa  Sargent  had  ten  children; 
namely,  Lavona,  Stephen  W. ,  Charles,  Mary 
C,  Daniel  F.,  Joseph,  John,  Mary  L., 
George,  and  Edwin.  I^avona's  clothing, 
while  she  was  ministering  to  the  wants  of 
a  needy  neighbor,  caught  fire,  and  she  ran  a 
distance  of  a  mile  to  her  home.  Three  days 
later,  in  the  year  1845,  she  died  from  her 
injuries.  Joseph  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years;  Mary  married  E.  B.  Rollins;  Edwin 
resides  in  Boston. 

Stephen  W.  Sargent  received  a  district- 
school  education,  after  which  he  assisted  his 
father  with  the  farm  work  until  he  attained 
his  majorit)'.  He  subsequently  lived  for  a 
few  years  in  Boston,  where  he  had  charge  of  a 
place  belonging  to  a  wealthy  family.  He  was 
married  while  in  the  city,  and  shortly  after 
returned  to  Gilmanton  and  took  charge  of 
George  W.  Sanborn's  place.  Later  on  he 
purchased  his  present  farm,  which  has  been 
his  home  for  the  past  twenty-four  years.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  he  receives  boarders.  On 
March  30,  i86o,  Mr.  Sargent  and  Miss  Pru- 
dence Cardwell,  daughter  of  James  Cardwell, 
of   England,  were   united    in    marriage.      They 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


405 


have  one  chilil,  Carrie  I\I.,  wild  is  tcachiiij^  in 
("liliiiaiiton.  Mr.  ami  Mrs.  Sarj;ciit  are  at- 
tendants of  tlie  Free  Baptist  cliurcii. 


[HARLES  G.  MORSE,  an  active 
agriculturist  of  Durham,  Strafford 
County,  now  holding  the  office  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  was  born  October  16, 
1833,  in  Warner,  Merrimack  County,  son  of 
Stephen  and  Lucy  B.  (Smith)  Morse.  Mr. 
Morse  remained  in  his  native  town  until  fif- 
teen years  of  age,  acquiring  his  education  in 
the  common  schools.  Then,  removing  to  the 
town  of  Salisbury,  he  there  grew  to  manhood, 
and  until  he  reached  the  age  of  thirty  years  he 
was  employed  in  different  mills  in  that  local- 
ity. Desirous  then  of  becoming  proficient  at 
some  trade,  he  went  to  Penacook,  Ward  One, 
of  Concord,  N.H.,  where  he  learned  to  make 
mouldings  for  all  kinds  of  furniture.  Subse- 
quently he  was  employed  for  twenty-two  con- 
secutive years  as  foreman  of  the  factory  of 
Caldwell  &  Amsden.  Resigning  this  position 
in  1885,  he  returned  to  Salisbury,  which  he 
made  his  home  for  six  years.  In  1891,  com- 
ing to  this  county,  Mr.  Morse  purchased  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  land  in  the  town 
of  Durham.  On  this  property  he  has  since 
engaged  in  general  agriculture,  with  the  same 
persistent  energy  and  thoroughness  that  char- 
acterized his  work  of  earlier  years. 

Mr.  Morse  was  married  November  5,  1856, 
to  Miss  Lucy  J.  Calef,  who  was  born  in  Salis- 
bury, daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Rachel 
(Blaisdell)  Calef.  Mr.  Morse  has  since  been 
the  father  of  five  children,  namely:  Charles 
A.,  a  physician  and  the  Postmaster  at  New 
Market,  N.H.  ;  Alma  J.,  the  Assistant  Post- 
master at  the  same  place;  Lucy  A.,  who  died 
at  Penacook,  May  4,  1876;  Joseph,  who  died 
February   8,    1866;    and   Albert,    whose  death 


occurred  l<"ebruary  20^  1865.  Always  an  ad- 
herent of  the  Democratic  party,  he  has  served 
with  ability  and  fidelity  in  several  public  posi- 
tions. He  was  Selectman  of  Salisbury; 
Superintendent  of  the  .schools  of  Ward  One, 
Concord;  and  Justice  of  the  Peace  there  for 
fifteen  years;  and  he  is  now  filling  the  same 
office  in  Durham.  He  has  been  identified 
with  the  Odd  P'ellows  for  twenty-two  years, 
belonging  to  Contocook  Lodge,  No.  26,  of 
Ward  One,  Concord;  and  he  is  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church. 


fsffOHN  S.  WKICKS,  who  carrieil  on  a  fish 
and  lobster  business  in  Boston  for 
many  years,  was  born  in  Mcrediti)  (now 
Laconia),  January  21,  1808.  His  parents 
were  Phineas  and  Mercy  (Page)  Weeks,  the 
former  of  whom  came  from  Greenland  to  La- 
conia, the  part  then  called  Meredith,  being 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers.  When  a  boy  of 
fifteen  years,  John  S.  Weeks  walked  from  La- 
conia to  Boston,  with  a  view  to  begin  earning 
his  livelihood.  He  was  first  employed  on  a 
farm  in  Swampscott,  Mass.,  wheie  he  re- 
mained a  short  time.  Then  he  worked  a  while 
in  a  brickyard,  after  which  he  learned  the 
trade  of  a  carpenter,  and  followed  it  for  some 
years.  Having  acquired  a  small  capital,  he 
ne.xt  bought  out  a  fish  and  lolister  coni[-,an)', 
with  a  wharf  at  F^ast  Boston.  This  proved  a 
profitable  investment,  as  he  was  industrious, 
and  paid  close  attention  to  his  business. 
With  the  lapse  of  time,  working  early  and 
late  during  the  first  years,  he  added  to  his 
wharfage  at  East  Boston,  until  he  owned  seven 
acres,  controlled  an  extensive  and  lucrative 
business,  and  acquired  a  handsome  compe- 
tence. 

Mr.    Weeks    was    twice    married,    his    first 
union   being   with  Lydia  A.  F'landers,  of  New 


4o6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    RF.VIEW 


I  lanipton,  N.il.  For  his  second  wife  he  mar- 
ried PhcL'be  A.  Sanborn,  daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel Sanborn,  of  Laconia.  Her  grand- 
father, Stephen  Sanborn,  who  came  from 
Meredith  Centre,  and  settled  in  Laconia  on  a 
farm  where  he  afterward  died,  had  eight  chil- 
ilren — John,  Simeon,  Moses,  Richard,  Will- 
iam, Nathaniel,  Judith,  and  Eliza.  John  re- 
moved to  Maine.  Eliza  also  lives  there  in 
Augusta.  Simeon  died  in  Boston,  Mass. 
Richard  resides  in  Belmont.  William  died 
in  Bristol,  N.H.  Moses  died  when  he  was  a 
young  man.  Nathaniel,  who  was  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church,  married  Sally  Roberts, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Roberts,  and  he  and  his 
wife  died  at  the  respective  ages  of  seventy-two 
and  eighty-two.  They  had  four  sons  and  five 
daughters;  namely,  Mary  R.,  Phoebe  A., 
Olive  E.,  Joseph  N.,  Charles  F.,  Curtis  W., 
Annie  C,  Fred,  and  Sarah  Jane.  Mary  R. 
successively  married  John  Jewell  and  Alvah 
T.  Swain.  Olive  became  the  wife  of  Lang- 
don  Morgan,  a  son  of  John  S.  Morgan,  who 
came  here  from  Sanbornton,  N.H.,  and  bought 
the  estate  of  Uncle  Reuben  Morgan,  an  old 
settler.  John  S.  and  his  wife,  Lottie  S.  (Oil- 
man) Morgan,  had  three  other  children  — 
Convert,  Hannah,  and  Benjamin.  Langdon 
and  Olive  Morgan  had  two  children:  Ida,  now 
keeping  house  for  her  father;  and  Everett  C, 
deceased,  who  married  Annie  May  Cawley. 
Joseph  Sanborn  married  first  Miss  Esther 
Stockbridge,  and  after  her  death  Miss  Ruth 
Smith.  Charles  F.  Sanborn  married  Clara 
Gray;  Curtis  W.  married  a  Miss  Cook;  Annie 
C.  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Davis;  F^red  is  mar- 
ried and  living  in  Baltimore,  Md. ;  and  Sarah 
is  the  wife  of  Daniel  W.  Tenney,  of  Methuen, 
Mass.  John  S.  Weeks  died  April  21,  1893. 
Mrs.  Weeks  has  since  made  her  home  with 
Langdon  G.  Morgan  in  Laconia.  Mr.  Weeks 
was  a  firm  believer  in  the  tenets   of   the    Uni- 


versal ist    creed,    and   a   member   of    the    Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 


KREDERICK  A.  ORNE,  the  Repre- 
sentative of  Middleton  in  the  State 
legislature,  was  born  in  Tuftonbfiro, 
N.H.,  October  4,  1837,  son  of  Augustus  G. 
Orne,  of  Moultonboro,  and  grandson  of  Isaiah 
G.  Orne,  who  came  from  Wolfboro,  Carroll 
County,  and  was  the  first  of  the  family  in  this 
part  of  the  State.  Augustus  Orne  was  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  also  carried  on  a  shoe 
business.  The  greater  part  of  his  life  was 
spent  in  Middleton,  where  he  was  a  resident 
for  fifty  years.  His  political  views  were  Re- 
publican, and  he  was  prominent  in  the  affairs 
of  the  town.  His  fitness  for  the  public  service 
was  recognized  by  the  community,  who  in- 
trusted him  with  the  offices  of  County  Com- 
missioner, Selectman,  and  Town  Clerk.  His 
signal  ability  and  sterling  qualities  of  heart 
won  for  him  a  large  circle  of  friends.  He 
first  married  Sally  Caverly,  of  Tuftonboro, 
who  bore  him  two  children  —  Sarah  and  FVed- 
erick.  By  a  second  marriage  contracted  with 
Adeline  L.  Tufts,  of  Middleton,  there  were 
two  more  children  —  Orilla  and  Dana.  He 
died  in  1894,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight 
years. 

After  receiving  his  elementary  education, 
Frederick  A.  Orne  attended  the  high  school  at 
West  Milton.  He  then  engaged  in  the  boot 
and  shoe  trade,  with  which  he  has  been  con- 
nected ever  since.  He  has  been  engaged  in 
manufacturing  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  and  in 
Union,  this  State,  and  has  also  carried  on 
large  retail  stores  at  Rochester,  N.  H.,  and 
Worcester,  Mass.  As  a  rule,  his  time  is  fully 
occupied  with  his  business,  but  he  has  taken  a 
keen  interest  in  politics.  He  was  elected  to 
the  legislature  1897-98,  where  he    is   the   first 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


407 


Republican  sent  by  this  town  in  forty  years. 
It  is  also  worth  noting  he  was  the  first  candi- 
date in  the  histor)'  of  the  town  who  carried  the 
full  vote. 

Mr.  Orne's  first  marriage  was  made  with 
I'jiinia  Tasker,  of  Dover,  daughter  of  Horace 
Taskcr.  iMcderick  T.  Orne,  who  was  born  of 
this  union,  is  now  deceased.  Mr.  Orne  next 
married  Jennie  Springfield,  a  daughter  of 
Woodbury  Springfield,  of  Rochester,  and  she 
became  the  mother  of  three  sons,  one  of  whom, 
Charles  VV.  Orne,  of  Boston,  survives  her.  A 
third  marriage  was  contracted  with  Mattie  E. 
Ayers,  of  Portsmouth.  Of  late  years  Mr. 
Orne  has  spent  his  winters  in  that  city.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Unitarian  church.  Lib- 
cral-mindetl  and  of  generous  disposition,  a 
stanch  sujiporter  of  the  Republican  principles, 
and  interested  in  all  questions  touching  the 
public  weal,  he  is  much  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  him. 


jKHECCA  WEBSTER  (WEEKS), 
WILEY,  M.D.,  a  prominent  medical 
L^  V_^  practitioner  of  Laconia,  and  a  na- 
tive of  Gilford,  Belknap  County,  was  born 
March  20,  1848,  daughter  of  John  G.  and 
Sarah  (Weeks)  Weeks.  Her  paternal  grand- 
father was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  dry- 
goods  business  in  Boston.  John  G.  Weeks,  a 
native  of  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  was  graduated 
from  Gilmanton  Academy.  He  was  a  thor- 
ough business  man,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
did  an  extensive  business  as  a  hatter  at  Gil- 
ford, where  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-three. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church  of 
that  town.  Sarah,  his  wife,  was  a  daughter 
of  his  uncle,  Benjamin  Weeks,  and  was  born  in 
Gilford.  They  had  twelve  children,  of  which 
number  seven  are  living. 

Rebecca  Webster  Weeks    Wiley  was   named 
for  her  father's  mother,  who  was  a  connection 


of  Daniel  Webster.  Her  early  education  was 
further  advanced  by  a  course  at  Gilford  Acad- 
emy and  Tilton  .Seminar)-.  In  1868  she  was 
married  to  the  Rev.  Frederick  I..  Wiley,  a 
clei'gyman  of  the  l'"ree  Baptist  ciuirch.  Mr. 
Wiley  graduated  with  the  class  of  1S6S  in  the 
Theological  School,  which  was  tlien  at  New 
Hampton,  N.II.,  but  is  now  a  part  of  Bates 
College.  He  has  held  several  important  pas- 
torates, notably  in  ]?ath,  Me.,  Whitefield,  and 
Concord,  N.  H.  His  work  has  been  chiefly 
of  a  missionary  and  literary  character,  helping 
the  building  up  of  weak  and  debt -encumbered 
churches.  Not  having  a  strong  constitution, 
his  health  broke  down  under  the  strain  of  his 
labors,  and  he  was  obliged  to  relinc|ulsh  his 
pastorates,  but  continues  other  departments  of 
his  professional  work.  Mrs.  Wiley  worked 
hand  in  hand  with  her  husband,  and  it  was 
through  their  combined  efforts  that  over  nine 
thousand  dollars  of  church  debts  have  been 
raised  and  paid.  He  occupies  several  impor- 
tant secretaryships  in  his  denomination.  Mrs. 
Wiley  in  1879  began  a  course  in  medicine  at 
the  Boston  University,  from  which  she  was 
graduated  in  1882,  having  completed  a  three 
years'  course,  all  that  was  then  required.  She 
has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  regularly 
graduated  lady  physician  north  of  Concord. 
Shortly  after  obtaining  her  diploma  she  came 
to  Laconia,  and  entered  upon  her  profession. 
Nothing  daunted  by  the  contempt  and  ridicule 
with  which  she  was  first  received,  slu'  per- 
severed and  at  length  won  due  recognition  as 
a  homoeopathic  physician.  .She  now  possesses 
a  practice  which  is  probably  as  large  as  that 
of  any  physician  in  the  city.  She  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
Homoeopathic  Medical  Societies,  and  of  the 
Amercian 'Institute  of   Homieopathy. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wiley  have  one  son,  Maui  ice 
G.    Wiley,    who    graduated    in    the    Southern 


4o8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Homoeopathic  Medical  College  at  l?altimore, 
Md.,  with  the  class  of  1894.  He  assists  his 
mother  in  her  constantly  increasing  practice, 
having  an  office  in  the  building  where  hers  is 
located. 


(4^0SI':rH  \VARR1>:N  is  prominently 
identified  with  the  agricultural  and 
manufacturing  interests  of  Rochester. 
He  was  born  July  12,  1857,  in  the  town  of 
Pembroke,  son  of  Hugh  T.  and  Lydia  A. 
(Moore)  Warren,  and  is  a  descendant  of  Gen- 
era! Joseph  Warrea,  who  lost  his  life  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Ikinker  Hill.  The  paternal  grandfather, 
Hugh  Warren,  formerly  of  Canterbury,  N.H., 
is  now  one  of  the  most  prosperous  farmers  in 
the  State  of  Michigan,  having  a  valuable 
homestead  property  in  the  town  of  Hartford. 
Hugh  T.  Warren  has  been  a  lifelong  resident 
of  Pembroke,  N.H.,  where  he  is  still  actively 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  including  the 
raising  of  fine  stock,  dairying,  and  lumbering. 
In  the  latter  business  he  buys  standing  tim- 
ber, manufactures  it  into  lumber,  which  he 
sells  in  large  lots.  His  wife,  a  native  of 
Loudon,  this  State,  bore  him  eight  children, 
of  whom  there  are  living:  Hugh  M.,  a  wood 
and  lumber  dealer  in  Pembroke;  Pldith,  the 
wife  of  B.  J.  Fellows,  of  Suncook,  N.H.  ; 
Foster,  who  resides  on  the  home  farm ;  and 
Joseph,  the  subject  of  this  biography.  The 
father  retired  from  business  some  time  ago, 
leaving  the  active  management  of  his  farm  and 
other  industries  to  his  eldest  son,  Hugh  M., 
who  is  now  sole  proprietor  of  the  lumber  busi- 
ness. He  has  never  held  public  office,  but  has 
always  supported  the  principles  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party. 

After  receiving  his  knowledge  of  the  ele- 
ments in  the  common  schools  of  Pembroke, 
Joseph  Warren  completed  his  education  at  the 
town    academy,    which    he    attended    for    five 


years.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  spent 
si.x  months  in  travelling  in  the  West.  In 
that  time,  finding  no  place  more  suited  to  his 
tastes  than  the  old  Granite  State,  he  returned 
in  the  spring  of  1877  to  the  place  of  his  birth. 
After  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  three  years 
at  the  carpenter's  trade,  Mr.  Warren  worked 
for  an  equal  length  of  time  for  Mead,  Mason 
&  Co.,  of  Concord,  N.H.  He  then  embarked 
in  his  present  business  at  Pembroke,  where 
for  three  years  he  manufactured  common  build- 
ing brick.  In  1884  he  removed  to  Rochester, 
and,  forming  a  partnership  with  George  W. 
Anderson,  continued  in  the  same  line  of  busi- 
ness until  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  in  1891. 
Since  that  time  he  has  confined  his  work  to 
the  manufacture  of  hollow  bricks  for  use  in 
fire-proof  buildings.  He  is  doing  a  large 
business,  turning  out  about  seven  million 
bricks  annually,  and  in  the  busy  season  em- 
ploying one  hundred  and  fifteen  men.  He  is 
likewise  extensively  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing, making  a  specialty  of  raising  hay,  of 
which  he  cuts  about  one  hundred  tons  each 
season.  His  farm,  containing  two  hundred 
acres  of  land,  in  point  of  cultivation  and  im- 
provements compares  favorably  with  any  estate 
in  this  section  of  the  county. 

In  August,  1879,  Mr.  Warren  married  Miss 
Addie  Pllliott,  of  Pembroke.  They  have  one 
child,  Sadie,  who  is  still  a  school-girl.  Mr. 
Warren  is  an  influential  member  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in 
public  matters.  When  a  candidate  for  the 
State  legislature  in  1886,  he  lacked  but  seven 
votes  of  election.  In  1890  he  was  a  member 
of  the  first  City  Council  of  Rochester,  to 
which  he  was  elected  for  three  consecutive 
years,  serving  during  that  time  as  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Roads,  Bridges,  and  Re- 
pairs; on  the  Water  Board;  and  on  the  Com- 
mittee on  Disputed  Claims.      Mr.    Warren  be- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


409 


longs  to  Howard  Lodge,  No.  31,  I.  O.  O.  F. , 
ot  Suiicook ;  to  Oriental  Lodge,  K.  of  1'.,  of 
the  same  place;  and  to  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle  of  Rochester.  Me  was  a  charter 
member  of  Pembroke  Grange,  ranking  the  sec- 
ond of  the  State  granges  in  size,  and  whicli 
lie  has  been  instrumental  in  elevating  to  its 
present  high  position.  He  was  also  at  one 
time  a  member  of  the  Order  of  United  Ameri- 
can Mechanics. 


^AMUEL  LAMPREY,  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  successful 
farmers  of  Belmont,  Pelknap 
Count)',  N.H.,  was  born  in  the  neighboring 
town  of  Gilford,  N.H.,  May  26,  1814,  son  of 
John  and  Mary  M.  (Chase)  Lamprey.  His 
paternal  grandfather,  John  Lamprey,  Sr. ,  who 
was  born  in  Pittsfield,  N.  H.,  in  1748,  was 
drafted  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  but  not 
drawn  for  service. 

John  Lamprey,  Jr.,  father  of  Samuel,  was 
one  of  the  prosperous  farmers  and  stock-raisers 
of  Pittsfield  in  his  day.  He  owned  at  one 
time  a  tract  containing  upward  of  two  hundred 
and  seventy-five  acres,  one  hundred  acres  of 
which  were  covered  with  heavy  timber.  Me 
was  an  excellent  judge  of  horse  flesh,  and  al- 
ways made  it  a  point  to  keep  a  speedy  animal 
for  his  own  use.  Mis  wife,  Nancy  M.  Chase, 
was  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Chase,  of  Gilman- 
ton,  N.  M.  She  became  the  mother  of  nine 
children,  as  folhjws:  Nancy,  Rachel,  Ruth, 
Mary,  John,  Richard,  Samuel,  Reuben,  and 
another  child  who  died  young.  Of  these,  the 
only  survivor  is  Samuel,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Nancy  married  a  Mr.  Coleman,  and 
died  in  1S94,  aged  ninety-three  years.  Rachel 
married  Richard  Flanders,  of  Alton,  N.  H.  ; 
Ruth  married  Daniel  Flanders  of  the  same 
town,  and  lived  to  be  seventy-two.  Mary 
wedded  James    I-'urnell,  and   moved  to  Canada, 


where  she  dietl  at  the  age  of  eighty.  John 
married  Lydia  Mooney,  daughter  of  John 
Mooney,  of  Gilford,  N.  M.  Richard  married 
Miss  Sarah  Leavitt,  of  Alton,  and  Reuben 
married  a  Miss  Glitten,  of  Gilmanton. 

Samuel  Lamprey  attended  the  district 
schools  in  his  boyhood,  and  resided  at  home 
until  he  was  eighteen.  He  then  went  to 
.Salem,  Mass.,  where  he  drove  an  o.\  team  for 
eight  months,  and  the  following  sjiring  he  ob- 
tained employment  in  West  Cambridge,  Mass. 
A  few  months  later  he  engaged  in  the  trucking 
business  in  Hoston,  first  as  a  teamster  and 
later  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Rollins, 
]5rown  &  Lamprey;  and  he  continued  in  busi- 
ness for  si.x  years.  Returning  to  his  native 
State,  he  bought  his  present  farm  in  Belmont. 
This  property  at  the  time  of  jjurchase  was 
badly  run  down,  liut  by  hard  work  Mr.  Lam- 
prey brought  it  up  to  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion, and  for  many  years  his  farm  has  been 
regarded  as  one  of  the  best  in  this  locality. 
He  raises  general  farm  produce,  but  makes  a 
specialty  of  hay.  He  claims  that  the  two 
most  essential  elements  of  success  in  agricult- 
ural pursuits  are  a  perfect  understanding  of 
the  soil  to  be  tilled  and  hard  work  ;  antl  it  may 
be  added  that  he  has  proved  this  theory  to  be 
correct.  He  has  been  thrifty  as  well  as  in- 
dustrious, and  from  his  youth  has  observed 
prudent  and  temperate  habits.  He  Irioks  back 
with  satisfaction  to  the  ilay  when  he  became 
an  independent  farmer,  and  has  in  his  posses- 
sion some  of  his  first  croji  of  corn,  which  was 
harvested  fifty-five  years  ago. 

Mr.  Lamprey  married  Deborah  L.  Bean, 
who  was  born  in  Belmont,  December  12,  1S33, 
daughter  of  John  L.  and  Lydia  (Bartlett) 
Bean.  She  was  a  woman  of  more  than  usual 
ability  and  strength  of  character,  a  thrifty  and 
jirudent  housewife,  and  a  most  faithful  hel|)- 
mate.      Mrs.      Lamprey's    death     occurred     on 


410 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


March  7,  1S96,  a  sad  loss  to  her  husband  in 
his  declining  years.  She  left  no  children. 
In  politics  Mr.  Lamprey  is  a  Democrat. 


rrs  |.\RTIN    V.     R     FKLKKR,    a    gen- 
eral   farmer  of    the    town   of    Mad- 

L^  V^ bury,  Strafford   County,  where   he 

owns  a  substantial  farming  property,  was  born 
February  17,  1833,  in  North  Harrington, 
N.  H.  His  parents  were  Levi  and  Sally  F. 
(Nichols)  F'elker,  residents  for  a  great  many 
years  of  l^arrington,  where  the  father  was 
engaged  in  milling  and  farming. 

IMr.  Felker  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools  of  his  native  town.  Throughout  his 
boyhood  he  worked  industriously  on  the  home 
farm.  As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  he  was 
given  charge  of  one  of  the  two  mills  owned  by 
his  father,  and  thereafter  for  several  years  he 
manufactured  rough  lumber,  shingles,  etc.,  and 
attended  to  the  grist-mill.  In  1S64,  leaving 
the  parental  home,  he  purchased  one  hundred 
acres  of  his  present  farm,  and  has  since  been 
busily  engaged  in  improving  it.  The  rest 
of  the  farm,  si.xteen  and  a  half  acres,  was 
bought  by  him  more  recently.  He  carries  on 
general  husbandry,  including  dairying,  using 
the  most  approved  modern  methods.  So  far 
fortune  has  smiled  upon  his  efforts,  and  every- 
thing about  the  premises  indicates  the  pres- 
ence of  ample  means  and  cultivated  tastes. 

Mr.  Felker  was  married  March  22,  1857,  to 
Miss  Cordelia  J.  Locke,  who  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Strafford,  January  20,  1836.  They 
became  the  parents  of  four  children,  namely: 
Henry,  who  resides  on  the  home  farm  and 
assists  in  its  care;  Sarah  M.,  now  the  widow 
of  the  late  Frederick  W.  Lee,  of  Dover ;  El- 
lery  M.,  a  resident  of  Dover;  and  George  W., 
who  died  at  the  age  of  si.x  years.  Politically, 
Mr.    Felker  is  a  warm  advocate   of   the   prin- 


ciples of  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  satis- 
factorily served  his  fellow-townsmen  in  many 
offices  of  trust.  In  1S71  he  was  Ta.x  Col- 
lector, a  ]josition  which  he  is  now  filling.  In 
1S72  he  was  elected  to  the  State  legislature 
from  Madbury,  and  from  1SS6  until  1891  was 
Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Dover  Grange. 


IIARLKS     II.     ROWE,     an    esteemed 
and    prosperous    citizen     of     Laconia, 

.^ ^    was  born  October  8,    1837,    in   Gil- 

manton,  now  Belmont,  Belknap  County,  a  son 
of  Morrison  and  Sarah  B.  (James)  Row.e, 
Jeremiah  Rowe,  the  father  of  Morrison,  was  a 
native  of  that  part  of  the  town  of  Gilford  now 
included  in  Laconia,  and  was  quite  exten- 
sively engaged  in  farming.  He  was  twice 
married,  the  maiden  name  of  his  first  wife 
having  been  Ruth  Lone,  and  that  of  his  second 
wife  Ruth  Seward.  Besides  Morrison,  wlio 
was  born  of  his  first  marriage,  he  had  three 
other  sons  —  Ezekiel,  Jeremiah,  and  Charles. 
Morrison  Rowe  was  a  native  of  Gilmanton. 
When  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  purchased 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  Bel- 
mont, and  thereafter  was  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  stock-raising  with  good  success 
until  his  decease.  In  politics  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat, and  was  chosen  to  represent  the  town  of 
Belmont  in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  in 
the  year  1855.  In  religious  belief  he  was  a 
Free  Baptist.  He  died  in  1868,  fifty-eight 
years  of  age.  His  union  with  Sarah  B.  James, 
a  daughter  of  Jonathan  James,  was  blessed  by 
the  birth  of  a  son  and  three  daughters; 
namely,  Mary  J.  Rowe,  Ellen  F. ,  Charles  H., 
and  F"lora  A.  Mary  Jane  married  Franklin 
Cook,  of  Plymouth,  N.  H.,  with  whom  she 
afterward  went  to  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  where 
she    still    resides,    having    three     children  — 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


411 


J-'nink  Ctidk,  Ray  J.,  cuul  Mora  E.  I'.llcn  I''. 
Rowe  married  I{d\vin  Clark,  of  riymouth, 
N.H.  and  lias  two  sons  and  a  daughter  —  Ev- 
erett, Mabel,  and  Walter.  Flora  A.  Rovvo 
niarrietl  John  F.  Merrill,  of  Laconia.  They 
have  three  sons  and  one  daughter  —  Albert  R., 
F.  Carlton,  Eva  L. ,  and   Frederic   D.  Merrill. 

After  finishing  his  elementary  education, 
Charles  PI.  Rowe  attended  the  New  JIampton 
Seminary  and  Gilford  Academy  at  Laconia. 
He  then  took  up  the  calling  of  farmer  in  Bel- 
mont, beginning  with  sixty-five  acres  of  land, 
to  which  he  kept  adding  until  he  had  a  farm 
of  three  hundred  acres.  Since  1884  he  has 
been  principally  engaged  in  the  real  estate 
business;  also  conducting  a  grain  and  grocery 
store  at  Laconia  in  company  with  his  son, 
Daniel  M.,  under  the  style  of  D.  M.  Rowe  & 
Co.,  for  five  years.  At  one  time  he  owned  a 
twelve-acre  lot  that  extended  some  distance 
up  Court  Street,  out  of  which  he  gave  Fair, 
Bay,  and  Charles  Streets  to  the  town,  and  laid 
out  thirty-three  house  lots,  which  he  has  sold 
and  built  on. 

In  1861  Mr.  Rowe  married  Marietta  1'. 
Ladd,  daughter  of  Daniel  G.  and  Lydia 
(Rundlett)  Ladd,  of  Belmont.  Mr.  Ladd  died 
in  1855.  His  wife,  Lydia,  is  now  eighty-one 
years  old.  Mrs.  Rowe  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-three.  She  bore  her  husband  three  sons 
—  Daniel  M.,  Leon  G. ,  and  Merton  C.  The 
first  two,  under  the  style  of  Rowe  Brothers, 
carry  on  a  successful  wholesale  grocery  busi- 
ness. Merton  C.  died  in  1891,  aged  twenty- 
one  years.  Mr.  Rowe  is  a  Gold  Democrat. 
For  three  years  he  was  one  of  the  Selectmen 
of  Belmont — 1875,  '^7*5,  and  1877  —  the  last 
year  being  Chairman  of  the  Board.  He  served 
as  Tax  Collector  of  Belmont  in  1872,  and  in 
Laconia  received  the  nomination  for  Repre- 
sentative to  the  State  legislature,  but  was  not 
elected. 


"Tl  RA  A.  LOCKIC,  a  rei)iesentative  farmer 
HI  and  stock-raiser,  and  one  of  the  best- 
ei-L  known  residents  of  Madbury,  was  burn 
September  5,  1828,  in  Dover,  N.H.,  son  of 
Jeremiah  ami  l-'.lizabeth  Wentworth  Locke. 
His  parents  reared  a  family  of  nine  children, 
three  daughters  and  six  sons.  Three  of  the 
sons  fought  for  the  Union  in  the  Civil  War. 
Ira  A.  Locke  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Dover.  When  sixteen  years  of  age, 
he  began  working  for  himself.  He  spent  two 
years  learning  the  machinist's  trade  in  Dover, 
continuing  at  the  same  labor  in  Manchester 
for  a  time,  after  which  he  went  to  Nashua, 
where,  in  a  year  and  a  half,  he  completed  his 
apprenticeship.  Coming  from  there  to  Dover, 
Mr.  Locke  worked  as  a  machinist  for  six  yeais. 
He  was  then  employed  by  the  New  England 
Steam  Gas  Pipe  Company  for  a  year.  Subse- 
quently, he  secured  a  situation  with  the  firm 
of  Pike,  Green  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  who  sent  him 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  remainetl  seven 
months.  Returning  then  to  Boston,  he  con- 
tinued with  the  firm  until  the  end  of  that 
season. 

About  forty-six  years  ago,  with  the  i)urj)ose 
of  settling  himself  permanently  in  life,  Mr. 
Locke  purchased  the  farm  to  which  he  brought 
his  youthful  bride  and  which  has  since  been 
his  home.  In  the  improvement  of  his  farm 
he  has  labored  with  diligence,  carrying  on  his 
work  systematically  and  after  scientific 
methods,  and  has  met  with  a  success  cor- 
responding to  the  amount  of  energy  and  time 
expended.  During  the  late  Rebellion,  Mr. 
Locke  put  aside  all  private  considerations  and 
offered  his  services  to  his  country.  He  en- 
listed in  September,  1862,  as  a  private  in 
Company  K,  I'.leventh  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  being  mustered  in  at  Concord. 
He  was  soon  after  appointed  hostler  to  Gen- 
eral   Ilarriman,    a  position    in    which    he    had 


4>- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


sumo  startling  experiences.  At  White  Sul- 
I)hur  Springs,  while  out  on  a  foraging  expedi- 
tion, he  was  captured  by  the  enemy  and  taken 
to  Libby  Prison,  where  he  was  held  for 
twenty-two  days.  He  was  then  paroled  and 
taken  to  Indianapolis,  where  he  was  kept  until 
April,  1863,  when  he  received  an  honorable 
discharge.  Politically,  Mr.  Locke  is  a  stanch 
Democrat. 

Mr.  Locke  was  married  February  22,  1850, 
to  Miss  Lydia  B.  Church,  who  was  born  Oc- 
tiiber  13,  1833,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and 
I'atience  (Hanst)n)  Church.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Locke  are  the  parents  of  six  children,  namely  : 
George  A.,  born  November  28,  185 1,  who 
now  lives  in  Haverhill,  Mass.  ;  Annie  E., 
horn  August  19,  1853,  who  successively  mar- 
ried Israel  P.  Church,  of  Dover,  and  Edward 
Andrews,  and  now  lives  in  Durham  ;  Ida, 
born  May  10,  1858,  who  married  Roscoe  Otis, 
of  Durham;  James  I.,  born  September  11, 
1870,  also  residing  in  Haverhill;  Frederick 
!■'.,  born  June  24,  1871,  a  resident  of  Haver- 
hill; and  Willis  C,  born  March  16,  1856, 
who  died  March  3,   1861. 


•AMUEL  H.  BLAISDELL,  a  well- 
to-do  farmer  of  Gilford,  was  born 
where  he  now  resides,  June  ig, 
1S27,  son  of  Philip  and  Judith  (.Sargent) 
]51aisdell.  His  grandfather,  Samuel  Blais- 
dell,  who  came  from  Kingston,  N.H.,  to  Gil- 
ford, when  the  country  was  new,  settled  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Lilly  Pond,  where  he  bought 
of  Colonel  Badger  eighty  acres  of  wild  land. 
After  Grandfather  Blaisdell  had  cleared  a  por- 
tion of  the  property  and  erected  a  house,  his 
family  joined  him,  and  subsequently  his 
father.  His  sisters  also  settled  in  Gilford, 
and  his  brother  Jacob  engaged  in  farming  here 
and  reared  a  large  family,  and  his  descendants 


are  still  residing  in  this  vicinity.  .Samuel 
Blaisdell  in  the  course  of  time  added  more 
land  to  his  farm,  and  became  cpiite  prosper- 
ous. He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and, 
being  the  only  one  in  this  locality  at  that 
time,  did  a  great  deal  of  work  in  that  line. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  served  as 
Tax  Collector  for  some  time.  At  his  death 
he  was  fifty  years  old.  He  married  Abigail 
Osgood,  and  reared  nine  children;  namely, 
William,  John,  Samuel,  Philip,  Elizabeth, 
Plnoch,  Aaron,  Polly,  and  Daniel.  William 
and  John  were  born  in  Kingston.  All  except 
Samuel  remained  here.  William  became  a 
preacher,  served  as  Town  Clerk  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  later  in  life  preached  in 
Tuftonboro,  N.H.  Elizabeth  married  Thomas 
Plummer,  of  this  town.  Polly  remained 
single.  The  others  married  and  reared  fam- 
ilies. John,  Phili].),  and  .Samuel  became 
blacksmiths. 

Philip  Blaisdell,  the  father  of  Samuel  H., 
succeeded  to  the  possession  of  the  homestead. 
He  added  seventy  acres  to  the  farm,  tilled  the 
soil  with  energy,  raised  considerable  stock, 
and  continued  to  carry  on  the  blacksmith  shop 
established  by  his  father.  Having  given  his 
time  mainly  to  his  farm  and  trade,  he  never 
aspired  to  public  office,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
eighty-six  years.  His  wife,  Judith,  who  was 
a  daughter  of  John  Sargent,  became  the 
mother  of  two  sons,  namely  :  John,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  three  years;  and  Samuel  H.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  She  lived  to  be 
seventy- five  years  old. 

Samuel  H.  Blaisdell  acquired  his  education 
in  the  district  school.  Afterward,  having 
worked  with  his  father  in  the  blacksmith  shop 
and  on  the  farm,  he  succeeded  to  the  owner- 
ship of  the  property,  and  now  owns  about 
three  hundred  acres  of  land,  a  large  part  of 
which    is   under   cultivation.      By  the   exercise 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


4'3 


of  thrift  and  good  judgment,  he  has  been 
unusually  successful.  In  his  active  period 
he  gave  his  attention  principally  to  tiie  fann, 
preferring  agricultural  pursuits  to  the  black- 
smith trade.  lie  still  superintends  the  farm 
in  jierson,  although  he  has  practically  retired 
from  active  labor.  He  married  Olive  Merrill, 
daughter  of  James  Merrill,  of  Gilford.  She 
died  in  1862,  leaving  no  children.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  ]51aisdell  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  not 
taken  any  part  in  public  affairs  beyond  casting 
his  vote.  His  prosperity  is  the  result  of 
industry  and  integrity,  and  he  is  highly 
esteemed  as  an  upright,  conscientious  man  and 
a  worthy  citizen. 


/^TeORGE  H.  MITCHELL,  a  well- 
\  pT  known  stove  and  tinware  dealer  of 
Laconia,  was  born  May  8,  1828,  in 
Bradford,  Hillsborough  County,  son  of  Fred- 
erick A.  and  Lucy  G.  (Aiken)  Mitchell.  His 
paternal  ancestors,  who  were  of  Scotch-Irish 
nationality,  emigrated  to  America,  settling  in 
Londonderry,  N.H.  His  maternal  grand- 
father was  a  highly  respected  Presbyterian 
Elder  and  a  Revolutionary  soldier. 

Frederick  A.  Mitchell  was  a  teacher  in  early 
manhood,  being  at  one  time  the  instructor  of 
Horace  Greeley.  Later  he  became  an  allo- 
pathic physician,  and  had  a  large  and  lucrative 
[iractice  in  Bedford.  He  was  a  fine  Bible 
scholar,  and  officiated  as  Deacon  of  the  Con- 
gregational church.  His  death  occurred  when 
he  was  eighty  years  old.  His  wife,  Lucy,  was 
a  daughter  of  Phineas  Aiken,  of  Bedford, 
N.H.,  who  served  the  community  as  Clerk, 
Selectman,  and  Representative.  Distinguished 
members  of  the  Aiken  family  were:  Judge 
Aiken,  of  Greenfield,  Mass.;  Judge  Charles 
Aiken,  of  Colorado;  the  Rev.  Silas  Aiken,  a 
former  pastor  of  Park  Street  Church,  Boston, 


Mass.  ;  and  John  Aiken,  who  was  Treasurer  of 
the  Abbott  Lawrence  Corporations,  ant!  who 
married  a  sister  of  the  wife  ni  President 
Pierce.  Three  of  the  seven  children  of  I''red- 
erick  A.  are  living;  namely,  Henry  A.,  Mrs. 
M.  S.  Griffin,  and  George  II.  Henry  A.  is 
the  proprietor  of  Hotel  Rockaway,  York 
Beach,  Me.  ;  and  Martha  S.  Griffin  owns  the 
Agamenticus  House  of  the  same  place. 

George  H.  Mitchell,  the  si.\th  child  of  his 
parents,  received  a  common-school  education. 
On  attaining  his  majority,  having  previously 
learned  the  tinner's  trade,  he  entered  the 
stove  and  tinware  business  in  Plymouth,  N.H. 
Afterward  he  followed  the  same  business  as  a 
wholesale  dealer  in  Portland,  Me.,  for  about 
sixteen  years.  In  1S77  he  went  to  Boston, 
Mass.,  engaging  in  jobbing  kitchen  ware  and 
furniture  business  at  71  and  73  North  Street, 
being  the  senior  member  in  the  firm  of  Mitch- 
ell Brothers  &  Co.  Importing  goods  from 
PLurope,  and  acquiring  a  large  New  luigland 
trade,  they  continued  the  enter[)rise  with  e.K- 
cellent  financial  returns  for  ten  years.  On 
account  of  failing  health  Mr.  Mitchell  then 
sold  out.  In  1871  he  established  his  i)resent 
store  in  Laconia,  where  his  commercial  abil- 
ity is  also  recognized. 

In  August,  1 85  I,  Mr.  Mitchell  was  married 
to  Julia  A.  Chase,  of  Belmont,  N.H.  They 
have  one  son,  who  was  patriarch  of  Winnepe- 
saukee  Lodge,  No.  51,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-three,  and  is  now  the  efficient 
foreman  of  his  father's  store.  In  politics 
Mr.  Mitchell  is  a  Republican.  Fraternally, 
he  belongs  to  Ancient  15rothers'  Lodge,  No. 
4,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Portland,  Me.,  which  he 
joined  in  January,  1868.  In  religion  he  is  a 
member  of  the  l-'irst  I'ree  Baptist  Church, 
which  he  served  four  years  on  the  b'inance 
Committee.  He  is  now  Deacon,  and  is  ac- 
tively   interested    in   the   general    work   of   the 


414 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


church  aiul  that  of  the  Sunday-school.  Mr. 
Mitchell  was  a  Director,  and  also  officiated 
for  four  years  as  President  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  A  man  of  strict  in- 
tegrity, during  a  business  career  of  nearly  half 
a  century  he  has  always  paid  one  hundred 
cents  on  the  dollar. 


IIOMAS  H.  WISWELL,  a  retired 
paper  manufacturer  of  Durham,  was  for 
many  years  intimately  associated  with 
the  leading  industrial  interests  of  this  part  of 
Strafford  County.  He  was  born  January  28, 
1817,  in  the  town  of  Exeter,  two  miles  from 
the  village,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Trow- 
bridge) VViswell.  Thomas  Wiswell  was  a 
Massachusetts  man,  having  been  born  in  New- 
ton of  that  State.  From  there  he  removed  to 
Exeter,  N.H.,  in  1814.  He  had  previously 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  On  his  re- 
moval to  Exeter,  in  company  with  Isaac  Flagg, 
he  built  a  paper-mill,  and  engaged  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  paper  for  printers'  use.  He  carried 
on  a  substantial  business  until  his  death  in 
April,  1836.  His  wife,  Sarah,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  Newton,  Mass.,  bore  him  seven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  five  were  sons. 

Thomas  H.  Wiswell  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  at  the 
Wakefield  Academy,  attending  the  latter  in- 
stitution for  two  terms.  When  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  began  his  apprenticeship  as  a  paper- 
maker  in  his  father's  mill,  in  which  he  contin- 
ued to  work  until  1846.  Going  then  t-o 
Dover,  this  county,  Mr.  Wiswell  there  had 
charge  of  a  paper-mill  for  five  years.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Exeter,  and 
was  there  employed  for  two  years  in  the  Rus- 
sell paper-mills.  Now,  with  the  confidence 
of  experience,  he  came  to  Durham,  and  in 
partnership  with  Isaac   Flagg,  Jr.,  the  son  of 


his  father's  partner,  purchased  a  saw-mill  lo- 
cated on  the  Lamprey  River,  having  ample 
water-power,  converted  it  into  a  iiaper-mill, 
furnishing  it  with  modern  machinery,  and 
carried  on  the  manufacture  of  paper  for  a 
time.  In  1854  Mr.  Flagg  disposed  of  his 
business  to  Howard  Moses,  the  firm  name 
being  changed  to  Wiswell  &  Moses.  In  1857 
Mr.  Moses,  who  had  previously  sold  his  inter- 
est in  the  mill  to  his  father,  died.  Then  the 
firm  name  became  T.  H.  Wiswell  &  Co. 
From  that  time  the  mill  had  an  extensive  bus- 
iness in  the  manufacture  of  wall  paper  until 
1883,  when  it  was  burned.  Since  then  Mr. 
Wiswell  has  lived  retired  from  active  occu- 
pation. In  the  thirty  years  of  his  business 
career,  he  acquired  a  fortune  ample  enough  to 
warrant  him  spending  the  remainder  of  his 
life  in  leisure. 

Mr.  Wiswell  was  married  June  22,  1841,  to 
Miss  Hannah  Thing,  of  Brentwood,  N.H. 
Their  only  child,  Clara,  is  the  wife  of  Alanson 
C.  Haines,  Cashier  of  the  National  Bank  of 
New  Market,  N.H.  Politically,  Mr.  Wiswell 
has  been  identified  with  the  Republican  party 
since  its  formation.  He  is  an  esteemed  mem- 
ber of  the  Congregational  Church  of  New 
Market,  of  which  he  has  been  Deacon  for  fif- 
teen years.  Although  he  has  always  been  a 
man  of  domestic  tastes,  preferring  the  quiet  of 
his  fireside  to  public  life,  Mr.  Wiswell  repre- 
sented the  town  of  Durham  in  the  State  legis- 
lature in  1872  and  1S73. 


'fi  |RS.  DOROTHY  S.  COFFIN,  one 
of     the     best     known    residents    of 

^  *  Gilmanton,  Belknap  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  here  in  1823,  a  daughter  of 
Abraham  S.  and  Martha  B.  (Moulton)  Gale. 
Bartholomew  Gale,  the  earliest  known  ancestor 
of   the    family,    a    shipwright    by   trade,    came 


MRS.    DOROTHY    S.    COFFIN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


4'7 


from  En{;land  to  Hoston,  Mass.  (It  is  highly 
jirobablc  that  he  was  the  Bartholomew  Gale 
meiitioiieil  in  the  Essex  Institute  Historical 
Collections,  vol.  ii.,  as  having  the  following 
children  by  his  second  wife,  Mary  Bacon,  the 
names  and  dates  of  birth  being  copied  from 
an  old  book  of  records  of  Salem,  Mass.  : 
Abraham;  Isaac;  Jacob,  1671;  Bartholomew, 
1674;  Daniel  and  Mary,  twins,  1676.) 

Bartholomew  Gale,  progenitor  of  the  Gales 
of  Gilmanton,  N.H.,  was  the  father  of  several 
children,  it  is  said;  but  only  the  names  of 
Jacob  and  Daniel  are  known.  The  former 
settled  in  Kingston,  Mass.  He  served  as  a 
Representative,  and  was  otherwise  active  in 
town  affairs.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  not 
known;  but  he  had  a  son.  Captain  Daniel,  born 
September  2,  1739,  ^^o  married  Patience 
Eastman,  May  29,  1760,  and  was  the  father  of 
the  following  children:  Susan,  Jacob,  Joseph, 
Shuah  and  Daniel  (twins),  Mary,  Stephen, 
and  Elizabeth.  Captain  Daniel  Gale  removed 
to  Gilmanton  in  1780,  and  died  there  in  1801, 
his  wife  surviving  him  a  little  more  than 
three  years.  Their  son  Joseph,  the  next  in 
line,  born  October  30,  1764,  married  Sarah 
Smith,  April  16,  1789,  and  had  twelve  chil- 
dren, named  respectively:  Mary;  Abraham 
S. ;  John;  Patience;  Daniel;  Sarah;  Stephen; 
Dolly;  James  and  Joseph,  who  died  away  from 
home;  Thomas;  and  Moses.  But  one  of  these 
is  now  living;  namely,  Moses,  a  farmer  in 
Gilmanton. 

Abraham  S.  Gale  was  born  about  1794. 
After  receiving  a  district -school  education,  he 
began  learning  the  trade  of  blacksmith  with 
an  uncle  in  Portsmouth,  N.H.  While  there, 
much  of  his  leisure  time  was  spent  in  the 
ship-yards;  and,  a  friendship  si)ringing  up 
between  him  and  a  sea  captain,  he  shipped  on 
the  Captain's  vessel,  and  was  away  on  a 
voyage  three  years,  during  which   he  received 


from  the  Captain  the  treatment  of  a  son.  Ar- 
riving in  Boston  in  1S12,  he  immediately  en- 
listed to  fight  the  liritish,  and  did  not  come 
back  to  his  old  home  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  When  he  did  return,  his  four  or  five 
years'  absence  had  so  changed  him  that  not 
one  of  his  own  family  at  first  recognized  him. 
On  his  arrival  in  Gilmanton  he  went  direct  to 
his  father's  shop,  and,  there  making  inquiries 
of  his  father  regarding  a  certain  place,  he  was 
referred  to  his  brothers  in  the  field;  but 
neither  his  father  nor  his  brothers  knew  him 
as  the  lost  Abraham  until  he  returned  to  his 
father  and  repeated  his  inquiries.  When  the 
father  realized  to  whom  he  was  talking,  it  is 
said  that  he  fainted,  being  overcome  with  see- 
ing his  son,  whom  he  had  given  up  as  dead. 
Abraham  S.  Gale  then  settled  in  Gilmanton, 
and  carried  on  quite  an  extensive  business  in 
blacksmithing,  in  which  he  possessed  much 
skill.  He  was  ever  ready  to  take  in  any  of 
the  village  boys  who  showed  an  aptitude  for 
the  work,  and  teach  them  the  trade.  He  was 
a  man  of  many  virtues,  thoughtful  for  the 
comfort  of  others,  charitable  in  wort!  and  ileed, 
kind  and  generous  in  his  family,  and  ex- 
emplary in  his  habits.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat.  Mr.  Gale  died  Ajiril  12,  1866. 
His  wife,  Martha  B.  Moulton  Gale,  who  was 
born  in  1S08,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Daniel 
Moulton,  survived  him  eleven  years,  dying  on 
April   I  I,   1877. 

Robert  Moulton,  her  grandfather,  came  from 
Rye,  N.H.,  to  Gilmanton  in  1775.  He  was 
a  descendant  of  John  Moulton,  who  took  the 
freeman's  oath  at  Ham])ton,  N.H.,  in  1638. 
The  children  of  Robert  Moulton  were:  Eliza- 
beth, who  married  Samuel  Thurston;  Eucy, 
who  married  John  Tliurstun;  Joses,  who  died 
in  the  army  at  the  age  of  eighteen;  Robert; 
Jonathan;  and  Captain  Daniel,  who  married 
Polly     Lamprey.       Captain     Daniel    Moulton 


4.8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


died  while  on  a  visit  at  VVinthrop,  Mc,  in 
1822.  He  was  the  father  of  General  Daniel 
Moulton,  and  among  his  other  children  were: 
Joses;  Polly;  and  Martha,  called  Patty,  who 
became  Mrs.  Gale. 

Abraham  S.  and  Martha  B.  Gale  had  five 
children;  namely,  Abraham  S.,  Jr.,  Dorothy 
S.,  Martha,  Henrietta  Jackson,  and  Franklin, 
the  two  now  living  being  Henrietta  J.  and 
Dorothy  S.  (Mrs.  Cofifin).  Abraham  S.  Gale, 
Jr.,  the  eldest  child,  born  in  1821,  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  Twelfth  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teers, and  served  in  the  Civil  War  from  1861 
to  1864.  He  married  Martha  Nash,  of  New 
Market,  N.H.,  and  died  March  17,  1890. 
Martha  Gale,  who  married  Dearborn  Tibbetts, 
a  storekeeper  of  Gilmanton,  was  born  in  1825, 
and  died  in  1890,  the  same  year  as  her 
brother,  leaving  a  son  and  daughter —  Frank- 
lin and  Elizabeth.  Henrietta  J.  Gale  is  the 
wife  of  L.  VV.  Ham,  of  Gilmanton,  who  owns 
the  Ham  Iron  Foundry  on  Portland  Street, 
Boston.  They  have  one  son,  Fred  P.  Ham. 
P'ranklin  Gale  served  on  the  police  force  of 
New  York  City  for  several  years.  At  his 
death  he  left  a  widow  and  children,  who  now 
reside  in  Worcester,  Mass. 

On  March  5,  1846,  Dorothy  S.  Gale,  the 
special  subject  of  this  brief  biography,  became 
the  wife  of  Joseph  M.  Cofifin,  of  Alton,  N.H., 
with  whom  she  passed  a  hap|3y  married  life  of 
nearly  forty-two  years  on  a  large  farm  given 
them  by  her  father.  Joseph  M.  Cofifin,  who 
was  son  of  Samuel  Cofifin,  of  Alton,  and  was 
of  an  old  New  England  family,  died  on  May  18, 
1887,  aged  about  sixty-five  years.  A  hard- 
working farmer,  by  his  own  industry  he  had 
acquired  a  competence.  He  is  remembered  as 
a  "good  man,  a  kind  neighbor,  and  a  most  e.x- 
cellent  husband  and  father."  His  departure 
was  felt  as  a  great  loss  to  his  family  and  the 
neighborhood.      Shortly    after    her    husband's 


death  Mrs.  Cofifin  removed,  as  he  had  advisetl 
her  to  do,  into  the  Iron  Works  village,  where 
she  was  born,  and  where  she  bought  a  house, 
in  which  she  continues  to  make  her  home. 
She  managed  the  farm  for  a  number  of  years 
before  she  sold  it. 

Smith  G.  Coffin,  the  only  child  of  Joseph 
and  Dorothy  S.  (Gale)  Coffin,  born  October 
17,  1847,  completed  his  education  in  Gilman- 
ton Academy.  Being  of  an  ambitious  dispo- 
sition, when  but  seventeen  he  left  home  to  go 
to  Boston,  where  he  began  his  career  in  a 
market,  remaining  four  years,  then  accepted  a 
position,  with  a  salary  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  above  that  he  had  received,  in  Brady's 
Bend,  Pa.,  from  which  place  he  went  to  Pe- 
trolia.  Pa.  Not  long  after  going  to  Pennsyl- 
vania he  became  interested,  September  i, 
1880,  in  the  oil  business  in  Bradford,  that 
State,  where  he  now  owns  thirty-two  oil  wells, 
three  livery  stables,  with  forty-five  livery  and 
fifty-five  boarding  horses,  a  blacksmith  and 
carriage  shop,  paint  shop  and  wood  shop,  as  a 
result  of  his  energy  and  enterprise.  He  mar- 
ried in  June,  1874,  Florence  Flemming,  of 
Armstrong  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  has 
two  children,  namely:  Cloddie  Dorothy,  who 
is  married,  and  has  one  child,  named  Ralph; 
and  Charles.  Twice  each  year  Mrs.  Gale 
visits  her  son  and  his  family,  but  her  love  for 
her  New  Hampshire  home  is  too  strong  for 
her  to  leave  it  for  a  long  time.  Though  more 
than  seventy  years  of  age,  she  is  still  in  good 
health  and  very  active;  and  one  of  the  pleas- 
ures in  which  she  takes  especial  delight  is  the 
driving  of  spirited  horses.  Courage  and  a 
clear  conscience,  she  says,  is  her  medicine. 
Her  genial  disposition,  and  her  sympathy  in 
the  joys  and  help  in  the  sorrows  and  needs 
of  others,  whether  old  or  young,  has  so  en- 
deared her  in  the  hearts  of  all  that  the  name 
of   Aunt   Dot,    as   she   is    usually   called,    will 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


419 


long   be  a  familiar  one,  not  only  to  those  who 
now  know  her,  but  to  their  chiUlren  as  well. 


IIOMAS  iM.  STEELE,  now  retired 
from  active  business  life,  resides  on 
his  farm  in  Dover,  Strafford  County, 
where  he  is  held  in  high  esteem.  He  was 
born  November  11,  1833,  at  New  Durham, 
N.H.,  son  of  David  and  Lydia  (l?urnham) 
Steele,  who  came  here  from  New  Durham  in 
1S50.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  acquiring 
his  early  education  in  the  district  schools. 
After  coming  to  this  city  he  pursued  his  stud- 
ies at  the  Franklin  Academy  and  at  the  Dover 
High  School  for  some  years.  On  attaining 
his  majority  he  began  work  at  the  cutter's 
bench  in  a  Dover  shoe  factory.  He  continued 
employed  in  this  factory  for  twenty-eight  con- 
secutive years,  spending  the  last  fifteen  years 
in  the  capacity  of  foreman  of  the  sole-leather 
room,  a  responsible  position  for  which  his 
ability  and  tact  especially  fitted  him.  After- 
ward he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  for 
two  years,  and  then  purchased  a  farm,  which 
he  subsequently  carried  on  for  seven  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  period  he  returned  to  the 
grocery  business  for  a  year,  and  then  in  1894 
retired  to  the  farm,  where  he  now  lives.  He 
is  known  as  a  man  of  sagacity  and  fore- 
sight. On  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  war, 
Mr.  Steele  enlisted  for  a  term  of  three  months 
in  Company  A,  First  New  Hampshire  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  being  mustered  into  service  at 
Concord.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
enlistment,  he  was  honorably  discharged  with 
his  company. 

Mr.  Steele  was  married  December  9,  1885, 
to  Miss  Caroline  A.  Leighton,  of  New  Dur- 
ham, daughter  of  Ephraim  and  Nancy 
(Edgerly)  Leighton.  He  was  Councilman  for 
two  years  and  Alderman  for  three  years,  being 


elected  from  Ward  One  in  each  case.  lie 
also  served  for  two  terms  in  the  State  legisla- 
ture, first  in  1889,  and  again  in  i8gi.  In 
politics  he  has  been  a  stanch  Republican  since 
he  became  a  voter.  He  belongs  to  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  being  a  member  of  the 
Charles  Sawyer  Post  of  Dover. 


ILL! AM  IL  PEPPER,  an  esteemed 
resident  of  Lakeport,  and  the 
founder  and  President  of  the  Pepper 
Manufacturing  Company,  was  born  in  the  year 
1S30  in  Nottingham,  Nottingham  County, 
England,  son  of  Daniel  and  Mary  (Parkins) 
Pepper.  The  father  was  a  lacc-maker  by 
trade.  Of  his  five  children,  four  sons  and  a 
daughter,  William  H.  is  the  sole  survivor. 
]?oth  parents  are  also  deceased. 

Having  come  to  this  country  in  his  early 
boyhood,  William  H.  Pepper  received  his  ed- 
ucation in  the  common  and  high  schools  of 
Portsmouth,  N.H.,  where  his  father  was  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  hosiery.  After 
leaving  school  -he  entered  his  father's  shop, 
and  operated  a  hand  loom  until  he  was  seven- 
teen years  old.  He  was  next,  for  a  short 
time,  employed  in  the  hosiery-mill  of  Warren 
&  Sanford  at  Portsmouth.  On  leaving  there 
he  worked  in  a  machine  shop  in  Lowell,  Mass. 
While  at  the  last-named  place,  Hosea  Crane 
sent  him  to  Philadelphia,  in  charge  of  a  knit- 
ting-machine to  be  placed  on  exhibition. 
After  this  he  returned  to  Portsmouth,  but  suli- 
sequently  went  to  work  in  the  Henry  Marchant 
mills  at  Pawtucket,  R.I.  Later  he  was  em- 
ployed in  Valley  Falls  in  a  rubber  manufactur- 
ing establishment,  having  spent  about  eighteen 
months  in  this  and  the  previous  place.  He 
next  secured  a  position  as  overseer  in  the  John 
Nesmith  mills  at  Franklin,  N.H.,  with  which 
he   had    been   connected    for   four  years  when 


420 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  plant  was  destroyed  hy  fire  in  the  spring 
of  1S57.  Going  then  to  Lake  Village,  he  be- 
eame  superintendent  in  the  Thomas  Appleton 
mill,  where  he  remained  between  two  and 
three  years.  On  leaving  that  employment  he 
formed  a  copartnership  with  his  brother,  and 
engaged  in  the  hosiery  business,  which  they 
conducted  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  &  W.  H. 
Pepper.  Later  on  he  was  associated  with  John 
S.  Crane,  forming  the  firm  of  Crane  &  Pepper, 
in  the  manufacture  of  knitting-machines  for 
his  brother  John.  John  afterward  joined  him 
in  the  enterprise,  once  more  forming  the  firm 
of  J.  &  W.  H.  Pepper,  which  lasted  for  sev- 
eral years.  After  separating  from  his  brother 
he  carried  on  the-  business  alone  until  about 
18S6,  when  he  admitted  two  of  his  workmen 
to  partnership,  and  the  style  of  the  firm  be- 
came "VV.  H.  Pepper  &  Co."  In  1891  the 
Pepper  Manufacturing  Company  was  formed, 
with  William  H.  Pepper  as  President,  G.  A. 
Sanders  for  Secretary,  and  A.  T.  L.  Davis  for 
Treasurer,  Mr.  Pepper  being  also  a  Director. 
He  is  also  a  Director  of  the  Lake  Village 
Bank,  and  of  the  Lakeport  National  Bank, 
which  he  has  likewise  served  since  its  organi- 
zation as  a  member  of  its  Financial  Com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  Pepper  has  been  married  three  times. 
His  first  marriage  was  contracted  with  Ellen 
A.  Jackson,  of  Corinth,  Me. ;  his  second,  with 
Mrs.  Addie,  of  Lakeport;  and  his  third,  with 
Nellie  S.  Moulton,  daughter  of  William  P. 
Moulton,  of  Lake  Village.  His  daughter, 
Emma  M.,  by  his  first  marriage,  married 
George  A.  Sanders,  and  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four  years.  She  left  one  daughter, 
Ethelyn  M.,  who  has  since  made  her  home 
with  her  grandparents,  and  is  now  attending 
Tilton  Academy.  Mr.  Pepper  is  a  Republi- 
can, and  has  always  taken  considerable  inter- 
est   in    political    matters.       In    1890    he    was 


elected  to  the  State  legislature,  whcic  he 
served  on  the  Manufacturing  Committee,  and 
gave  his  support  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  for 
lighting  the  Weirs  Channel  by  buoys.  Pre- 
vious to  entering  the  legislature,  he  was 
Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  for  two 
years.  As  a  rule,  however,  he  will  not  con- 
sent to  his  name  being  used  as  a  candidate  for 
office.  He  is  a  member  of  Chocorua  Lodge, 
No.  51,  I.  O.  O.  F.  ;  and  the  Laconia  Pln- 
campment,  and  he  attends  religious  worship 
at  the  Baptist  church. 


DWIN  C.  BEAN,  a  successful  merchant 
of  Belmont,  ]?elknap  County,  and  a  Di- 
rector of  the  Tilton  &  Belmont  Rail- 
road, is  a  native  of  Gilmanton,  this  county. 
He  was  born  February  20,  1854,  son  of  John 
C.  and  Climena  (Chase)  Bean,  and  a  lineal 
descendant  of  John  Bean,  one  of  the  early  col- 
onists. Simeon  Bean,  his  great-grandfather, 
was  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in  Bel- 
knap County,  coming  here  in  1775.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  lived  to  be  about 
forty-five  years  of  age.  Jeremiah  Bean,  his 
grandfather,  who  was  prominent  in  town 
affairs,  and  served  in  the  Board  of  Selectmen 
and  the  New  Hampshire  legislature,  by  his 
wife,  Mehitable,  had  five  children,  all  of 
whom  lived  to  maturity.  One  daughter  died 
at  twenty.  His  son,  Joseph  VV.,  resides  in 
Manchester,  N.  H.  His  wife  was  a  daughter 
of  John  W.  Chase,  who  was  an  officer  in  the 
War  of  1812,  and  son  of  a  Revolutionary 
patriot  who  fought  at  Bunker  Hill. 

John  C.  Bean,  the  eldest  son  of  Jeremiah, 
was  born  in  Gilmanton,  May  18,  1S18.  He 
received  a  good  common-school  education,  and 
became  a  leading  citizen  of  the  town,  which 
he  served  as  Selectman  for  three  years  before 
its   division.      For   twenty    years    he   was    Di- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


421 


rector  of  the  Gilmanton  Insurance  Company, 
anil  for  a  considerable  time  he  held  the  office 
of  Justice  of  the  Peace.  His  wife,  Climena, 
was  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Burleigh,  one  of 
those  who  fought  for  independence  in  the 
struggle  of  1776.  She  was  born  June  20, 
181 5,  and  died  in  February,  1895,  when 
nearly  eighty  years  of  age.  Their  children 
were:  Emma  D.,  Edna  A.,  Orrin  II.,  Alvin 
T. ,  and  Edwin  C. 

At  the  death  of  his  father,  Edwin  C.  l^ean, 
the  youngest  child,  was  but  nine  years  of  age. 
The  family  soon  after  removed  to  Belmont, 
where  he  completed  his  rudimentary  educa- 
tion. He  subsequently  attended  Tilton  Acad- 
emy, and  then  pursued  private  studies,  both 
by  himself  and  under  the  tutorship  of  others, 
among  them  Lawyer  Peaslee,  of  Laconia.  In 
1872  he  went  into  the  cotton-mills  at  Bel- 
mont, and  was  there  employed  until  1877. 
Since  then  he  has  been  in  business  for  him- 
self. 

On  October  10,  1882,  Mr.  Bean  was  joined 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Marietta,  daughter  of 
Edwin  R.  Bowman,  of  Eastport,  Me.  They 
have  had  three  children,  namely:  Helen  M. 
and  John  C,  who  attend  school;  and  Arthur 
Edward,  who  is  four  years  old.  In  politics 
Mr.  Bean  is  a  Republican.  He  has  always 
taken  much  interest  in  local  affairs.  Under 
the  administration  of  President  Hayes  he  was 
appointed  Postmaster  of  Belmont,  which  office 
he  very  acceptably  filled  for  seven  years.  In 
1886  he  represented  this  town  in  the  Lower 
House  of  the  State  legislature,  where  he 
served  on  the  Normal  School  and  P^lection 
Committees,  and  spoke  on  the  Normal  School 
bill  and  that  bill  relating  to  the  Tilton  &  Bel- 
mont Railroad,  both  of  which  were  passed. 
He  was  a  candidate  for  the  New  Hampshire 
Senate  on  two  occasions,  when  his  party  was 
in  a  minority.      In   1S81    and  1882  he  held  the 


office  of  Town  Clerk.  l-"raternally,  lie  is  a 
member  of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32, 
F.  &  A.  M.;  of  Union  Chapter,  No.  7, 
R.  A.  M.;  Pythagorean  Council,  No.  6,  R. 
&  S.  M. ;  of  Pilgrim  Commamicry,  K.  T. 
He  has  held  office  in  none  of  these  on  account 
of  his  inability  to  attend  regularly  by  reason 
of  distance  from  the  jilace  of  meeting.  He 
has  also  menibershi[)  in  Governor  Busiel 
Lodge,  No.  53,  K.  of  P.,  of  Belmont,  in 
which  he  is  a  P.  C.  C.  ;  and  in  Lawrence 
Grange,  of  which  he  is  a  Past  Master.  Mr. 
Bean  is  an  attemlant  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
church. 


ILLIAM  H.  ROBERTS,  an  active 
young  attorney  of  Dover,  Strafford 
County,  was  born  in  Rollinsford, 
April  20,  1866,  only  son  of  Moses  and  Lydia 
(Hussey)  Roberts.  He  is  of  honored  ])ioneer 
ancestry,  being  the  lineal  descendant  of  one 
Thomas  Roberts,  who  emigrated  from  I'2ng- 
land  to  America  in  1640,  and  took  uj)  his  resi- 
dence at  Dover  Point.  Many  of  his  descend- 
ants settled  in  this  county.  Among  these  was 
the  great-great-grand-uncle  of  William  II. 
He  took  up  a  tract  of  forest-covered  land  in 
the  town  of  Rollinsford,  and  there  cleared  and 
improved  the  homestead  on  which  Moses  Rob- 
erts, \vho  belongs  to  the  fourth  generation,  is 
still  living. 

William  H.  Roberts  pursued  his  studies  in 
the  district  schools  of  his  native  town  until 
fifteen  years  old,  when  he  was  enrolled  among 
the  pupils  of  the  Salmon  P'alls  High  School. 
Two  years  later  he  became  a  student  at  the 
Berwick  Academy,  from  which  he  received  his 
diploma  in  1886.  Mr.  Roberts  then  entered 
the  law  office  of  the  Hon.  Joshua  G.  Hall,  of 
Dover.  After  studying  here  for  two  years,  he 
was  admitted  to  the  Boston  University  Law 
School,    where    he    finished    his    legal    studies 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


with  the  chiss  of  1890.  In  July  of  the  same 
year  he  was  athnitted  to  the  bar,  and  at  once 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Dover,  where  he  has  been  quite  successful. 
He  is  prominently  identified  with  the  legal 
fraternity  of  this  section,  and  is  very  popular 
in  social  circles. 

Mr.  Roberts  takes  an  earnest  interest  in 
local  affairs.  He  was  elected  from  his  native 
town  to  the  legislature  in  1893,  in  which  he 
served  on  the  important  committee  of  the  Re- 
vision of  Statutes.  In  1894,  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  his  many  friends,  he  was  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  Solicitor  of  Strafford 
County,  although  the  district  was  a  Republi- 
can stronghold.  In  the  ensuing  election, 
despite  the  fact  that  he  received  many  Repub- 
lican votes  and  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket,  he  was 
honorably  defeated.  Mr.  Roberts  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Granite  Lodge,  No.  65,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Salmon  Falls;  and  of  Dover  Lodge  of  Per- 
fection, A.  &  A.  Scottish  Rite,  in  which  he 
has  taken  the  thirty-second  degree. 


IIARLES     ELLIOTT     TILTON,     an 


esteemed  resident  of  Tilton,  well 
known  throughout  the  county,  was 
born  in  Sanbornton,  September  14,  1827,  son 
of  the  Hon.  Samuel  Tilton.  His  education, 
begun  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town, 
was  continued  at  Sanbornton  Academy  under 
the  tutorship  of  Professor  Dyer  H.  Sanborn, 
and  at  the  Norwich  University  when  General 
Ransom  was  president  of  that  institution. 
Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  War, 
General  Ransom,  who  induced  nearly  all  his 
students  to  enlist  in  the  army,  offered  young 
Mr.  Tilton  the  command  of  a  company.  Al- 
though it  was  very  flattering  to  his  boyish 
ambition,  the  boy  declined  the  offer  by  the 
advice  of  his  father.      He  then  went   to   New 


York,  and  from  there  sailed  for  the  West 
Indies  and  South  America.  Of  a  bold  and 
ambitious  spirit,  he  had  determined  to  strike 
out  in  life  and  make  a  fortune  for  himself. 
After  going  up  the  Amazon  and  Orinoco 
Rivers  to  their  head  waters,  he  visited  Caracas, 
La  Guayra,  Carthagena,  and  Chagres.  Hear- 
ing that  discoveries  of  gold  had  been  made 
in  California,  he  started  for  .San  Francisco, 
via  Panama. 

On  arriving  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Tilton 
decided,  after  a  careful  survey  of  the  situa- 
tion, to  engage  in  mercantile  affairs.  In 
1850  he  went  to  Oregon.  Here,  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
W.  S.  Ladd,  lisq. ,  that  continued  for  twenty- 
one  years.  The  firm  engaged  in  banking  and 
many  other  lines  of  business.  One  of  their 
enterprises  was  the  establishment  and  mainte- 
nance of  a  line  of  vessels  between  Oregon  and 
China.  Among  these  vessels  was  the  "C.  E. 
Tilton,"  which,  after  its  sale  to  the  Japanese 
government,  was  sunk  by  the  United  States 
ship  "Powhatan  "  in  a  naval  engagement. 
Mr.  Tilton  was  interested  in  nearly  all  the 
great  industrial  projects  started  in  the  Pacific 
coast  region  in  his  time.  He  was  a  pioneer 
worker  in  opening  the  Columbia  and  Willa- 
mette Rivers  to  navigation,  and  he  was  one 
of  the  company  of  five  persons  who  controlled 
the  original  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation 
Company  with  a  capital  of  twenty-four  million 
dollars.  Besides  his  interest  in  the  banking 
firm,  Ladd  &  Tilton,  of  Portland,  Ore.,  al- 
ready referred  to,  he  was  connected  with  the 
bank  of  Ladd  &  Bush  of  Salem,  with  the  F'irst 
National  Bank  of  Walla  Walla,  W.T.,  and  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Portland.  The  trans- 
portation of  merchandise  across  the  plains  in 
the  early  fifties,  before  the  great  trans-conti- 
nental railroads  were  built  and  when  the  coun- 
try  was    infested    with    hostile    red    men    and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


423 


lawless  whites,  was  a  serious  pmijlcm.  Mr. 
Tilton  studied  it  carcfull}-,  witii  the  jnirpose 
of  learning  the  safest  methods  of  despatching 
trains,  and  at  length  engaged  extensively  in 
transportation  through  Utah,  Montana,  Wyo- 
ming, and  Colorado.  He  gave  personal  super- 
vision to  the  husincss,  providing  for  all  sorts 
of  danger,  including  that  of  tornadoes,  with 
the  result  that  his  trains  were  successful  in 
making  safe  and  rapid  journeys.  Then, 
guided  by  his  knowledge  of  the  geographical 
and  agricultural  features  of  the  West,  he 
bought  tracts  of  land  that  have  since  become 
most  valuable  property. 

Some  time  ago,  with  his  fortune  made  and 
with  unimpaired  health,  Mr.  Tilton  returned 
to  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood,  where  he  has 
since  resided  in  a  beautiful  and  elegantly-fur- 
nished home.  He  has  won  the  gratitude  of 
his  townsmen  by  the  benefits  he  has  conferred 
ujion  the  town.  The  Town  Hall,  a  most 
admirable  and  well-appointed  structure,  is 
his  gift,  as  is  also  the  iron  bridge  from  Main 
Street  to  Island  Park.  In  all,  his  gifts  to  the 
town  amount  to  upward  of  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. He  has  also  given  large  sums  toward 
church  improvements,  and  for  other  worthy 
objects.  Another  benefit  arising  from  his 
presence  here  is  the  employment  of  many 
persons  in  the  work  of  making  improvements 
on  his  estate.  Notwithstanding  his  great 
wealth,  he  is  easily  accessible,  cordial,  and 
unaffected.  He  has  not  only  the  admiration 
ot  his  fellow-townsmen  for  the  abilities  he  has 
shown  in  his  career,  but  their  cordial  good 
will  as  a  friend  and  neighbor. 


RKD    C.    SANBORN,    a    popular     rail- 
road  conductor,  and   one   of   the    police 
commissioners  of   Laconia,  was  born  in 
New  Hampton,    N.H.,    October  9,    1857,    son 


of  Moses  and  Sarah  Jane  (Kelley)  Sanborn. 
In  the  early  days  several  families  of  that 
name,  all  related  to  each  other,  owned  adjoin- 
ing farms  in  New  Hampton.  Walter  Sanborn, 
grandfather  of  the  snl)ject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  February  23,  1770,  in  Hrentwodd,  N.H., 
son  of  Zadock  Sanborn.  He  settled  in  New 
Hampton,  where  he  became  prosperous  as  a 
farmer,  and  lived  to  be  eighty-si.x  years  old. 
In  1802  he  married  Jennie  Chase,  who  was 
born  in  Strafford,  N.  H  ,  April  3,  1775,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Chase,  and  with  her  reared 
seven  children  —  John,  I'.liphalet,  Su.san, 
William,   Phebc,  Jane,  and  Moses. 

Moses  Sanborn,  Fred  C.  Sanborn's  father, 
resided  at  the  homestead  in  New  Hampton 
until  the  house  was  burned.  He  then  moved 
to  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  where  he  lived 
thirteen  years,  and  subsequently  to  Judge 
Simpson's  place,  where  he  was  a  resident  for 
two  years.  After  this  he  went  to  Lake  'Vil- 
lage, and  was  there  employed  for  some  years 
on  the  railroad.  He  voted  for  William  H. 
Harrison  in  1840,  supported  Henjamin  Harri- 
son in  1888,  and  he  cast  his  last  I'residential 
vote  for  the  same  candidate  in  1892.  \\'hile 
living  in  New  Hampton  he  served  as  a  Select- 
man. He  was  much  interested  in  public 
affairs,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Tipiiecanoe 
Club.  His  wife,  Sarah  Jane,  daughter  of 
l^enjamin  and  Hannah  (Avery)  Kelley,  became 
by  him  the  mother  of  eight  children;  namely, 
Augusta  L.,  Edwin  F. ,  Annie  M.,  George  ]•'.. , 
'VVcsley  C,  Herman  L. ,  ]'"red  C,.  and  Oscar 
R.  Augusta  L.  is  the  wife  of  John  C.  Fogg, 
a  foreman  in  the  wood-working  department  of 
the  railroad  shops  in'  Lake  Village,  lulwin 
F.  married  Elsie  A.  Glidden  in  1861,  and 
died  January  29,  1873.  Wesley  C.  was  acci- 
dentally drowned  when  thirteen  years  old. 
Herman  L.  died  when  eight  years  old. 
Annie  M.  married  Arthur  Tucker   of   the   gro- 


42  4 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


eery  firm  of  Tucker  &  Clarke,  and  died  May 
20,  1873.  George  K.,  who  died  October  25, 
1896,  was  twice  married,  on  the  second  occa- 
sion to  Fanny  Lane,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Oscar  is  a  machinist,  and  works  for  the  Crane 
Manufacturing  Company.  George  E.,  who, 
in  1S91,  received  the  appointment  of  foreman 
of  an  iron  foundry  in  New  York,  where  he  had 
charge  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  of  various 
nationalities,  and  who  was  an  e.vpert  in  his 
calling  and  possessed  the  confidence  of  his 
employers,  subsequently  died  after  an  illness 
of  eight  months. 

Fred  C.  Sanborn  came  to  Lake  Village 
when  very  young,  and  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  He  was  for  some  time  em- 
ployed in  a  machine  shop  in  the  village.  In 
18.S0  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Boston, 
Concord  &  Montreal  Railroad  Company  as  a 
brakcman.  From  this  position  he  was  soon 
advanced  to  that  of  freight  conductor.  For 
the  past  five  years  he  has  been  a  passenger 
conductor  between  Lakeport  and  Dover,  and 
Lakcport  and  Alton  Bay.  On  February  7, 
1878,  Mr.  Sanborn  married  Fostina  E.  Young, 
daughter  of  Moses  and  Ann  Maria  (Chase) 
Young,  who  resided  in  that  part  of  Gilmanton 
now  called  Belmont. 

Eleazar  Young,  Mrs.  Sanborn's  great-grand- 
father, who  was  born  in  Loudon,  N.  H.,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1755,  became  an  early  settler  in 
Upper  Gilmanton,  which  he  reached  on  horse- 
back by  the  Spotted  Trail,  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  five  children.  Here  he  cleared  a 
good  farm,  on  which  he  resided  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  November  21,  1S45. 
He  married  Hannah  Bailey,  who  was  born 
September  11,  1759.  Their  children  were: 
Polly,  who  died  August  31,  1854;  Joseph, 
who  died  December  14,  1843;  Lucy,  who  died 
June  19,  1S64;  Ruth,  who  died  July  9,  1879; 
Abigail,   who  died  July  10,   1885;  Bailey,  who 


died  February  16,  1863;  Andrew,  who  died 
October  11,  1805;  Betsey,  who  died  October 
5,  1813;  and  Sarah,  who  died  November  30, 
1863.  Excepting  Andrew  and  Betsey,  all 
reached  the  age  of  sixty  years  or  over,  Abigail 
living  to  that  of  ninety-five.  Deacon  Bailey 
Young,  Mrs.  Sanborn's  grandfather,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  homestead  and  was  a  prosperous 
farmer,  lived  to  be  seventy-one  years  old.  He 
was  a  prominent  resident  of  Gilmanton  in  bis 
day,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he  acted  as  a 
Deacon  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church.  He 
married  Molly,  daughter  of  Jonah  Randlett, 
and  had  a  family  of  eleven  children,  six 
daughters  and  five  sons,  the  births  of  the  sons 
having  severally  alternated  with  those  of  the 
daughters.  Louisa  married  Dr.  Weymouth,  of 
Andover,  N.  H.  ;  Mary  Jane  married  John 
Avery;  Harriet  did  not  marry;  Emeline  mar- 
ried Edwin  Nutting;  Adeline  married  Ezekiel 
Gilman;  Charlotte  married  and  lived  in  Ver- 
mont;  John  S.  married  Mehitable  Cole; 
George  B.  married  and  moved  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.;  Charles  A.  married  l^Hlen  Leavitt;  and 
Ansel  F.  died  in  the  army  during  the  Civil 
War.  Moses,  the  remaining  son  and  Mrs. 
Sanborn's  father,  resided  all  his  lifetime  in 
Gilmanton,  and  lived  to  be  sixty-two  years 
old.  In  early  life  he  was  a  stone  cutter,  and 
later  a  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Free 
Will  Baptist  church.  His  wife,  Ann  Maria 
(Chase)  Young,  a  daughter  of  John  and  a 
grand-daughter  of  Zachias  Chase,  became  the 
mother  of  nine  children;  namely,  Oscar  T., 
Fostina  E.,  Charles  S. ,  Sarah  E. ,  Hattie  A., 
Ansel  C,  Abbie  M,.  and  the  twins,  Amy  A. 
and  Annie.  Annie,  Sarah  E.,  Hattie  A., 
and  Ansel  C.  all  died  young.  Oscar  T.  is 
married  and  lives  in  North  Andover,  Mass.  ; 
Charles  S.  is  married  and  resides  in  North- 
field,  N.H.  ;  Abbie  M.  is  the  wife  of  Albert 
Head,  and  lives   in  Laconia;  and   Amy  A.    is 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


425 


now  Mrs.  Fred  W.  Chatficlcl.  Mr.  aiul  Mrs. 
Sanli(iri)  have  had  fmir  children,  as  follows: 
Julius  I-:.,  Dora  G.,  Eleanor  M.,  and  Ralph  M. 
Dora  G.  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  months. 

Mr.  Sanborn  is  a  member  of  Mount  Leba- 
non Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  &  A.  M.  ;  of  Fndicott 
Rock  Lodge,  No.  23,  Knights  of  Pythias;  and 
of  rillshury  Division,  No.  3,  Uniform  Rank 
of  Concord.  He  is  quite  active  in  local  poli- 
tics, and  was  appointed  IVdice  Commissioner 
liv  the  Governor  in  August,   1896. 


•OSErH  M.  R.  ADAMS,  a  successful 
general  farmer  of  Din-ham,  Strafford 
County,  N.  II.,  whose  home  is  open 
during  the  summer  months  to  boarders,  was 
born  on  this  farm,  May  10,  1838,  .son  of  the 
Rev.  John  and  Sarah  (Sanderson)  Adams. 

The  father  was  a  Methodist  preacher,  known 
as  Reformation  John,  and  one  of  the  first  of 
the  family  to  settle  here,  coming  to  Durham 
about  the  year  1835.  This  part  of  the  town  is 
known  as  Island  Alcove  or  Durham  Neck,  and 
directly  opposite  is  the  old  Furber  Ferry.  John 
and  Sarah  Adams  had  seven  children,  namely: 
John  Isaac;  Ira,  who  died  in  1856;  Enoch  G., 
a  vetera'n  of  the  Civil  War,  residing  in  Berwick, 
Me.  ;  Charles  W.,  who  died  in  infancy;  Sarah 
E. ,  deceased;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  E.  L.  Center, 
a  poet  and  newspaper  correspondent ;  and  Jo- 
seph M.  R.  The  father,  who  devoted  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  to  the  ministry,  died 
here  in  September,  1850,  in  his  si.xtieth  year; 
the  mother  lived  until  1879,  attaining  the  age 
of  eighty-three  years. 

Joseph  M.  R.  Adams,  the  youngest  child, 
first  attended  the  district  school  and  later 
studied  at  Newmarket.  When  but  fourteen 
years  of  age,  the  care  of  the  farm  devolved 
upon  his  shoulders.  He  confined  his  attention 
to  farming  until  the  year  1880,  when  he  began 


taking  summer  boaiders,  which  |)riived  a  suc- 
cessful venture,  :ind  in  1893  lie  tore  down  tjie 
old  house  and  built  the  jiresent  one,  which 
will  accommodate  thirty  boarders.  It  is  very 
pleasantly  located,  facing  the  Great  Hay. 
There  are  about  eighty  acres  in  the  farm. 
Mr.  Adams  has  served  on  the  Durham  Ho:iril 
of  Selectmen.  He  is  a  member  of  tlie  Metho- 
dist church. 


§OHN  G.  DAVIS,  who  repairs  and  reg- 
ulates most  of  the  watches  carried  by 
the  citizens  of  Tilton,  was  born  in 
Conway,  N.H.,  January  10,  ICS37,  son  of 
Ephraim  and  Sally  (Emerson)  Davis.  His 
grandfather  ,  Thomas  Davis,  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Farmington,  N.H.,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 20,  1750.  The  wife  of  Thom;is  Davis, 
in  maidenhood  named  Janna,  was  born  May  6, 
1854. 

Ephraim  Davis,  also  a  native  of  Farming- 
ton,  born  May  18,  1789,  resided  at  the  home- 
stead until  of  age,  and  then  engaged  in  the 
cattle  business  with  his  lirothcr.  He  finally 
bought  a  farm  in  Conway,  ujjon  which  he 
afterward  resided  for  forty  years,  and  died 
May  9,  1 87 1.  He  served  as  a  Selectman  and 
in  other  town  offices,  and  in  politics  he  sup- 
ported the  Whig  party.  His  wife,  Sally,  who 
was  born  in  Conway,  July  14,  1797,  and  died 
September  4,  1843,  became  the  mother  of 
eleven  children.  Of  these,  Stephen  M.,  Jacob 
E.,  Harriet  A.,  Charles  W. ,  and  John  G. 
reached  maturity,  and  Charles  W.  and  John  G. 
are  living.  I'^phraim  Davis  was  for  many 
years  ofTicially  connected  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  his  wife  was  a  member. 
John  G.  Davis  acquired  a  public-scho(d  educa- 
tion. In  January,  1854,  he  began  to  learn  the 
trade  of  a  watchmaker  and  jeweller  in  Con- 
cord, N.H.  After  working  there  for  five 
years,     he     plied     his    calling     in    Haverhill, 


4^6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Mass.,  Salniiiii  l-~alls,  N.H.,  Boston,  and 
Washington,  D.  C. ,  and  in  1865  ho  started  in 
business  for  himself  in  Rochester,  N.H.  In 
1870  he  sold  his  business  in  that  town,  and 
for  several  years  was  engaged  as  a  travelling 
salesman.  In  1S84  he  became  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Lord  ]5rothers  Manufacturing  Com- 
pan)-,  through  New  J-Jigland  and  the  West, 
continuing  in  that  capacity  until  September, 
1895.  He  is  now  a  stockholder  in  that  con- 
cern. In  April,  1895,  he  bought  the  stock- 
in-trade  of  B.  D.  Pope,  a  watchmaker  and 
jeweller  of  Tilton,  and  has  since  conducted 
the  business.  Iksides  doing  all  kinds  of 
watch  repairing,  he  carries  a  well  selected  line 
of  goods. 

On  August  26,  1865,  Mr.  Davis  was  joined 
in  marriage  at  Alfred,  Me.,  with  Mary  S. 
Littlcfield,  daughter  of  Eliab  and  Susan  Lit- 
tleficld,  of  Boston.  Mrs.  Davis  has  had  two 
children,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Davis  is  connected  with  Motolinia  Lodge,  No. 
18,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Rochester.  He  attends 
the  Congregational  church,  of  which  Mrs. 
Davis  is  a  member. 


fHOMAS  NUTE,  a  veteran  agricultu- 
rist of  Strafford  County,  is  living  in 
Dover,  on  the  old  homestead  where  his 
birth  occurred  November  10,  181 7.  He  is  a 
descendant  of  James  Newte,  one  of  the  original 
settlers  of  this  town,  who  came  to  this  coun- 
try in  163 1.  This  ancestor's  surname  corre- 
sponds with  that  of  a  family  of  distinction  liv- 
ing in  Tiverton,  Devonshire,  England,  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth.  The  members  of  this 
family  were  Loyalists  in  the  English  civil 
wars.  Many  were  clergymen  of  the  church  of 
England  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries;  and  its  last  male  heir  died  in  1806. 
Other  forms  of  the  name  were  Newt,  Newct, 


Newtt,  Ncvvtte,  and  Knute.  The  present 
form  appears  to  have  been  generally  adopted 
by  the  third  generation  descended  from  James. 
The  grant  of  land  received  by  James  Newte  in- 
cluded the  Nute  homestead,  on  which  he  set- 
tled. His  son  James,  having  succeeded  to 
the  property,  left  it  to  his  son  Paul,  who  was 
the  grandfatlicr  of  Thomas  Nute. 

Paul  Nute  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  having  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Cap- 
tain Drew's  company  when  but  sixteen  years 
old.  He  served  bravely  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  when  he  was  discharged  as  Lieutenant  of 
his  company.  He  married  Hepzibah  Canncy, 
whose  children  by  him  included  Meserve,  the 
father  of  Thomas  Nute.  Meserve  Nute  was 
born  on  the  old  home  farm,  which  he  in- 
herited. After  spending  his  earlier  years  in 
seafaring,  he  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life 
to  general  farming,  and  died  in  1S53,  aged 
eighty-six  years.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Ames,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine 
years.  They  had  eleven  children,  two  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  The  others  were: 
Mary,  who  died  in  1896;  Elizabeth,  PZphraim, 
Clarissa,  James,  Greenleaf,  and  Joseph,  who 
are  also  deceased;  Paul,  who  is  now  eighty- 
four  years  old;  and  Thomas,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Thomas  Nute  was  reared  on  the  homestead, 
receiving  his  education  during  the  winter 
terms  of  the  district  school,  and  working  on 
the  farm  the  remainder  of  the  time.  Upon 
attaining  his  majority,  he  went  to  the  village, 
and  worked  for  a  year  in  the  Sawyer  Mills, 
and  was  afterward  employed  for  several  years 
in  the  Cocheco  Mills.  Returning  then  to  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood,  he  assumed  the  charge 
of  the  property,  and  has  since  been  engaged 
in  general  farming.  He  now  owns  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  seventy-five  of  which  be- 
longed  to   the   original   homestead.     A   large 


LUTHER     H     WENTWORTH. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


429 


])art  of  it  is  in  a  fair  state  of  cultivation.  Mr. 
Nutc,  who  is  among  the  oltlost  of  tiie  native- 
Ijorn  residents  of  tlie  town,  has  contributed 
his  full  share  toward  its  growth  and  develop- 
ment. In  politics  he  is  a  sound  Democrat, 
and  he  represented  Ward  F"our  for  one  year  in 
tlie  City  Council.  Socially,  he  is  a  member 
of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  the  local  grange. 

In  1S42  Mr.  Nute  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Maria  Brock,  daughter  of  Paul  and 
Pacince  (Ham)  Brock,  of  Madbury,  N.H. 

Two  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Nute  —  Charles  H.  Nute  and  Joseph  J. 
Nute.  Charles,  who  lived  in  Dov.er,  and  died 
in  1S84,  married  Miss  Sarah  Chesley,  and  had 
two  children  —  Charles  A.  and  Clarence  W. 
Joseph  J.,  the  younger  son,  who  died  1883, 
married  Miss  Kate  Lindsay,  and  had  three 
children  —  Thomas  H.,  Frank,  and  Grace  J. 


v< 


tU  T  H  E  R  H  .  VV  P:  N  T  VV  O  R  T  H  ,  a 
leading  resident  of  Milton,  was  born 
i^0f  November  18,  1844,  near  the  prem- 
ises where  he  now  resides,  son  of  Ebenezer 
Wentworth,  of  Alton,  and  grandson  of  Eben- 
ezer VVentworth,  who  was  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers in  the  State.  The  name  Ebenezer  runs 
back  for  seven  generations  of  the  family,  and 
has  always  been  borne  by  men  of  integrity, 
ability,  and  good  citizenship. 

The  father,  Luther,  was  a  farmer  ant!  mer- 
chant of  Alton.  Though  his  early  educational 
opportunities  were  limited,  he  succeeded  in 
acquiring  a  large  fund  of  general  information, 
and  he  afterward  wrote  a  treatise  on  geometry, 
and  taught  school  for  many  years  with  great 
success.  He  lived  successively  in  Alton, 
Dover,  Middleton,  and  Farmington.  At 
Middleton  he  opened  the  first  hotel  established 
in  that  place.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republi- 
can,    He  took  much  interest  in  public  affairs, 


and  served  the  town  as  Selectman,  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  and  Collector  of  Ta.xes  for  several 
years.  During  the  war  he  was  at  Milton,  ami 
he  borrowed  money  in  his  own  name  to  pay  the 
soldiers.  He  married  Sophia  Roberts,  daugh- 
ter of  Shubel  and  Rose  Roberts,  and  became 
the  father  of  eleven  children.  Of  these,  be- 
sides Luther  H.,  three  are  living,  namely: 
Ambrose,  who  was  a  State  legislative  Rei)re- 
sentative  in  1865;  Plummer,  of  Haverhill, 
Mass.  ;  and  Mary  Ann,  of  P'armington. 

Luther  Wentworth  attended  the  high  school 
at  Milton,  and  was  a  diligent  and  apt  student 
at  that  institution.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six 
years  he  started  a  grocery  in  Farmington,  and 
subsequently  carried  it  on  for  two  years.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  he  became  a  travelling 
salesman,  in  the  interests  of  a  comjjany  which 
manufactured  novelty  goods.  In  this  capacity 
he  acquired  an  extensive  business  for  his  em- 
ployers, visiting  twenty-two  different  States  of 
the  Union,  and  many  parts  of  Canada.  On 
his  travels  he  collected  some  rare  bits  of 
china,  which  he  takes  pride  in  displaying  to 
his  friends.  At  his  palatial  country  residence 
his  guests,  who  are  often  numerous,  find  in 
him  a  hospitable  man  and  an  original  enter- 
tainer. In  politics  Mr.  Wentworth  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  is  greatly  interested  in  affairs 
of  public  importance,  and  is  well  informed  t)n 
the  great  social  and  political  problems  of  the 
day.  Through  the  columns  of  the  daily  ])ress 
he  has  closely  followed  the  jjrogress  of  events 
in  this  country  and  abroad,  and  has  fornieil 
definite  views  of  his  own  on  all  the  chief 
topics  of  the  times. 

Mr.  Wentworth  married  Miss  I-'lora  Nelson, 
of  Hardwick,  Vt.,  daughter  of  Miles  Nelson 
of  that  place.  They  have  hail  two  children, 
both  of  whom  are  now  deceased.  The  Nelsons 
figured  prominently  as  "Green  Mountain 
Boys"     in     Revolutionary    days;     while    the 


43° 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


women  of  the  family  cxliibilcd  in  a  high  dc- 
"■ree  the  virtues  of   the  best   of   their   sex,  and 

O 

were  famed  not  only  for  their  skill  in  needle- 
work—  a  talent  then  more  highly  prized  than 
now,  when  sewing  machines  are  within  the 
reach  of  all  —  but  were  also  noted  for  the  rare 
cultivation  of  their  minds,  and  the  refinement 
of  their  character.  Mrs.  VVentvvorth,  doubt- 
less, inherited  these  predominant  characteris- 
tics, for  in  childhood  her  choice  of  playmates 
was  confined  to  those  who  were  polite  and  well- 
behaved.  Before  reaching  the  age  of  sixteen 
she  began  teaching,  which  occupation  she  fol- 
lowed continuously  for  sixteen  years.  While 
thus  engaged  in  the  thriving  city  of  Aurora, 
Neb.,  she  wrote  descriptive  letters  of  travel  to 
home  papers.  A  still  better  opportunity  of 
exercising  her  talent  in  this  direction  was  the 
occasion  of  a  visit  to  relatives  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  During  the  trip  she  made  stops  in 
Cheyenne,  Denver,  and  the  flourishing  little 
temperance  town  of  Greeley,  where  she  visited 
a  Teacher's  Institute.  She  also  visited  both 
Mormon  and  Gentile  schools  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  was  present  at  a  session  of  the  legislat- 
ure in  Sacramento,  and  spent  six  months  in 
San  Francisco.  Her  letters  to  the  home 
papers  during  her  stay  on  the  coast,  and  while 
on  the  return  trip  by  the  Southern  route,  found 
ready  acceptance  and  fair  remuneration.  After 
her  marriage  to  Mr.  Wentworth,  she  accom- 
panied him  on  his  business  trips,  thereby  ob- 
taining material  for  a  series  of  letters,  under 
the  general  title  "Life  in  a  Leather  House," 
giving  sketches  of  noted  places  and  persons 
visited  in  different   parts  of   New  England. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wentworth  are  regular  attend- 
ants of  the  Congregational  church,  and  active 
promoters  of  any  movement  designed  to  in- 
crease the  usefulness  of  that  society,  or  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  general  public. 
Mr.    Wentworth     has    lately    been     appointed 


State  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  is  doing  all  in 
his  power  to  rid  the  town  of  liquor  tlens. 
Mrs.  Wentworth  takes  an  active  part  in  school 
work  for  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  She  belongs  to  the 
Congregational  Club,  the  Aid  Society,  and 
other  Christian  and  denominational  bodies,  in 
promotion  of  which  she  has  held  a  series  of 
"Sunlight  Socials." 


LBION  NUTTER  FOS.S,  one  of  the 
prosperous  farmers  of  Barnstead,  was 
born  in  Gilmanton,  N.H.,  August 
15,  i860,  son  of  Samuel  G.  and  Mary  (Nutter) 
Foss.  The  grandfather,  Samuel  Foss,  who 
was  born  in  Strafford,  July  23,  1783,  was  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Lower  Gilmanton,  where  he 
cleared  a  farm  from  the  wilderness.  He  died 
December  17,  1859,  aged  seventy -six  years. 
On  February  26,  1800,  he  married  Judith 
Hill,  who  was  born  October  15,  1785,  and 
died  June  9,  1855,  aged  nearly  seventy  years. 
He  was  cjuite  prominent  in  public  affairs, 
holding  some  of  the  town  offices,  and  acting  as 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  a  number  of  years. 
His  children  were:  George  P.,  Benjamin  H., 
Samuel  G.,  Betsey,  William,  Nancy,  and 
Jeremiah. 

Samuel  G.  Foss  was  a  native  of  Gilmanton, 
born  January  21,  1813.  He  was  brought  up 
upon  his  father's  farm,  but,  his  health  becom- 
ing impaired,  he  was  obliged  to  relincjuish 
agricultural  pursuits.  Afterward,  for  several 
years,  he  drove  a  team  through  New  Hamp- 
shire and  Vermont,  and  died  in  Gilmanton, 
August  15,  1865.  His  wife  was  a  daughter 
of  James  and  Miriam  (Jenkins)  Nutter,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Barnstead,  Octo- 
ber 30,  1784.  James  Nutter  was  a  son  of 
Ebenezer  Nutter,  who  was  born  October  10, 
1756.  Ebenezer  came  from  Newington, 
N.H.,  to   North   Barnstead,  when  this  section 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


43' 


was  densely  wooded,  and  the  settlers  subsisted 
upon  bear  meat.  He  cleared  a  farm  of  sixty 
acres,  and  the  title,  which  was  signed  by  John 
Tasker,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  is  still  in  the 
family's  possession.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers and  a  Deacon  of  the  first  Congregational 
church  in  Barnstead,  which  was  presided  over 
by  the  Rev.  Enos  George,  and  he  served  in  the 
War  of  1812.  He  passed  his  last  days  upon 
the  farm,  and  he  died  there,  April  iS,  1843. 
In  17S2  he  married  Temperance  Colbath,  who 
was  born  February  i,  1759.  Her  children  by 
him  were:  Polly,  James,  Eliza,  Nathan,  Doro- 
thy, Hannah,  Hodgdon,  William,  Colbath, 
John,  Nathaniel,  George,  and  Joseph.  James 
Nutter,  maternal  grandfather  of  Albion  N. 
Foss,  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  a  lifelong 
resident  of  Barnstead.  While  he  was  industri- 
ous, he  was  exceedingly  reserved,  took  no  active 
part  in  politics,  and  lived  to  a  good  old  age. 
His  wife,  Miriam,  became  the  mother  of  four 
children,  namely:  Abbie  J.,  who  lived  to  be 
over  seventy  years  old ;  James,  who  was  a 
tailor  by  trade,  and  died  in  Portsmouth,  N.H., 
while  yet  a  young  man;  Nathan,  who  was  a 
shoemaker,  and  died  in  Rochester,  N.H.;  and 
Mary,  who  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  G. 
Foss.  Mrs.  Samuel  G.  Foss  died  October  i, 
1 886,  aged  seventy-three.  She  was  the 
mother  of  one  son,  Albion  N. ,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Albion  Nutter  Foss  on  being  left  fatherless 
at  the  age  of  five  years,  was  taken  by  his 
mother  to  her  former  home  in  Barnstead. 
Here  she  owned  a  farm  which  her  son  helped 
her  to  cultivate  as  soon  as  he  was  able.  When 
old  enough  he  took  charge  of  the  property,  and 
in  1883  he  enlarged  it  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty  acres  by  purchasing  more  land.  He  has 
also  engaged  in  teaming  to  some  extent,  and 
was  Postmaster  of  Barnstead  for  eight  years, 
under  the  successive  administrations  of  Cleve- 


land and  Harrison.  On  May  12,  1S83,  he 
married  Josie  M.  Clough,  daugiiter  of  Gecirge 
F.  Clough,  anil  grand-daughter  of  Isaac 
Clough,  who  lived  in  Gilmanton.  Mrs.  P'oss 
is  the  mother  of  three  children;  namely, 
Jennie  May,  Ethel  Gertrude,  and  George  Ger- 
rish,  all  of  whom  are  attending  school.  Mr. 
Foss  is  a  charter  member  of  Crescent  Lake 
Grange,  No.  164,  was  its  Master  for  one  year, 
and  is  serving  his  second  time.  He  has  also 
served  as  Overseer  antl  Steward.  Mrs.  l-'oss 
is  also  connected  with  the  grange,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  church. 


HESTER  AVER  TWOMBI.ICY,  an 
extensive  farmer  and  lumberman  of 
Alton,  was  born  in  this  town,  Au- 
gust 4,  1844,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  J. 
(Ayer)  Twombley.  His  great-grandparents 
resided  in  Farmington,  N.H.  His  great- 
grandmother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sally 
Locke,  married  for  her  second  husband  Ben- 
jamin Dore,  and  lived  to  be  ninety-two  years 
old.  Moses  Twombley,  the  grandfather,  was 
born  in  Farmington,  and,  in  company  with  his 
brother-in-law,  a  Mr.  Walker,  was  a  ])ioneer 
of  Alton.  A  progressive  and  industrious 
man,  he  established  a  comfortable  home. 
One  of  his  occupations  was  teaching  singing- 
schools.  He  was  active  in  the  public  and  re- 
lisious  affairs  of  the  town,  and  one  of  the  first 
members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church  in  East 
Alton.  A  remarkable  degree  of  vigor  was 
shown  by  him  in  his  extreme  old  age.  On  his 
eighty-first  birthday  he  hoed  three  thousaiui, 
five  hundred  and  ten  hills  of  potatoes.  He 
lived  to  be  eighty-five  years  old.  He  married 
Sally  Dore,  a  native  of  Shapleigh,  Me.,  who 
lived  eighty-nine  years.  She  was  the  mother 
of  ten  children;  namely,  Charlotte,  Benjamin, 
James,   Sabrina,    Mary,    Sally,    Susan,    Moses, 


432 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Caroline,  and  Cynthia.  Charlotte  married 
John  Varney,  and  resided  in  Alton;  James, 
who  was  a  carpenter  and  builder  in  Massachu- 
setts for  a  time,  and  then  engaj^ed  in  the  mill 
business  in  Alton,  married  in  Charlestown, 
Mass. ;  Sabrina  was  the  wife  of  Tobias  Berry, 
a  carpenter  of  Alton;  Mary  wedded  Henry 
Oilman  of  this  town,  and  moved  to  Maine; 
Sally  married  Charles  Rollins,  of  Alton; 
Susan  successively  married  Luther  Jenness,  of 
Alton,  and  Walter  R.  Blaisdell,  of  Bangor, 
Me.;  Moses  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Second 
Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  and 
died  of  fever  at  Falmouth,  Va.,  in  February, 
1863;  Caroline  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years;  Cynthia  married  Cyrus  Waugh,  and  re- 
sides in  Levant,  Penobscot  County,  Me. 

Benjamin  Twombley  remained  upon  the 
home  farm  for  some  time  after  leaving  school. 
He  learned  the  stone  mason's  trade,  and  was 
employed  in  Boston,  and  afterward  in  the 
Charlestown  Navy  Yard  on  the  dry  dock. 
Subsequently,  in  company  with  Chester  A. 
Blodgett,  he  took  a  contract  for  grading,  fill- 
ing, and  track-laying  on  the  Lowell  Railroad, 
with  headquarters  at  Lowell,  Mass.  Li  1842 
he  returned  to  the  homestead,  where  he  re- 
sumed farming,  and  added  more  land  to  the 
farm.  Being  a  constant  reader,  he  was  well 
informed  on  general  topics.  He  was  a  man  of 
high  moral  character,  and  adhered  strictly  to 
the  principles  of  honesty.  Being  naturally 
reserved  and  thoughtful,  he  always  carefully 
weighed  his  words  before  speaking.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Democrat.  Benjamin  Twombley 
lived  to  be  si.xty-two  years  old.  His  wife, 
Mary,  whom  he  married  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  was 
a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Ayer  of  that  city. 
She  became  the  mother  of  three  children  — 
Caroline  Emily,  Chester  A.,  and  Luther  VV. 
Caroline  E.  taught  school  for  some  time,  and 
is   now  the   wife  of   Aaron   J.    Varney  of    this 


town.  Luther  W.,  who  in  early  life  was  a 
farmer,  anil  later  followed  the  lumber  business 
in  partnership  with  his  brother,  married  Alice 
Sherburne,  of  Northvvood,  N.H.,  and  now  re- 
sides in  that  town.  Mrs.  Benjamin  Twombley 
was  a  member  of  the  Free  Baptist  church. 

Chester  Ayer  Twombley  studied  in  a  private 
school,  also  in  the  district  schools.  He  was 
reared  to  farm  life  at  the  homestead.  When  a 
young  man,  he  was  for  a  time  employed  as 
clerk  in  a  store  of  Lewiston,  Me.  This  he 
abandoned — for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
which  needed  out-of-door  e.xercise  —  to  return 
to  the  homestead  and  engage  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  In  1885  he  became  associated  with 
his  brother  in  lumbering,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Luther  W.  Twombley  &  Co.,  and  has  since 
followed  that  business  in  connection  with 
farming.  The  firm  buy  timber  lands,  erect 
mills  as  near  as  possible  to  the  scene  of  opera- 
tions, and  manufacture  lumber.  On  the  first 
tract  purchased  by  them  they  cut  sixty-five 
masts,  which  sold  profitably.  In  politics  Mr. 
Twombley  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  received 
the  nominations  to  several  important  offices, 
but  his  party  is  in  the  minority  in  this  town. 

Mr.  Twombley  married  Marietta  Varney, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Varney,  of  Alton,  and  has 
three  children;  namely,  Roger  I.,  Helen  E., 
and  Marjorie.  Roger  I.  graduated  from  the 
New  Hampton  Academy,  and  in  1895  entered 
the  American  Veterinary  College  in  New 
York  City.  He  is  an  apt  student,  and  was 
awarded  the  first  prize  for  scholarship  during 
his  first  year's  course.  Mr.  Twombley  is  a 
Master  Mason,  and  belongs  to  Winnepesaukee 
Lodge,  No.  75.  He  is  a  charter  member  of 
Merry  Meeting  Grange  —  the  name  of  which 
he  suggested  —  and  was  formerly  its  Overseer. 
His  cousin.  Dr.  Durrell,  is  a  Professor  of 
Surgery  at  Harvard  College,  and  Surgeon 
at    the     City     Hospital,     Boston.        Fred     M. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


433 


Twumblcy,  a  son  of  Mosos  Tvvombley,  is  a 
tiKistcr  mechanic,  takes  charge  of  wrecking 
trains  on  the  Providence  Division  of  the 
Two  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad, 
and  was  at  one  time  President  of  the  Rail- 
road Men's  Club.  Another  cousin,  Arthur 
Twombley,  is  also  a  master  mechanic. 


RS.  ANNIE  WENTWORTH 
BAER,  of  Rollinsford,  Strafford 
County,  N.  H.,  was  born  in  South 
Berwick,  daughter  of  Lorenzo  and  Elvira  C. 
(VVentworth)  Stackpole.  The  family  gene- 
alogy has  been  preserved,  and  Mrs.  Baer  can 
trace  her  line  of  ancestry  through  many  gen- 
erations, both  on  her  father's  and  on  her 
mother's  side.  The  Stackpole  family  is  one 
of  the  oldest  in  the  town  of  Somersworth. 
The  first  of  the  name  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try was  James,  born  in  1653,  died  1733,  who 
settled  here  in  1710.  He  married  Margaret 
Warren,  of  Berwick,  and  five  of  his  children 
grew  to  maturity.  His  son  Phillip  married 
Martha,  who  became  the  mother  of  si.\  chil- 
dren. The  next  in  line  was  Joshua,  a  black- 
smith. Joshua's  first  wife  was  Lucy  Baker, 
by  whom  he  had  two  children  —  Samuel  and 
Lucy.  His  second  wife  was  Abagail  Hobbs, 
who  bore  him  ten  children.  Tobias,  the 
youngest  of  the  ten,  was  the  great-grandfather 
of  Mrs.  Baer.  He  was  a  mariner,  and  made 
frequent  voyages  to  the  West  Indies  and  to 
Liverpool,  following  the  sea  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  His  wife,  lumice  Roberts, 
was  the  mother  of  eight  children.  Moses 
Stackpole,  Mrs.  Baer's  grandfather,  was  born 
in  Somersworth  in  1799,  and  was  occupied 
with  farming.  He  married  Nancy,  daughter 
of  John  Leighton.  Their  three  children 
were:  Lorenzo,  Thomas,  and  Mary  Jane. 
Moses     Stackpole     and     his     wife     were     de- 


vout Melhtxiists.  Lorenzo  Stackpole,  above 
named,  father  of  Mrs.  Baer,  was  born  in  1.SJ4. 
He  receivetl  a  good  common-school  training, 
and  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Ports- 
mouth Manufacturing  Company.  He  worked 
in  various  capacities,  and  remained  with  the 
company  about  three  years.  Later  he  pur- 
chased a  teaming  business,  which  he  carried 
on  for  four  or  five  years.  After  selling  that, 
he  bought  in  1858  the  farm  where  his  daugh- 
ter resides,  in  the  town  of  Rollinsford. 
About  fifty  acres  of  the  farm  are  under  culti- 
vation, but  the  chief  production  is  milk.  In 
politics  Mr.  Stackpole  was  a  Republican,  and 
was  called  upon  to  serve  the  town  as  Select- 
man. He  married  Elvira,  daughter  of  John 
Wentworth,  of  Somersworth,  and  Mrs.  Baer 
is  the  only  child  of  this  marriage  now  living. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stackpole  were  both  members  of 
the  South  l^erwick  l^aptist  Church,  and  were 
zealous  and  untiring  workers  in  all  movements 
started  for  the  good  of  the  community. 

On  her  mother's  side  Mrs.  Baer  traces  her 
ancestry  back  through  seven  generations  to 
Elder  William  Wentworth,  who  emigrated 
from  England,  and  came  to  E.xeter,  N.  H. 
(P"or  full  account  of  the  Wentworth  family, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  "Wentworth  Gene- 
alogy," English  and  American,  by  John  Went- 
worth, LL.D. )  Elder  Wentworth's  son  was 
Benjamin,  a  farmer  in  Dover.  He  married 
Deborah  Stimpson,  of  Durham.  The  fourth 
in  line  was  Bartholomew,  born  November  28, 
1737,  married  to  Ruth  Hall,  of  Somersworth. 
Bartholomew's  son  was  John,  grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Baer,  and  was  born  January  30,  1773. 
He  was  a  farmer,  and  a  prominent  man  in  this 
town,  being  Ta.\  Collector  and  Selectman. 
He  married  Joanna  Hall,  his  cousin  on  his 
mother's  sitle.  Mr.  Wentworth  died  in  Au- 
gust, 1855. 

Mrs.  Baer  has  always  been  interested    in  all 


434- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  social  and  educational  movements  of  her 
native  town,  and  has  taken  special  interest  in 
the  schools.  For  two  years  she  has  been  a 
member  of  the  School  Itoard.  January  3, 
1 87 1,  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Bernard  Baer 
took  place.  One  child,  Lorenzo  Baer,  born 
July  10,  1876,  and  now  a  teacher  of  Rol- 
linsford,  has  blessed  her  marriage.  Her  son 
constitutes  the  chief  happiness  of  Mrs.  Baer's 
life,  and  he  has  received  from  both  his  parents 
the  tenderest  solicitude  and  affection. 

Mr.  Baer,  as  his  name  might  lead  one  to 
suppose,  is  of  German  parentage,  and  was 
born  in  the  Fatherland,  January  3,  1844. 
His  grandfather  was  Meyer  Baer.  His  father 
was  Ezra,  a  native  of  Baden,  Germany,  a 
dealer  in  grain  and  wool,  and  largely  inter- 
ested in  the  hotel  business.  Mr.  Baer  was 
educated  in  the  best  German  schools,  and 
came  to  America  when  a  young  man,  settling 
finally  at  Dover.  For  many  years  he  was  in 
tlie  dry-goods  business,  but  since  1893  he  has 
devoted  his  time  chiefly  to  farming.  He  is  a 
member  of  Moses  Paul  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of 
Dover;  and  of  Hiram  R.  Roberts  Grange,  No. 
194.  Mrs.  ]3aer  is  a  member  of  the  South 
Baptist  Church. 


HARLES     H.     DAVIS,    station    agent 


at  Alton  ]5ay,  Belknap  County,  was 
born  in  Lyme,  N.  H.,  July  7,  1862, 
son  of  Alfred  and  Clarinda  (Tinkham)  Davis. 
His  paternal  grandparents,  Francis  and  Betsy 
(Stevens)  Davis,  lived  in  Londonderry,  N.  H., 
and  are  thought  to  have  been  born  there  re- 
spectively in  1796  and  1797.  Cyrus  and 
Betsy  (Kemp)  Tinkham,  the  maternal  grand- 
parents, were  born  in  Tinkhamtown,  a  family 
settlement  in  the  town  of  Lyme,  in  December 
of  the  respective  years  1791  and  1 79S.  Al- 
fred, father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  born 
April   24,    1 82 1,   was  a   native  of  Dorchester, 


N.  II.,  where  he  was   engaged  in  general    farm- 
ing and  took  a  very  active  part   in  town  affairs. 
On   F^ebruary   27,    1848,   he    married    Clarinda 
Tinkham,    of   Lyme,    who  belonged   to   one   of 
the  oldest  families  in   that   town.      She  is  now 
si.xty-seven  years  old,  being  a  remarkably  well- 
preserved  woman.      Her  husband  died  June  29, 
1893,    seventy-two   years    of    age.      They    had 
thirteen   children,    of    whom    two    died   in    in- 
fancy.     The    others     were     born     as    follows: 
Frank    F.,    on    March    14,     1849;    Susan    E. , 
F"ebruary  2,   1852;   Clara  A.,  January  8,   1855; 
Eben   R.  T. ,  February  22,   1857;   Ella  J.,  De- 
cember   7,    1859;    Nettie    II.,    September    17, 
i860;   Charles  H.,  the  subject  of  this   sketch; 
Betsy,  January   2,    1865;   Irena   C,    November 
7,    1867;   George   W. ,  January  29,    1869;  and 
John   L.,    born   August   25,    1S71.      F^lla  mar- 
ried  Ansil    B.    Cummings,  of   Ashland,  N.  H., 
now  deceased,   and  died   September    11,   1891. 
They  left  one  daughter,  Lena  May  Cummings. 
Nettie    married     Perly     Smith,     of    Lebanon, 
N.H.,     where    they    reside.       Betsy    married 
F'rank  King,  and  they  are  now  living  in   Thet- 
ford,  Vt.      Irena  died  December  30,    1885,   at 
the  age  of  eighteen   years.      Frank   is  at  pres- 
ent living  in  Concord,  N.  H.      George  married 
Ruby    Harding,    of    Vershire,    Vt.,    and    they 
reside  at  present  in   Fitchburg,    Mass.,  where 
he  is  engaged   in   the  railroad   business.      John 
is   unmarried,    and    resides    in    Alton,     N.  H., 
with  his  brother  Charles. 

Charles  Henry  Davis  was  educated  in  the 
common  school  of  his  native  town,  the  Thet- 
ford  (Vt.)  Academy,  and  the  New  Hampton 
(N.H.)  Commercial  College,  graduating  from 
the  last  named  institution  in  April,  1886. 
He  then  went  to  Plymouth,  N.  H.,  where  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  old  Boston,  Concord 
&  Montreal  Railroad  as  telegraph  operator. 
The  next  year  he  went  to  Rochester,  N.  H., 
having  secured    a    position    as    freight   cashier 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


43  S 


for  the  Boston  &  Maine  Railroad.  In  iS88 
he  came  to  Alton  Bay,  taking  the  position  of 
station  agent,  which  he  holds  at  the  present 
time.  In  his  ]iolitics  he  is  a  Republican,  and 
he  has  always  voted  with  that  party.  In  1896 
and  1897  he  was  elected  Selectman  of  Alton. 
He  is  associated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  in  Woodbine  Lodge,  No.  41, 
at  Farmington,  N.H.,  and  with  the  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Eagle,  having  joined  at  Roches- 
ter and  served  in  all  the  chairs.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Congregational  church  at 
Thetford. 

On  May  8,  1889,  Mr.  Davis  married  Fannie 
M.  Stevens,  daughter  of  Edwin  B.  and  Mary 
A.  (Pike)  Stevens,  of  Thetford.  The  ances- 
try of  Mrs.  Davis  is  traced  back  through  many 
generations  to  the  early  settlement  of  this 
country,  and  to  a  previous  period  in  England. 
She  graduated  from  the  Fairbanks  Academy  of 
St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. ,  and  taught  school  for  some 
years  before  her  marriage.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Davis  have  had  two  children,  one  of  whom, 
Mildred  A.,  is  living.  A  careful,  quiet,  and 
unassuming  man,  Mr.  Davis  discharges  the 
duties  of  his  responsible  position  in  a  manner 
that  eives  satisfaction  to  all  concerned. 


fffitOSEPH  F.  SPINNEY,  of  Milton, 
Strafford  County,  was  born  in  Wake- 
field, N.H.,  August  13,  1839,  son  of 
Parker  and  Mary  (Dearborn)  .Spinney.  His 
grauilfather,  Captain  David  Spinney,  followed 
the  sea  in  the  West  India  trade  for  the  greater 
part  of  his  life.  Parker  Spinney,  a  native 
of  Wakefield,  followed  agricultural  pursuits 
during  the  active  period  of  his  life.  He  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  In  politics 
he  was  first  a  Whig  and  later  a  Democrat. 
He  wedded  Mary  Dearborn,  a  native  of  Mil- 
ton, and  she  became  the  mother  of  eight  chil- 


dren, of  whom  the  following  survive:  Abbie 
P.,    widow   of   Charles   C.    Hayes,    of    Milton; 

Paul,  a  resident  of  Ijjswich,  Mass.;  Parker; 
Nathaniel;  Jo.seph  !•'. ,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Lydia  E. ,  widow  of  G.  W.  Fellows; 
and  William  R. 

Joseph  F.  Spinney  completed  his  studies  at 
the  Great  Falls  High  School,  and  then  entered 
the  boot  and  shoe  trade.  He  later  went  West, 
and  in  1S61  enlisteti  as  a  private  in  Com[)aiiy 
E,  Seventeenth  Regiment,  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry.  He  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  and  was  honorably  discharged  after 
serving  two  years.  He  again  entered  the 
boot  and  shoe  business,  which  he  followed 
until  1874,  and  in  that  year  he  opened  the 
Agawam  Hotel  at  Ipswich,  Mass.,  which  he 
carried  on  until  May,  1896.  He  is  engaged 
in  the  harness  business  in  that  town.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  Independent,  but  has  never  taken 
any  active  part  in  [uiljlic  affairs.  Mr.  S|)in- 
ney  married  Helen  A.  Wentworth,  ilaughter 
of  Louis  B.  Wentworth,  of  Rochester,  N.H., 
and  she  is  the  mother  of  two  sons — luigene 
N.  and  William  R.  Mr.  Spinney  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  of  Rochester, 
and  a  comrade  of  the  Grand  Army  Post  in 
Ipswich.  Mrs.  Spinney  attends  the  Metho- 
dist church. 


,HARLES  E.  BUZZELL,  an  esteemed 
resident  of  Laconia,  i)riiniincnl  in 
I.S ^  i)ublic  affairs,  and  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  was 
born  October  13,  1844,  in  Sandwich,  Carroll 
County,  son  of  John  and  Abigail  (Marston) 
Buzzell.  The  Buzzell  family,  which  is  an  old 
one,  settled  originally  in  Straffortl  County. 
Mr.  Buzzell' s  grandfather  was  a  farmer,  and 
resided  for  some  time  in  Barrington,  X.H., 
where  his  son,  John  Buzzell,  was  born  in  1802. 
John    Buzzell   was  a  carpenter   by   tratie.      He 


436 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


settled  in  Meredith,  now  Laconia,  about  the 
year  1850,  and  was  for  many  years  identified 
with  the  progress  of  the  town,  not  only  as  an 
industrious  private  citizen,  but  as  one  who  was 
always  ready  to  aid  jniblic  movements  of  im- 
portance. For  fifty  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Advent  Church  of  Laconia,  now  the  North 
Church  of  Lakeport,  and  he  and  four  others 
erected  the  present  church  edifice.  His  death 
occurred  in  August,  1890.  Of  the  three  mar- 
riasres  he  entered,  the  first  was  contracted  with 
a  Miss  Hill,  who  bore  him  four  children.  His 
second  wife,  who  was  a  Miss  Batchelder,  of 
Meredith,  N.  H.,  became  the  mother  of  two 
children.  His  third  wife,  in  maidenhood 
Abigail  Marston,  a  daughter  of  Ebenezer 
Marston,  of  Tamworth,  Carroll  County,  died 
in  1872,  aged  sixty-eight,  having  had  five 
children,  of  whom  Charles  E.  was  the  eldest. 
Charles  E.  Buzzell  was  seventeen  years  old 
and  attending  school  in  Laconia,  now  Lake- 
port,  when  the  war  broke  out.  He  left  his 
books  to  shoulder  musket  and  knapsack,  enlist- 
ing in  Company  Y,  Eighth  New  Hampshire 
Regiment,  which  was  assigned  to  the  Nine- 
teenth Corps,  Department  of  the  Gulf.  Under 
General  Butler's  command,  he  was  at  Fort  In- 
dependence, Ship  Island,  Fort  Macomb,  and 
on  the  shores  of  Lake  Ponchartrain  when  the 
General  vvas  cooperating  with  Admiral  Far- 
ragut  in  the  attack  on  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 
He  next  went  to  General  Weitzel's  brigade  at 
Carrollton,  La.,  and  took  part  in  operations  in 
lower  Louisiana  and  in  the  first  and  second 
Red  River  expeditions.  At  the  siege  of  Port 
Hudson  he  was  seriously  wounded,  and  after- 
ward spent  six  or  seven  weeks  in  a  hospital  at 
Baton  Rouge.  Returning  to  his  regiment  as 
soon  as  he  was  able,  he  subsequently  took  part 
in  several  engagements,  including  the  battle 
of  Baton  Rouge.  For  a  year  of  his  term  he 
acted  as  a  non-commissioned  officer.      On   re- 


ceiving his  discharge,  December  28,  1864,  he 
returned  to  his  native  State,  and  for  three  or 
four  years  vvas  employed  as  a  carpenter  by  the 
Concord  &  Montreal  Railroad,  for  which  he 
erected  many  jjassenger  stations.  He  has  now 
been  in  business  as  a  carpenter  and  builder  for 
a  number  of  years,  having  executed  several 
important  contracts.  The  summer  residence 
of  Dr.  F.  E.  Greene,  the  patentee  of  Greene's 
Nervura,  and  that  of  his  brother,  J.  A.  Greene 
at  Long  Island,  N.  H.,  were  erected  by  Mr. 
Buzzell.  As  a  member  of  the  building  com- 
mittee of  the  Laconia  Court  House,  he  super- 
intended the  erection  of  that  edifice.  He  also 
built  the  Senter  House  at  Centre  Harbor. 

On  April  i,  1867,  Mr.  Buzzell  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Jennie,  daughter  of  Amos  L. 
Veazey,  of  Meredith.  They  have  one  child 
living,  Charles  W. ,  who  is  married,  has  one 
daughter,  resides  with  his  parents,  and  was 
for  some  time  in  business  with  his  father. 
Mr.  Buzzell  was  elected  from  Gilford  on  the 
Republican  ticket  to  the  State  legislature  in 
1881.  Here  he  served  in  the  first  biennial 
session  as  a  member  of  the  Finance  Commit- 
tee, and  was  active  in  advocating  the  passage 
of  the  Lake  Shore  Bill.  In  Laconia  he  was 
elected  to  the  first  Board  of  Supervisors  estab- 
lished by  law,  serving  for  six  years,  and  he 
has  been  Street  Commissioner  since  March, 
1893.  Among  the  social  organizations  to 
which  he  belongs  are:  Chocorua  Lodge,  No. 
51,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Lakeport;  Endicott  Rock 
Lodge,  No.  23,  K.  of  P.,  of  which  he  is  Past 
Chancellor;  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  same 
order.  Since  its  organization  in  187S,  he  has 
been  connected  with  Darius  A.  Drake  Post, 
No.  36,  G.  A.  R.,  having  occupied  all  the 
chairs,  presiding  as  Commander  for  two  years, 
and  being  at  present  Quartermaster  of  the 
Post.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  National 
Encampment  of  the  Grand  Army.      He  served 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


437 


for  two  years  as  Department  lii.s[)octor  on  the 
staff  of  John  C.  Linelian;  in  1893  was  Junior 
Vice-Department  Commander  of  the  State 
Encampment;  in  1 S94  senior  Vice-Com- 
mander; and  in  if>95  Dejiartment  Com- 
mander. In  all  these  relations  he  is  very 
popular,  always  deporting  himself  with  dig- 
nity and  courtesy  in  his  official  capacities. 


OSEPII  r.  BLAISDELL,  who  follows 
the  trade  of  an  engineer  in  a  shoe  fac- 
tory and  is  a  prominent  Democrat  of 
Rarnstead,  Belknap  County,  was  born  Novem- 
ber 27,  1S23,  in  Campton,  N.H.,  son  of  Na- 
thaniel and  Annie  (Burbeck)  Blaisdell.  His 
grandfather,  who  passed  his  entire  life  in 
Campton,  where  he  was  a  prosperous  farmer, 
was  generous  and  hospitable,  and  took  a  prom- 
inent part  in  all  local  affairs.  The  grand- 
father was  accidentally  killed  in  the  woods  by 
the  fall  of  a  large  limb  of  a  tree.  His  five 
children  were:  Eliphalet,  who  married,  re- 
sided in  Methuen,  and  died  in  that  town ; 
Charles,  who  became  a  custom  shoemaker ; 
Pelletiah,  who  lived  a  few  years  on  the  home- 
stead estate  and  then  sold  out  to  his  brother; 
Nathaniel,  the  father  of  Joseph  P.  ;  and  Dan- 
iel, who  died  on  the  homestead. 

Nathaniel  Blaisdell,  after  receiving  his  edu- 
cation at  the  district  schools  of  Campton,  en- 
gaged in  the  saw-mill  business,  at  first,  and 
later  on  in  the  manufacture  of  clap-boards. 
In  the  winter  season  he  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness of  preparing  clover-seed  for  market. 
His  enterprises  were  pursued  by  a  succession 
of  misfortunes,  such  as  fires  and  floods,  which 
eventually  compelled  him  to  give  up  all  inde- 
pendent business  and  go  to  work  for  other 
people.  He  removed  first  to  Moultonborough, 
then  to  Sandwich,  and  subsequently  to  Chi- 
chester.     In  1841  he  went  to  Pittsfield,  N.H., 


and  was  in  the  sawmill  business  there  for 
about  three  years.  In  iK.^5  he  came  to  Barn- 
stead  and  worked  in  the  mill  here  ffir  about 
four  years.  One  day,  in  1849,  a  belt  that  had 
slipped  off  the  machinery,  caught  him  and 
carried  him  round  in  the  gearing,  injuring 
him  so  badly  that  he  survived  the  accident 
only  three  weeks. 

Nathaniel  Blaisdell  l)elonged  to  a  type  of 
men  common  in  New  England.  Intellect- 
ually, he  was  a  careful  observer,  a  tleep 
thinker,  and  a  sound  and  logical  reasoncr. 
He  was  also  a  man  f)f  unusual  mechanical 
ability,  as  was  continually  evidenced  in  his 
business.  Morally,  he  was  a  man  of  strong 
and  decided  character,  sober  and  industrious  in 
all  his  habits,  upright  and  conscientious  in  all 
his  relations  and  dealings  with  others.  Ordi- 
narily reticent  as  to  his  speech,  yet  when  the 
occasion  demanded  he  invariably  rose  to  the 
emergency.  lie  was  deeply  versed  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  which  he  made  the  guide 
and  rule  of  his  daily  life.  In  politics  he  was 
a  strong  Democrat.  His  religious  belief  was 
that  of  the  P'ree  Will  Baptists,  of  whose  local 
society  he  was  a  member.  He  married  Annie 
Burbeck,  the  daughter  of  Joseph  Burbeck,  a 
farmer  of  Campton,  and  was  the  father  of 
seven  children.  These  were:  Josejih  P.,  the 
subject  of  this  article;  Benjamin,  who  was 
drowned;  Josiah,  who  was  also  drowned; 
Eliza,  who  married  George  Bodge;  l^velina,  of 
whom  there  is  no  special  record ;  Janet,  who 
married  John  Livingstone;  and  Nathaniel. 
All,  e.Ncept  Joseph  P.  and  Evelina,  are  now 
deceased.  The  mother,  who  survives  the 
father,  contracted  a  second  marriage  with  a 
Mr.  Webster. 

Joseph  P.  Blaisdell  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  CamiJton.  While  his  father 
was  living  in  Pittsfield,  he  learned  the  shoe- 
making  trade,  and  he  has  been  connected  with 


43'^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


that  Inisiness  in  one  form  (ir  another  ever 
since.  At  the  present  time  his  occupation  is 
that  of  engineer  in  a  shoe  factory  in  Harnsteacl. 
He  has  been  twice  married.  I^y  his  first 
wife,  in  maidenhood  Mary  Shepard,  he  be- 
came the  father  of  one  child,  who  died  in 
1892,  aged  thirty-nine  years.  For  his  second 
wife  he  married  Sephronia  W.  Page,  of  Deer- 
field,  N.  H.,  who  died  September,  1S95,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years.  In  politics  Mr. 
Blaisdell  is  a  strong  and  decided  Democrat. 
He  takes  a  lively  interest  in  local  politics  and 
enjoys  the  distinction  of  not  having  missed  a 
single  town  meeting  since  his  majority.  He 
has  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  who  elected  him  for  two  years  to  serve 
them  on  their  Board  of  Selectmen,  and  in 
1875  and  1876  to  represent  them  in  the  State 
legislature.  While  in  the  legislature  Mr. 
]?laisdell  served  on  the  two  important  com- 
mittees of  P^inance  and  Elections.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Barnstead  Congregational  So- 
ciety. While  prudent  and  industrious  in  his 
own  affairs,  he  takes  a  warm  interest  in  all 
that  concerns  the  welfare  and  advancement  of 
his  town. 


Y^TON.     NICHOLAS     V.     WHITE- 
Ip!  I       HOUSE,    long    prominently    identi- 

-A-^  V  ^  fied  with  the  business,  political, 
and  social  life  of  Strafford  County,  New 
Hampshire,  was  born  in  Gonic  (a  part  of 
Rochester),  October  22,  1802,  in  the  house 
now  a  part  of  the  dwelling  of  William  H. 
Felker.  His  parents  were  Israel  VVhitehouse, 
born  177S,  died  March  i,  1841,  and  Olive 
Varney  Whitehousc,  born  1775,  died  March 
10,  1839.  "His  early  boyhood  was  one  of  pri- 
vation and  neglect,  with  but  little  effort  on 
the  part  of  his  father  to  give  him  the  benefit 
that  the  district  school  of  six  weeks  in  summer 
and  the    same  number  in  winter  might  have 


afforded.  It  was  work,  work,  from  his  earliest 
remembrance.  When  twelve  years  old  he  was 
put  to  vifork,  like  most  boys  of  poor  parents, 
either  helping  his  father  or  the  neighbors  in 
such  work  as  a  boy  of  that  age  could  do.  After 
this  time  of  life  the  six  weeks'  summer  school- 
ing was  dispensed  with,  and  what  education  he 
obtained  was  from  the  winter  term.  When 
fifteen  years  old  he  had  learned  something  of 
the  shoemaker's  trade,  and  often  accompanied 
his  father  in  shoemaking  trips  among  the 
neighboring  farmers.  When  but  seventeen 
years  old  he  walked  to  Boston,  the  journey  oc- 
cupying two  days,  and  found  work  with  one 
'Master  Griggs,'  in  Brooklinc,  Mass.  Here 
he  remained  two  years  working  on  a  farm  for 
ten  dollars  per  month  and  his  board.  At  this 
early  age  he  showed  a  marked  ability  for  gen- 
eral business  matters.  This,  united  with  a 
genial  manner  and  unquestioned  honesty, 
gained  the  confidence  of 'Master  Griggs'  so 
fully  that,  a  month  or  two  after  being  with 
him,  he  was  intrusted  with  the  driving  of  the 
market  wagon  into  Boston  every  other  morn- 
ing, and  selling  the  products  of  the  farm.  At 
the  end  of  two  years  he  returned  to  Gonic. 
The  following  spring  he  worked  in  Salmon 
Falls  in  the  wheel  pits  and  foundation  trenches 
of  the  factory  that  was  then  being  built  there. 
He  remained  at  that  rough  work  but  a  few 
weeks,  as  it  was  gradually  breaking  down  a 
constitution  which  at  this  period  of  life  was 
rather  delicate.  Again  he  returned  to  Gonic, 
and  this  time  became  clerk  for  John  riummer 
in  the  village  store,  a  cheap  wooden  building 
which  then  stood  on  what  is  now  the  village 
square.  Here  he  exhibited  the  same  aptitude 
for  business,  the  same  energy  and  enthusiasm 
that  characterized  him  all  through  life.  When 
not  quite  twenty-three  years  old  he  built  the 
brick  store  still  standing  (though  recently 
greatly  improved  and  modernized  by  his  son), 


<::=4<^-^^J^ 


t^tTT^^e^' 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


44' 


stocked  it  with  the  goods  required  at  that  time 
in  a  country  store,  and  began  trading  for  him- 
self. The  following  year  he  fitteil  up  the 
story  over  the  store  as  a  dwelling,  furnished  it 
in  a  simple  manner,  and  on  the  thirty-first  clay 
of  July,  1825,  did  what  he  used  to  say  was 
'the  best  day's  work  of  his  life,'  by  marrying 
Susan,  the  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Elizabeth 
(Chesley)  Place. 

"  For  the  following  three  or  four  years  he 
was  busily  engaged  in  trading  when,  having 
trusted  out  much  of  his  stock,  and  hard  times 
coming  on,  he  failed.  His  creditors  took 
what  remained  of  his  stock,  and  in  the  lan- 
guage of  those  days  'shut  him  up.'  Nothing 
daunted  or  discouraged,  he  began  to  look  about 
to  get  started  again,  and  about  this  time  went 
to  New  York  to  try  for  something;  but,  getting 
homesick  after  three  weeks  absence  from  his 
young  wife  and  family,  he  returned.  His 
well-known  integrity,  energy,  and  ability  soon 
brought  to  his  assistance  friends  who  helped 
him  start  again,  and  in  1830  he  was  once  more 
embarked  in  trade.  In  the  fall  of  1833  he 
closed  up  his  store  in  Gonic,  moved  to  Dover, 
and  opened  a  store  on  'the  landing,'  as  it 
was  called,  in  the  Sawyer  brick  block.  The 
surroundings  being  distasteful  to  him,  or 
the  business  not  proving  all  he  anticipated,  he 
moved  back  to  Gonic  the  following  spring. 

"For the  next  five  or  si.x years  he  made  busi- 
ness lively  in  the  little  village.  He  bought 
the  old  saw-mill  and  privilege,  enlarged  and 
improved  that  and  the  grist-mill  attached, 
built  an  addition  for  making  linseed  oil, 
another  addition  for  making  plough  handles  and 
plough  beams,  enlarged  the  grist-mill,  and  im- 
proved the  processes  for  making  flour  and 
meal,  bought  and  operated  wood  lots,  manu- 
factured lumber,  and  dealt  largely  in  wood 
with  parties  in  Dover,  made  bricks,  ground 
plaster,     and    established    wool-carding     and 


cloth-dressing.  This  latter  business  gave  him 
reputation  beyond  the  limits  of  his  native 
town.  The  mill  was  esteemed  the  best 
equipped  for  those  times,  tloing  tiie  Ijest  work 
of  any  in  the  county,  and  l)rought  custom  from 
every  town  in  the  county,  and  many  beyond. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  what  was  to  be  the 
leading  occupation  of  his  life,  and  the  present 
Gonic  Mills." 

About  183S  he  began  a  woollen  manufactur- 
ing business,  which  he  carried  on  until  stopped 
by  the  burning  of  his  mill  in  1848;  but  the 
following  year  he  had  a  new  mill  built,  and 
four  sets  of  machinery  in  successful  operation. 
He  conducted  this'  up  to  1859,  when,  with 
Parker,  Wilder  &  Co.,  he  helped  to  organize 
the  present  Gonic  Manufacturing  Comiiany,  of 
which  he  was  made  President,  Agent,  and 
Manager,  and  continued  to  act  in  these  various 
capacities  until  1877,  when  he  withdrew  from 
the  company.  In  1863  he,  with  Mr.  John 
Hall,  Mr.  Samuel  B.  Rindge,  of  Boston,  and 
four  others,  obtained  the  charter  for  the 
Cocheco  Woollen  Manufacturing  Company  at 
East  Rochester,  of  which  he  was  President 
until  his  death.  His  influence  will  also  long 
be  felt  in  other  lines.  In  1856  the  Farmers' 
■and  Mechanics"  Bank  of  Rochester  was  char- 
tered largely  through  his  efforts;  the  Gonic 
Five  Cent  Savings  Bank  was  established  by 
him;  and  he  was  one  of  the  original  Directors 
in  the  Nashua  &  Rochester  Railroad,  holding 
the  position  until  his  death.  As  a  young 
man,  Mr.  Whitehouse  took  great  interest  in 
military  affairs,  and  all  through  life  was  an 
earnest  advocate  of  citizen  soldiery.  In  1826 
he  was  made  Quartermaster  Sergeant  of  the 
Thirty-ninth  Regiment,  and  in  1829  he  was 
commissioned  by  Governor  Iknjamin  Pierce, 
Captain  and  Adjutant  in  the  same  regiment. 

In    politics    Mr.     Whitehouse    exercised    a 
leading  influence,  not  only  in   his  own  town, 


442 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


but  throu<;li(>ul  the  county  and  State.  He 
was  a  Wliio-,  and  always  an  ardent  advocate  of 
the  American  system  of  protection  to  home  in- 
dustries, following  closely  the  views  of  the 
great  Kentucky  statesman,  Henry  Clay.  In 
1837  Mr.  VVhitehouse,  with  a  few  others, 
being  instrumental  in  wresting  the  political 
control  of  the  town  from  the  Democratic 
party,  which  had  held  it  for  many  years,  was 
elected  Moderator  and  Representative  to  the 
State  legislature,  and  re-elected  to  the  latter 
office  the  following  year.  Upon  its  advent,  he 
espoused  the  doctrines  of  the  Know  Nothing 
party,  and,  entering  heartily  into  the  campaign 
of  1S55,  was  a  prominent  candidate  before  the 
convention  for  member  of  Congress.  Al- 
though he  did  not  receive  that  nomination, 
he  was  nominated  and  elected  a  member  of  the 
Governor's  Council.  The  following  year  lie 
was  defeated,  but  won  the  election  the  next 
year.  He  served  under  Governor  Ralph  Met- 
calf  and  Governor  William  Haile.  When  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  broke  out,  he  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  everything  relating  to  raising  the 
town's  quota  of  troops,  and  gave  one  hundred 
dollars  to  the  first  twenty  men  who  enlisted  in 
Rochester.  His  keen  perception  of  the  pecul- 
iar situation  of  political  affairs  at  this  time, 
united  with  excellent  judgment  of  men,  made 
him  an  important  factor  in  preparing  the  way 
for  the  Republican  party,  and  from  its  forma- 
tion to  the  day  of  his  death  he  was  a  Republi- 
can of  the  most  jHonounced  type.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  and 
more  than  once  was  favorably  talked  of  for 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire. 

While  he  never  subscribed  to  the  creed  of 
any  church,  he  was  a  liberal  friend  to  all.  In 
early  life  he  was  a  constant  attendant  at  the 
Congregational  church,  but  in  1840  was  in- 
strumental in  building  the  Free  Will  Baptist 
church  in  Gonic,   and  thenceforward   made   it 


his  church  home,  contributing  lil^erally  toward 
its  support  and  for  the  remodelling  and  re- 
building of  the  same  at  different  times;  and 
within  the  portals  of  his  own  home  ministers 
and  laymen  were  always  sure  of  a  warm  wel- 
come and  generous  hospitality.  In  his  family 
relations  he  was  considerate,  self-sacrificing, 
and  full  of  the  tenderest  affection.  In  society 
he  was  ever  a  bright  and  genial  spirit.  He 
was  frequently  called  to  preside  at  public 
meetings,  and  always  acquitted  himself  with 
tact  and  ability.  Few  men  have  been  born  in 
Rochester  who  have  excelled  him  in  deeds  of 
unostentatious  charity,  or  who  have  exerted  a 
more  potent  influence  in  promoting  the  busi- 
ness and  social  interests  of  the  town.  Gonic 
Village  has  been  built  up  almost  wholly  by 
the  manufacturing  enterprises  created  and 
conducted   by   him   for  so   many   years. 

Mr.  Whitehouse  died  November  21,  1878. 
His  wife,  Susan,  survived  him  nearly  ten 
years,  dying  in  May,  1888.  Six  children  were 
born  of  their  union,  namely:  Elizabeth  Ann; 
Charles  Sidney;  Enoch  Freeman;  Emily  J.; 
Albert  M.,  who  died  in  childhood;  and  Arthur 
D.  Only  two  — namely,  Charles  Sidney  and 
Emily  J.  who  married  Joseph  Varney,  of  Wolf- 
boro,  N.H. —  are  living  at  this  date. 

[For  the  greater  part  of  the  foregoing  account  of  the 
life  of  the  Hon.  Nicholas  Varney  Whitehouse,  we  are  in- 
debted to  the  History  of  Rochester,  for  whose  pages  it 
was  written  by  his  son,  the  Hon.  Charles  S.  Whitehouse.] 


TT^HARLES   SIDNEY  WHITEHOUSE. 

I  Vp  — The  ancestors  of  the  Whitehouse 
\j^  ^  family  who  are  supposed  to  have 
come  to  this  country  from  Wales  in  the  early 
Colonial  times,  located  in  different  parts  of 
New  England.  From  these  immigrants  most 
of  those  who  now  bear  the  name  have  de- 
scended. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


445 


'riio  writer  of  this  skctcii  cannot  trace  the 
inmiediate  line  of  this  branch  of  the  family 
with  any  accuracy  earlier  than  May  12,  1722, 
when  the  name  of  one  "Ivlw''  Whithouse" 
appears  as  a  "third  share  projirietor"  in  the 
schedule  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
town  of  Rochester,  N.H.,  under  charter  of  the 
same  date  granted  by  King  George  III. 
There  were  many  families  by  the  name  in 
Rochester  and  the  adjoining  towns  prior  to 
1770.  They  were  people  in  moderate  circum- 
stances—  laborers,  farmers,  and  mechanics. 
Some  of  them  of  a  later  date,  however,  were 
of  marked  ability  and  prominence  in  the  com- 
munity—  notably,  the  Hon.  George  L. 
Whitehouse  (1797-1887),  of  Farmington, 
N.H.,  a  civil  engineer,  builder  of  railroads. 
Sheriff,  Register  of  Deeds,  and  Judge  in  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas;  and  the  Hon.  N.  V. 
Whitehouse  (1802-78),  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  Turner  Whitehouse,  a  direct 
ancestor  of  George  L.  Whitehouse,  mentioned 
above,  was  one  of  the  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  citizens  of  Rochester  who,  October  15, 
1776,  signed  the  declaration:  "We,  the  sub- 
scribers, do  hereby  solemnly  engage  and 
promise  that  we  will,  to  the  utmost  of  our 
power,  at  the  risk  of  our  lives  and  fortunes, 
with  arms,  oppose  the  hostile  proceedings  of 
the  British  fleet  and  armies  against  the  United 
American  Colonies."  Israel  Whitehouse 
(1778-1S41),  father  of  N.  V.  Whitehouse, 
served  for  a  time  at  Portsmoutli,  N.H.,  in  the 
War  of  1 81 2,  in  Captain  Andrew  Pierce's 
company,  and  also  in  Captain  John  Haven's 
company.  On  the  mother's  side  the  Places 
were  numerous  in  town.  The  Rev.  Joseph 
Haven,  during  his  pastorate  from  1776  to 
1824,  records  the  baptism  and  marriage  of 
seventy-two  persons  by  the  name  of  Place. 
The  Rev.  Enoch  Place  (i  786-1 865)  for  fifty- 
seven  years  a  minister  of  the   Free  Will  Bap- 


tist faith,  was  an  immediate  connection  of  the 
tamily.  Several  of  the  name  of  Place  served 
in  the  Colonial  war  against  the  French  and 
Indians  as  early  as  1748;  and  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  of  1776  there  were  many  liy  the 
name  of  Place  as  the  old  records  show. 
Colonel  David  Place  (1741-1S24),  an  ancestor 
in  the  direct  line,  was  a  noted  man.  He 
served  as  Captain  and  afterward  as  Colonel 
through  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  raised 
and  commanded  a  company  in  the  Second 
Continental  Regiment,  under  Colonel  James 
Reed,  in  1776.  At  the  close  of  the  war  and 
until  his  death  he  exercised  a  marked  influ- 
ence in  all  town  matters,  as  did  many  others, 
near  or  remotely  connected  with  Susan  Place 
Whitehouse,  in  the  business,  social,  and  re- 
ligious affairs  of  Rochester.  Colonel  David 
Place  was  the  son  of  Richard  Place  (supposed 
to  have  come  from  Devonshire,  lingland,  with 
his  father,  John  Place,  about  1688),  who  set- 
tled in  Newington,  N.H.  Richard  Place 
married  his  cousin,  Susannah  Thompson, 
daughter  of  Noah  Thompson,  of  lierwick, 
Me.  Colonel  David  Place  had  seven  chil- 
dren. The  fourth  chilil  was  Stephen  I'lace, 
who  married  Elizabeth  Cheslcy,  daughter  of 
James  Chesley,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  one 
hundred  and  one  years.  Stephen  and  liliza- 
beth  (Chesley)  Place  had  seven  children,  the 
second  child  being  Susan  Thompson  Place 
(1803-88),  who  married  Nicholas  V.  White- 
house  and  was  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  this  paper.  (Sec  sketch  f)f  Nicholas  \'. 
Whitehouse.)  Charles  Sidnc)'  Whitehouse  is 
the  second  child  of  his  parents,  and  was  born 
in  Gonic,  September  3,  1827,  in  a  room  over 
the  store  at  this  date  (March  20,  1897)  occu- 
pied by  Nahum  Yeaton  &  Co. 

From  childhood  till  thirteen  years  old  he 
attended  the  village  school.  In  1840  he  was 
sent    to    the    academy    at     Centre    Strafford, 


44^' 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


N.n.,  where  he  remaineil  two  terms,  under 
the  instruction  of  Francis  W.  Upham,  a  native 
of  Rochester  and  one  of  a  family  of  seven  sons, 
all  of  whom  became  distinguished  in  their 
lives.  Mr.  Upham  was  then  a  young  man 
twenty-three  years  old.  He  afterward  studied 
law  with  Robert  Rantoul,  of  Boston,  and  later 
was  for  many  years  a  Professor  of  Mental 
Philosophy  in  Rutgers  College  in  New  Jersey. 
In  the  summers  of  1841  and  1842  young 
Whitehouse  was  at  the  academy  in  Durham, 
N.H.  In  the  fall  and  winter  of  these  years 
he  attended  the  academy  in  Rochester,  then 
under  the  charge  of  Harrison  C.  Hobart,  from 
whom  he  received  instruction  and  advice 
which  moulded  his  future  life.  Master  Ho- 
bart, at  that  time  just  graduated  from  Dart- 
mouth College,  was  an  excellent  teacher,  a 
shrewd  observer,  who  understood  boys  and 
just  how  to  handle  them.  He  became  a  noted 
man  in  after  years  in  Wisconsin,  where  he 
attained  eminence  in  the  political  affairs  of 
the  State,  and  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion 
was  a  Colonel  and  General. 

In  1843  Mr.  Whitehouse  was  entered  in 
Phillips  Exeter  Academy,  where  he  remained 
continuously  for  two  years,  and  was  nearly 
fitted  for  college  when  ill  health  made  it 
necessary  to  abandon  any  further  schooling. 
Soon  after  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of 
E.  &  W.  Andrews,  of  Dover,  N.H.,  but  re- 
mained there  only  a  little  over  a  year,  and  in 
the  early  part  of  1846  went  to  work  for  Ben- 
jamin T.  Hardy  in  his  dry-goods  store  in 
Lowell,  where  he  remained  till  January,  1848, 
when  he  returned  home  to  Gonic,  and  entered 
the  mill  of  his  father  to  learn  the  woolen 
manufacturing  business,  which  became  his  oc- 
cupation for  the  next  thirty  years  of  his  life. 
This  year  he  was  twenty-one  years  old,  and 
cast  his  first  vote  for  Zachary  Taylor  for  Pres- 
ident.    In  the  following  year  he  with  others 


organized   the   Rochester   Phalanx,    a   military 
company  made   up  from   the   prominent  young 
men  of   the   town.      It   had   but   a   brief  exist- 
ence,    being    disbanded    in    1856.       In    1851, 
through   his  personal   efforts,  a  post-office  was 
established  in  the  village;  and  he  became  the 
first  Postmaster,  holding  the  office  twenty-six 
years.      In  1852   he  was   the   leading  spirit    in 
forming  Tiger  Engine   Company,  and   was   its 
Treasurer  for  many  years.      Being  of  an  active 
temperament,    politics    had   a    fascination    for 
him;   and   from  this   time   forward   he   entered 
heartily  into  the  political  affairs  of  the  time. 
An   earnest    Whig,    as  his   father  was    before 
him,  no  political  move   in  town  or  county  was 
made  that  he  did  not   have   a  hand    in.      Early 
and  late,  summer  and  winter,  he  was   alert   to 
further  the  success  of  his   party.      In  1854-55         ' 
he  was  a  potent  factor  in  the  political  evolu- 
tion that  gave  birth  to  the  Republican   party 
in   New  Hampshire,  and  which  dethroned  the 
Democratic  party  in  both    town    and    State   in 
1855,  the  election  of    Ralph    Metcalf   as   Gov- 
ernor being  the  result.      He  was  appointed  by 
Governor   Metcalf    one    of   his  aides,   and   re- 
ceived the  honorary  title  of  Colonel,   a  title 
which  has  clung  to  him  ever  since.      When  the 
Fremont  campaign   of    1856   opened   at   Wolf- 
boro,  September  8,  he  joined  with  his  brother 
Freeman,     George    and     Smith    Scates     (two 
young    men    from     Milton,    then    at    work    in 
Rochester),  and  William   Beedle,  in  organiz- 
ing a    P^remont    Glee   Club,    and   sang  at   that 
gathering,    which   was    presided    over    by  the 
Hon.    John    P.    Hale.      Mr.    Hale   was   so    im- 
pressed   with    the    power    and    influence    such 
singing   would   exert    in   a  political   campaign 
that  he  urged  them  to   continue   in   the  work; 
and  from   that   date   till   after  the   election   in 
November  their  services  were  in  constant  de- 
mand   at    mass    meetings,    flag    raisings,    and 
other     political     gatherings.       Many    of    the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


447 


aon'j^s  siinj;-  by  the  club  were  written  by  Colo- 
nel Whitehouse,  and  were  very  popular.  No 
one  can  fully  estimate  the  inliuence  their 
singling;  had  on  their  audiences.  Many  of  the 
opposite  party  attended  to  listen  to  the  sing- 
ing, when  no  persuasion  would  induce  them 
to  listen  to  the  arguments  of  the  speakers. 
Brass  bands  were  at  a  discount  beside  these 
enthusiastic  troubatlours.  ]^y  the  middle  of 
Buchanan's  administration  it  was  evident  that 
a  crisis  was  approaching  which  would  test  the 
principles  of  a  free  government  and  the  pa- 
triotism, valor,  and  endurance  of  the  people. 
Wise  men  looked  at  the  course  of  events  with 
apprehension.  The  very  air  was  surcharged 
with  anxiety  and  fear.  Lincoln  was  inaugu- 
rated, and  the  hurricane  of  civil  war  burst 
upon  the  people. 

luithusiastic  war  meetings  in  I'iochester 
were  of  frequent  occurrence;  and  in  all  Colo- 
nel Whitehouse  was  a  participant,  encourag- 
ing with  earnest  speech  and  with  money  the 
enlistments,  and  giving  aid,  advice,  and  care 
to  many  families  whose  head  had  gone  as  a 
soldier.  He  was  untiring  in  the  work  of  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  in  giving  entertain- 
ments, anil  raising  money  in  various  ways  to 
pmchase  comforts  for  those  at  the  front.  In 
1S58  the  Gonic  Manufacturing  Company  was 
incorporated,  with  his  father  as  agent  and  him 
as  superintendent  and  clerk.  These  positions 
he  held  till  the  fall  of  1875.  He  represented 
Rochester  in  the  lower  branch  of  the  legis- 
lature of  1S62,  and  in  1S63  antl  1864  was 
elected  to  the  State  Senate,  associating  in  the 
latter  body  with  such  men  as  Onslow 
Stearns,  Charles  H.  Bell,  and  Ezekiel  Straw, 
all  three  of  whom  were  afterward  Governors  of 
the  State,  and  Isaac  W.  Smith  and  George  A. 
]5ingham,  who  were  afterward  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  While  in  the  legislature  he 
was  zealous  in  every  measure  calculated  to  en- 


courage enlistments  or  aid  for  the  lamilies  of 
those  who  had  gone  to  the  war.  Since  the 
war  ended,  the  surviving  soldiers  have  had  no 
more  generous  or  sympathetic  friend  than 
Colonel  Whitehouse. 

During  this  period,  in  1861,  with  John 
Hall,  N.  V.  Whitehouse,  Samuel  B.  Rindge, 
of  Boston,  and  a  few  others,  he  organized  the 
Cocheco  Woolen  Company  at  Mast  Rochester; 
ami  in  1862-63  he  supervised  the  build- 
ing of  the  large  brick  mill  of  the  Gonic  Com- 
pany, improved  its  water-power,  and  made  and 
encouraged  others  to  make  many  improve- 
ments  in  and  about  the  village. 

In  186S,  combining  with  the  local  fire  en- 
gine company  and  the  town,  he  projected  and 
built  Gonic  Hall,  a  model  building  for  public 
entertainments,  shows,  and  festivals,  and 
fully  equipped  it  with  scenery.  Unfortu- 
nately for  the  village,  it  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
January  6,  1885.  His  ardent  temperament, 
energy,  and  ]Dridc  in  his  native  village  led 
him  irresistibly  to  encourage  and  assist  any 
scheme  which  he  thought  would  benefit  the 
community  in  which  he  lived,  whether  it  was 
building  the  village  school-house  in  1S58, 
remodelling  the  village  church  in  1S72,  acting 
as  superintendent  of  its  Sabbath-.school,  teach- 
ing the  children  to  sing,  leading  and  sustain- 
ing its  choir,  or  planning  and  conducting  its 
festivals. 

In  1872  he  was  chosen  by  the  Republican 
party  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  I'hiladeliihia 
Convention  which  nominated  General  Grant 
for  his  second  term,  and  in  1874,  with  I.  W. 
Springfield  and  a  few  others,  he  founded  the 
Rochester  Town  Fair,  an  institution  which 
has  been  phenomenal  in  its  growth,  and  of 
incalculable  benefit  to  the  town  and  city  for 
twenty  years,  and  will  be  more  in  the  future. 
In  1S75  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans 
of  the  First  Congressional    District   as   candi- 


448 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ilatc  for  inomljcr  of  Congress  after  a  spirited 
contest  in  the  convention,  in  which  eight  or 
ten  prominent  men  of  the  party  were  candi- 
dates; and,  although  he  conducted  the  cam- 
paign with  vigor  and  credit  to  himself,  he  was 
defeated  by  his  Democratic  opponent,  Mr. 
I'"rank  Jones,  of  Portsmouth.  Declining  a  re- 
nomination,  which  meant  an  election  in  1S77, 
he  devoted  himself  to  his  duties  with  the 
Gonic  Manufacturing  Company.  In  the  Au- 
gust following  {1875),  however,  he  severed  his 
connection  with  the  Gonic  Company,  and  as- 
sumed the  management  of  the  Cocheco  Woolen 
Mills  at  East  Rochester,  in  which  the  family 
had  large  interests.  Here  he  remained  nearly 
five  years. 

The  improvement  of  the  company's  prop- 
erty, the  beautifying  of  some  of  the  streets 
with  shade  trees,  and  the  encouragement  he 
gave  for  building  a  new  school-house  on  an 
enlarged  lot,  are  some  of  the  results  of  his  life 
in  this  thriving  village.  In  1878  his  father 
die<l,  and  in  the  early  part  of  1880  he  retired 
from  the  woolen  business  permanently.  In 
1882  he  was  appointed  Weigher  in  the  Boston 
Custom-house  (under  Roland  Worthington, 
Collector),  where  he  remained  about  three 
years,  until  retired  by  a  change  of  administra- 
tion. During  this  time,  however,  he  was 
appointed  by  Governor  Charles  H.  Bell  the 
first  State  Auditor  under  the  new  law,  and  re- 
appointed in  1883,  and  the  same  year  he  again 
represented  Rochester  in  the  legislature. 

In  the  Presidential  election  of  1888,  with 
Judge  George  W.  Nesmith,  Charles  D.  Mc- 
Duffee  (a  native  of  Rochester),  and  Frank 
Cofran,  he  was  elected  presidential  elector, 
and  with  these  cast  the  vote  of  the  State  for 
Benjamin  Harrison  and  Levi  P.  Morton. 

For  several  years  prior  to  1891  the  expedi- 
ency of  changing  from  a  town  to  a  city  or- 
ganization had  been  discussed   by  the   leading 


men  of  Rochester,  but  no  one  had  appeared  to 
direct  the  movement  or  to  attempt  to  crystal- 
lize public  sentiment  in  its  favor.  Colonel 
Whitehouse  took  hold  of  the  matter,  and  with 
Henry  Kimball,  a  lawyer  of  Rochester,  formu- 
lated a  charter,  which  was  appro\-ed  and  passed 
by  the  legislature  of  1891.  During  the  sum- 
mer he  busied  himself  so  persistently  in  creat- 
ing a  favorable  sentiment  among  the  people 
for  the  change  that  the  town  adopted  the 
charter  by  a  large  majority,  and  in  December 
elected  him  the  city's  first  Mayor.  He  was 
inaugurated  January  6,  1892,  and  served  one 
year.  In  the  fall  of  1893  he  was  elected 
Councilman  from  Ward  Three  for  three  years, 
and  January  i,  1897,  retired  from  all  further 
participation  in  public  affairs. 

He  married  Ellen  Francis  Foster,  of  Nor- 
way, Me.,  September  30,  1852,  and  has  two 
children:  Walter  Barker  Whitehouse,  born 
September  25,  1854;  and  Alice  Atherton 
Whitehouse,  born  November  9,  1862.  The 
latter  married  W.  C  Sanborn,  and  lives  in 
Rochester. 

This  sketch  would  be  incomplete  without 
reference  to  the  influence  Colonel  Whitehouse 
has  e.xerted  for  fifty  years  in  musical  matters, 
not  only  in  Rochester,  but  in  the  county  and 
State.  In  early  life  he  recognized  the  value 
of  music,  not  only  in  the  church,  but  in  the 
social  life  of  the  community.  He  was  im- 
pressed with  its  influence,  particularly  on  the 
young,  in  leading  to  a  purer  and  more  refined 
daily  life  and  a  clearer  perception  of  beauty 
in  nature  and  art.  The  young  men  and 
women  who  have  been  stimulated  by  his  ad- 
vice, and  encouraged  to  cultivate  their  musical 
taste  for  their  own  and  the  community's  good, 
cannot  be  numbered.  In  the  church,  the 
school-room,  and  the  social  gathering  this  in- 
fluence has  been  constant  and  abiding,  and  has 
radiated  to  the  adjoining   towns.      The  church 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


45' 


owes  a  large  debt  of  giatitiule  to  liiin  for  the 
work  lie  has  ilone  in  tliis  line.  The  choirs  he 
has  directed,  the  choral  societies  he  has  organ- 
ized, and  the  concerts  he  has  gotten  up,  are 
innumerable.  At  this  date  he  is  President 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Music  Teachers'  Asso- 
ciation, which  is  exerting  a  great  influence  in 
promoting  the  study  of  music  in  the  State. 
Tiiis  paper  cannot  be  concluded  any  better 
than  in  the  following  extract  from  McDuffce's 
History  of  Rochester,  written  by  the  Hon. 
Charles  W.  Folsom  of  the  Rochester  C^z/r/V/-.- 
"Colonel  VVhitehouse's  life  has  been  one  of 
ceaseless  activity.  His  mental  energy,  in- 
domitable will,  tenacious  memory,  his  habit  of 
investigating  all  theories  before  accepting 
them  as  facts,  and  his  diligence  in  studying 
all  intellectual  as  well  as  commercial  or  po- 
litical questions,  have  marked  him  out  as  a 
predestined  leader  in  society.  His  sharp  in- 
sight into  the  character  of  the  many  classes 
of  people  with  whom  his  business  has  brought 
iiim  into  contact  has  enabled  him  to  maintain 
a  strong  bond  of  sympathy  between  himself 
and  those  he  has  employed.  Few  men  have 
a  more  genuine  regard  for  the  common 
brotherhood  of  man  than  he,  and  to  this  fact 
much  of  his  popularity  is  naturally  due.  He 
has  great  local  pride;  and  as  a  recognized 
leader,  quick  in  thought  and  prompt  in  action, 
he  awakens  sluggish  minds  and  even  old  fogy- 
ism  into  useful  activity.  His  influence  in- 
duced the  people  to  plant  shade  trees  and  or- 
nament their  houses  and  grounds,  till  the 
result  is  a  beautiful  little  country  village. 
The  meeting-house  at  Gonic  was  dilapidated, 
the  services  thinly  attended,  and  the  faithful 
few  much  discouraged.  Becoming  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school,  Mr.  Whitehouse 
organized  and  led  a  choir,  and  then  very 
materially  aided  in  rebuilding  the  present 
beautiful   church   edifice.      He  has  been  inter- 


ested and  active  in  school  affairs  and  in  the 
fire  deiKirtnient  of  the  town.  To  his  execu- 
tive ability  as  superintendent  of  the  first  town 
fair  was  due  in  a  great  measure  its  success. 
His  natural  musical  gifts  have  enabled  him  to 
create  a  healthy  musical  sentiment  in  the  com- 
munity. As  far  back  as  1842  or  1.S43  he  sang 
in  the  old  Congregational  church  on  the  Con)- 
mon.  I'rom  that  time  till  the  present  there 
has  not  been  an  "Old  Folks'  Concert"  or  a 
choral  union  in  the  details  of  which  he  has 
not  had  a  prominent  part.  His  earnest  work 
in  all  these  public  affairs  has  not  been  for 
notoriety,  but  to  accomplish  results  for  the 
public  good.  He  is  a  writer  of  no  small  abil- 
ity, pleasing  and  convincing  as  a  speaker,  and 
generally  carrying  his  point. 

"Rochester  has  been  fortunate  in  having  a 
citizen  so  thoroughly  public-spirited  and  pos- 
sessed of  so  solid  sense  as  Charles  Sidney 
Whitehouse." 

March  20,  1897. 

[Note. — The  compiler  of  this  jiapcr  acknowledges  his 
obligation  to  McUuffec's  History  of  Rochester  for 
many  of  the  facts  contained  herei/i  and  the  courtesy 
which  permitted  their  use.] 


NOCH      FREEMAN     Wl  iriEIlOUSl':, 
the  second  son  and   third  child  of  Nich- 
olas    Varney    and     Susan      (Place) 
Whitehouse,  was  born  in  1830. 

In  early  childhood  it  became  evident  that 
he  possessed  more  than  ordinary  musical  abil- 
ity, and  upon  reaching  manhood  his  voice  de- 
veloped unusual  richness  and  power,  and  he 
became  one  of  the  finest  and  sweetest  ball;ul 
singers  the  cotnitry  has  ever  produced.  lie 
first  came  before  the  general  public  as  a  member 
of  Ossian's  Bards,  under  the  leadershij)  of  the 
noted  Ossian  E.  Dodge,  and  subsequently  be- 
came  manager   of   a   company   called  "White- 


45  = 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


house's  New  Eiighuul  15arels. "'  After  that  he 
spent  a  few  years  at  home,  and  when  he  started 
out  again  he  went  alone,  to  be  met,  as  before, 
wherever  he  went  by  full  houses  and  apprecia- 
tive audiences.  A  master  also  of  the  guitar, 
he  tiirilled  his  hearers  by  his  playing  as  well 
as  by  his  singing;  and  the  press  was  enthu- 
siastic in  their  praise  of  his  accomplishments. 
His  power  as  a  singer  was  wonderful,  and  few 
Rochester  men  have  been  more  widely  known 
or  more  greatly  beloved  than  he  became 
through  his  musical  talent.  His  personal 
friends  were  equally  charmed  and  attracted  by 
his  qualities  of  mind  and  character.  Tender- 
hearted and  generous  in  the  extreme,  he  was 
constantly  giving  away  large  sums  to  assist 
the  needy  and  unfortunate.  Mr.  Whitehouse 
was  for  some  years  the  Cashier  of  the  Farmers' 
and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  Rochester,  which  has 
become  the  First  National  Bank  of  Gonic. 

On  December  3,  1861,  he  married  Abbie 
McDuffee.  He  lived  less  than  four  years 
after,  being  drowned  near  the  Isles  of  Shoals, 
August  28,  1865,  together  with  his  brother-in- 
law,  Joseph  McDuffee,  by  the  capsizing  of  the 
boat,  in  which  they  were  fishing. 


(sjX  HORACE  DREW,  a  thrifty  and  well- 
to-do  farmer  of  Gilmanton,  was  born 
in  Barnstead,  N.H.,  August  26,  1835, 
son  of  James  and  Hannah  (Clark)  Drew.  His 
grandfather,  Joseph  Drew,  settled  in  Loudon, 
N.H.,  upon  land  now  known  as  the  Town 
Farm.  Having  afterward  sold  that  property, 
Joseph  bought  of  an  Englishman  living  in 
Portsmouth,  a  tract  of  two  thousand  acres  bor- 
dering upon  Half-a-moon  Pond.  For  this 
land,  which  was  situated  in  the  towns  of 
Alton  and  Barnstead,  he  is  said  to  have  paid 
si.x  thousand  dollars.  In  February,  1773,  he 
married   Jane   Scranton,    and   she   became    the 


mother  of  twelve  children;  namely,  Lydia, 
Ebenezer,  Joseph,  Betsey,  Anna,  Thomas, 
Martha,  John,  Eliza,  Samuel,  Susan,  and 
James.  Lydia  became  Mrs.  Durgin ;  Betsey 
married  a  Mr.  Edgerly ;  Martha  wedded 
Thomas  Proctor,  of  Alton,  N.H.;  and  .Susan 
became  Mrs.  Langeley,  and  resided  in  Barn- 
stead. Of  grandfather  Drew's  great-grand- 
father and  wife,  the  following  story  is  told : 
The  couple  were  captured  by  Indians,  who 
separated  into  two  parties,  each  taking  a 
prisoner.  Mrs.  Drew  suffered  the  anguish  of 
seeing  her  new-born  babe  killed  in  her 
presence.  Some  two  years  afterward  her  hus- 
band succeeded  in  making  his  escape,  and  re- 
turned to  his  farm.  About  four  years  after 
the  capture,  on  learning  that  the  tribe  which 
had  taken  Mrs.  Drew  was  visiting  Portsmouth, 
her  husband  went  to  that  settlement  with  a 
hope  of  hearing  something  of  his  wife.  Al- 
though her  face  was  bronzed  from  long-contin- 
ued exposure,  and  she  was  in  general  appear- 
ance an  Indian,  he  suspected  she  was  his  long- 
lost  wife.  She  also  recognized  him,  but  was 
not  sure,  until  she  sang  a  familiar  song,  when 
the  recognition  was  complete  on  the  part  of 
both.  Her  husband  .succeeded  in  obtaining 
her  release  by  paying  a  ransom  amounting  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  they  re- 
turned to  their  old  home  in  the  vicinity  of 
Durham  or  Lee,  N  H.  After  a  long  life  of 
prosperity,  which  was  made  happy  by  the  birth 
of  several  children,  they  both  died  the  same 
day,  and  were  buried  in  one  grave. 

James  Drew,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  in  Loudon  in  1794. 
When  a  young  man  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits  in  Barnstead.  Several  years  after- 
ward he  moved  to  Pittsfield,  N.H.,  where  he 
continued  to  till  the  soil.  Finally,  in  com- 
pany with  his  son,  J.  Horace,  he  bought  a 
large  farm  located  at  Academy  Corners,  in  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


453 


town  of  Gilmaiiton,  ami  llieru  resided  for  the 
rest  of  his  life.  He  was  noted  for  his  strict 
adherence  to  principle,  which  gained  for  him 
the  sincere  respect  of  the  entire  community. 
He  was  frequently  solicited  to  accept  public 
office,  but  invariably  declined.  An  earnest 
advocate  of  the  Adventist  faith,  he  contributed 
generously  toward  the  support  of  the  church, 
and  was  deeply  interested  in  its  work.  He 
died  June  30,  1874.  The  first  of  his  three 
marriages  was  contracted  in  1817  with  Han- 
nah Clark.  In  1845  he  wedded  Lucy  Clark, 
and  in  i860  he  married  Sarah  B.  Plummer. 
He  was  the  father  of  five  children,  namely: 
Ebenezer  Clark,  who  was  born  in  18 19,  and 
died  in  1864;  Jane,  who  was  born  in  1S23,  and 
in  1849  married  Joseph  O.  Tasker;  Charles, 
who  was  born  in  1825  ;  John  G.,  who  was  born 
in  1821;  and  J.  Horace,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

J.  Horace  Drew  was  educated  at  the  Pitts- 
field  Academy.  When  his  studies  were  fin- 
ished he  engaged  in  farming  with  his  father. 
After  the  death  of  the  latter  he  became  sole 
owner  of  the  farm  of  two  hundred  acres.  By 
energy  and  good  judgment  he  has  since  con- 
siderably enlarged  the  property.  He  devotes 
his  attention  to  raising  the  usual  products  of 
this  locality,  and  always  keeps  some  excellent 
stock.  He  has  served  with  ability  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Selectmen.  Although 
frequently  urged  by  his  fellow-townsmen  to 
accept  other  town  offices,  he  has  refused. 

Mr.  Drew  married  Laura  A.  Plummer, 
tlaughter  of  Joseph  Plummer,  of  Gilmanton. 
Mrs.  Drew  attended  the  academy  in  this 
town.  She  is  the  mother  of  one  daughter, 
Idella  M.  Idella  AL  Drew  was  prepared  for 
college  at  the  Gilmanton  Academy,  and  while 
pursuing  her  studies  spent  her  vacations  in 
teaching.  After  graduating  she  gave  up  her 
intention  of  taking  a  classical  course,  and  has 


since  continued  in  educational  work.  Siie 
has  fully  demonstrateil  her  ability  in  this  lii- 
rection,  and  is  now  a  successful  teacher  in  the 
Laconia  Grammar  School.  Mr.  Drew  and 
family  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church. 


ANIKL    L.     PLIII\IMI-;K,    of    Lee.    a 
successful    dealer    in    general     mer- 


B 

C~K,^  chandise,  was  born  on  Lee  Hill, 
P'ebruary  16,  1S45,  son  of  .Allen  and  Abbie  J. 
(Pendergast)   Plummer. 

When  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  the 
town  of  Ncwington,  N.  IL,  Daniel  Iv  Plum- 
mer was  but  three  years  old.  In  1855  the 
family  returned  to  Lee  Hill,  whore  Daniel 
acquired  a  common-school  education.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  he  began  working  at  the  shoe- 
maker's trade,  which  he  subsequently  followed 
for  eight  years  in  Haverhill,  Mass.  Later  he 
managed  a  cafe  in  the  same  city,  remaining 
until  1875,  when  he  again  returned  to  his 
iiati\e  town.  Here  he  has  since  conducted  a 
general  merchandise  store,  dealing  extensively 
in  hay,  grain,  and  feed.  He  also  does  a  good 
business  in  lumbering.  In  1876  Mr.  Plum- 
mer was  appointed  Postmaster  of  Lee  by  Pres- 
ident Hayes.  With  the  exception  of  two 
years,  he  has  held  that  position  since.  The 
two  years  referred  to  were  1889  and  1890,  when 
he  was  a  Representative  to  the  legislature,  and 
his  wife  took  his  place  in  the  post-office.  He 
was  Tax  Collector  for  sixteen  years,  and  he  has 
been  Town  Clerk  for  the  past  twenty-one  years, 
being  still  in  that  office.  He  is  also  a  Trus- 
tee of  the  Public  Library.  In  politics  he  is 
identified  with  the  Democratic  party. 

In  1874  Mr.  Plummer  was  united  in  mar 
riage  with  Millie  C.  Cummings.  He  has  two 
daughters  —  Annie  May  and  Lulu.  A?inie 
May  is  a  graduate  of  the  Dover  jniblic  schools, 
of   the  academy    in    Norlhwood,    \.  H.,   and   <if 


454 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  ICiiicrson  College  of  Oratory  in  Boston, 
Mass.  Lulu  is  also  an  elocutionist  and  a 
graduate  of  Emerson  College.  They  are  both 
single,  and  are  still  living  at  home.  Mrs. 
I'hnniiier  died  May  3,    I  891. 


/  ^TlToRGE  W.  SANDERS,  a  retired 
\  fsT  business  man  of  Gilford,  was  born 
in  this  town,  July  30,  18 17,  son  of 
George  ami  Philena  (Martin)  Sanders.  His 
grandfather,  George  Sanders  (first),  emigrated 
with  his  family  from  England,  and  settled  in 
Rye,  N.H.  He  was  the  father  of  three  chil- 
dren—  Henry,  George,  and  Mary.  Mary  be- 
came the  wife  of  Nehemiah  Sleeper,  and  died 
in  Gilford.  Henry  died  on  the  passage  from 
the   West    Indies. 

George  Sanders  (second),  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  followed  the  sea  in  his 
younger  days,  and  when  the  war  of  18 12  broke 
out  he  sailed  from  Portsmouth  on  board  of  a 
privateer.  With  his  share  of  the  spoils  taken 
in  his  second  cruise  amounting  to  nine  hun- 
dred dollars,  he  bought  the  Kenniston  farm  in 
Gilford,  and  there  took  up  his  residence  in 
181 3.  He  was  an  industrious  and  prosperous 
farmer,  and  died  in  December  26,  1843.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and,  though  fre- 
quently solicited  to  accept  office,  he  always 
declined.  His  wife,  Philena,  whom  he  mar- 
ried about  a  year  after  settling  in  Gilford,  was 
a  daughter  of  Elder  Richard  Martin,  a  farmer 
and  a  preacher.  Elder  Martin  was  in  early 
life  a  store-keeper  in  Lee,  N.H.  In  those 
days  the  country  grocers  sold  liquor.  It  was 
his  custom  when  asked  for  more  by  customers 
whom  he  saw  had  had  enough,  to  tell  them  to 
come  next  day.  He  finally  gave  up  the  store 
and  moved  to  Gilford,  where  he  preached  at 
the  "Gunstock  Meeting-House."  He  de- 
livered a  sermon  in  the  forenoon  of  the  day  on 


which  he  died.  This  event  occurred  sud- 
denly when  on  his  way  to  church  for  the  after- 
noon service,  being  then  over  seventy  years 
old.  He  was  the  father  of  eight  children  — 
John,  Richard,  Christopher,  Hannah,  Ruth, 
Philena,  Betsey,  and  Thankful.  The  last 
named  became  Mrs.  Jackson;  John  settled  in 
the  northern  i^art  of  this  State;  Christopher 
was  for  some  time  a  preacher  in  Vermont,  and 
later  in  Salem,  Mass. ;  Richard  was  a  painter 
by  trade,  and  died  in  Laconia;  Ruth  married 
Hezekiah  Sleeper;  Hannah  married  Vowel 
Langley;  Betsey  married  Elder  William 
Blaisdell,  who  was  Town  Clerk  of  Gilford  for 
twenty-five  years,  and  also  served  as  Select- 
man and  Representative  to  the  legislature; 
Philena  became  Mrs.  George  Sanders.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  George  Sanders  were  the  parents  of 
si.x  children;  namely,  Ruhamah,  Olive, 
George  W.,  Richard  M.,  Orrin,  and  Francis. 
Ruhamah  married  William  G.  Hoitt,  of  Gil- 
ford; Olive  married  Tenney  Hibbard;  Orrin 
died  from  the  result  of  an  accident  when  four 
years  old;  Richard  died  at  the  age  of  thirteen; 
and  Francis,  who  married  Emma  Tuttle,  died 
in  1894. 

George  W.  Sanders  attended  the  public 
schools  until  fifteen  years  old,  and  then  went 
to  the  Hopkinton  Academy  for  one  term. 
After  leaving  the  academy  he  taught  school  for 
a  time.  With  the  funds  so  obtained  he  pur- 
sued his  studies  in  Parsonsfield,  Me.  He  then 
resumed  educational  work,  teaching  for  a 
while  in  Gilford,  and  then  going  to  Holliston, 
Mass.,  at  a  salary  of  twenty-seven  dollars  per 
month  and  board.  He  next  taught  in  Milford, 
Mass.,  receiving  thirty  dollars  a  month  and 
board.  In  1842,  having  finally  abandoned 
teaching,  he  began  to  work  in  a  shoe  shop  in 
Milford,  where  he  remained  until  called  home 
by  the  last  illness  of  his  father.  For  the  suc- 
ceeding sixteen  years  he  was  engaged    in   gen- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


45  S 


cral  farming  at  the  homestead.  Tlien  he  sold 
the  property  and  moved  to  the  Smith  farm, 
which  then  com[)rised  five  hundred  acres. 
Later  he  established  himself  in  the  lumber 
business,  and  followed  it  successfully  until  his 
retirement  in  1873. 

Mr.  Sanders  married  Sarah  Smith,  daughter 
of  Joseph  P.  Smith  of  Gilford,  and  formerly  a 
school  teacher.  She  died  March  10,  1S94, 
leaving  four  children;  namely,  Joseph  S., 
George  A.,  J.  F"rank,  and  Roscoe  M.  Joseph 
S.,  who  resides  with  his  father,  is  married  and 
has  two  children:  George  A.,  is  associated 
with  his  father-in-law,  William  Pepper,  in  the 
knitting-machinery  business  in  Lakeport ; 
Roscoe  is  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  resides  in 
Bolton,  Mass. ;  J.  Frank  is  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Lakeport.  In  politics  Mr.  Sanders  is 
a  Democrat,  and  has  frequently  been  a  dele- 
gate to  party  conventions.  He  served  upon 
the  School  Committee  for  four  years.  A 
candidate  for  the  legislature  on  one  occasion, 
he  was  defeated  in  a  closely  contested  election 
by  two  votes.  He  is  a  member  of  the  PVee 
Baptist  church. 

OEL  H.  MARISON,  a  well-known 
resident  of  Barrington,  was  born  in 
West  Barrington,  N.  H.,  November  5, 
1832,  son  of  Joel  and  Emily  (Underwood) 
Marison.  His  parents  had  seven  children,  as 
follows:  Harriett,  Sarah  J.,  Joel  LL,  George 
W.,  Louisa,  Samuel  S.,  and  Caroline  M.  By 
a  former  marriage  with  Miss  Harriett  Bartlett, 
Joel  Marison  had  two  children — John  and 
Mary.  Joel  H.,  the  eldest  son  by  the  father's 
second  marriage,  spent  his  boyhood  in  Barring- 
ton, receiving  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  The  old  homestead  remained  his 
h(jme  up  to  1S71,  when  he  came  to  his  present 
farm.  Here  he  has  been  successfully  engaged 
in  general  farming  since.      In  1893    he  started 


a  general  store,  and  he  is   now  the    I'ostmaster 
of  West  IJarrington. 

On  August  15,  1862,  Mr.  Mari-son  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  Company  F  of  the  Thirteenth 
New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  and  was  mustered 
in  at  Concord.  The  first  engagement  in 
which  he  took  part  was  the  battle  of  Freder- 
icksburg on  December  13,  1862.  Thereafter 
he  was  with  his  regiment  at  the  siege  of  Suf- 
folk in  April  and  May,  1863;  at  Walthall 
Roads,  May  7,  1864;  Swift  Creek,  May  9  and 
10;  Kingsland  Creek,  May  12  and  13; 
Drewry's  Bluff,  May  14  to  May  16;  Cold 
Harbor,  June  i  to  June  3;  Battery  5,  I'eters- 
burg,  June  15;  explosion  of  the  mine  at 
Petersburg,  July  29;  Battery  Harrison,  Sep- 
tember 29  and  30;  Fair  Oaks,  October  27; 
and  he  entered  Richmond,  April  3,  1865.  In 
the  course  of  his  term  he  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Sergeant.  He  was  discharged  at 
Richmond,  June  21,  1865. 

Mr.  Marison  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Mary  A.  Hanson.  Four  children  have 
been  born  to  them;  namely,  Cora  M.,  George 
W.,  Marcellus,  and  John  H.  In  politics  Mr. 
Marison  is  a  Republican.  In  religion  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church. 


M 


ANIEL  P.  YORK,  a  typical  repre- 
sentative of  the  citizen-soldier  ele- 
ment of  Strafford  County,  N.H., 
whose  recoril  in  the  late  Civil  War  entitles 
him  to  honorable  mention  in  this  biographical 
work,  is  a  highly  respected  citizen  of  the  city 
of  Dover,  where  he  has  lived  for  more  than 
twoscore  years.  He  was  born  Sejitember  i, 
1S34,  at  Gilmanton,  Belknap  County,  son  of 
Jonethron  and  Ik'tsey  York.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  town  until  fifteen 
years  old,  when  he  began  working  at  the  shoe- 
maker's trade.      Two  years    later  he    removed 


456 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


to  Durham,  finding   there  better  opportunities 
for  carrying  on  his  chosen  calling. 

In  1853  Mr.  York  located   in  K.xeter,  N.H., 
where   he  remained   three  and  one  half  years. 
Then  he   returned  to  Durham,  and  after  a  time 
took  up  his  residence    in    South    Berwick,  Me, 
where  he  had  charge  of  a  stationary  engine  two 
and  one-half  years   in   the   employment   of   the 
Boston  &  Maine  Railroad  Company.      At   this 
time  the  late  Rebellion   was   in   progress,  and 
he,  with  the  patriotic  ardor  of  the  native  New 
Englander,  hastened  to  the  defence   of   his  flag 
and  country.      He   enlisted    October    17,   1861, 
as  a   private    in    Company   B    of    the    Twelfth 
Maine  Volunteer  Infantry  for  a  period  of  three 
years.      He  was  mustered   into  service  at  Cape 
Elizabeth,  Portland,  and   was  at   once   ordered 
with  his  regiment  to  the  scene  of  action.      Mr. 
York's  first    engagements   were  at    the   taking 
of  Forts  Jackson  and  Phillips.      He  was  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight  at  Irish    Bend   and   at   the 
siege  of  Port  Hudson,  which  lasted  forty-seven 
days.       He  was   present  at  the  surrender    of 
Forts  Jackson   and   Phillips,  and  that   of   New 
Orleans.      In  New  Orleans  he  served  on   Gen- 
eral   Butler's   body   guard   and    he   assisted    in 
the    execution    of    William    Mumford    at    the 
Branch   Mint.      On    September    19,     1864,    at 
the  memorable  battle  of  Winchester,  Mr.  York 
was  severely  wounded  by  a  niinie   ball,    which 
entered   the  knee   and  passed  downward  under 
the  knee  pan,    descending   to   the   ankle.      He 
was  at  once  taken  to  the  Sheridan   Field  Hos- 
pital, where  four  days   later  the  left   leg  was 
amputated.      He  was  subsequently  removed   to 
the  Baltimore  hospital,  and  there  on   October 
12  a  second     operation    was    found   necessary. 
Again,    a    month    later    at    the    Cherry   Street 
hospital,    his   wound  not    having    healed  as  it 
should,  Mr.  York  submitted  to  the  third  ampu- 
tation, after  which  he  was  confined  in  the  hos- 
pital until   some  time  in  December.      He  sub- 


sequently received  his  honorable  discharge 
from  the  service  in  March,  1865.  Returning 
to  l^erwick  he  lived  there  until  1874,  when  he 
removed  to  his  present  home  in  Dover.  Here 
he  is  living  a  contented  and  happy  life,  secure 
in  the  love  and  devotion  of  his  family.  In 
politics  he  has  ever  been  a  true  and  stanch 
Republican. 

Mr.  York  married,  November  18,  1S54, 
Miss  Susan  Smart,  a  daughter  of  Enoch  and 
Hanah  Smart,  of  Durham.  The  union  has 
been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  ten  children; 
namely,  Elbridge,  Annie,  l^sther,  Susan, 
Daniel,  Georgia  PI,  PZlla,  Ida,  Lilly,  and 
William. 


ILLIAM  SANBORN  WOODMAN, 
a  retired  farmer  of  Sanbornton,  antl 
an  ex-member  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire legislature,  was  born  in  this  town,  July 
II,  1819,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Calcf) 
Woodman.  The  family  is  of  English  origin. 
Its  ancestors  resided  in  Milford,  England, 
previous  to  emigrating  to  America.  Arche- 
laus  Woodman,  a  weaver  by  trade,  who  was  a 
passenger  on  board  the  shiji  "James,"  reached 
the  country  in  1635,  and  settled  in  Newbury, 
Mass.  He  died  in  1702,  leaving  no  children. 
His  brother,  Edward  Woodman,  who,  with  his 
family  arrived  here  in  the  same  year,  is 
believed  to  have  been  the  common  ancestor 
of  the  Woodmans  in  Sanbornton.  Edward 
Woodman  was  a  man  of  energy  and  decision, 
had  much  influence  in  the  community,  and  was 
a  Deputy  to  the  General  Court  for  the  years 
1636,  1637,  1639,  and  1643.  He  held  vari- 
ous town  and  Colonial  offices,  and  was  one  of 
three  commissioners  appointed  to  adjust  small 
litigations  in  Newbury.  He  was  the  father  of 
two  sons —  Edward  and  John.  John  Woodman 
was  great-grandfather  of  Joshua  Woodman,  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


457 


Joslniu  Woodman  was  born  in  Lee,  N.  H., 
June  II,  1736;  and  his  wife,  Lois  Woodman, 
JaiiLiaiy  26  of  the  same  year  in  ALiine.  He 
moved  from  Lee  to  Meredith,  where  lie  re- 
sided until  1794.  Then  he  came  to  Sanborn- 
ton.  In  Meredith  he  was  Deputy  Sheriff. 
Ilefouyht  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  bearing 
the  rank  of  Captain  and  attended  by  his  son 
Joshua;  and  he  died  August  13,  1S27.  His 
wife's  death  occurred  October  28,  1820,  in 
her  eighty-fifth  year.  John  Woodman,  father 
of  William  S.,  was  born  in  Lee,  N.  H.,  Feb- 
ruary I,  1769.  In  his  youth  he  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Meredith,  and  later  to  Sanborn- 
ton.  He  succeeded  to  the  homestead  in  this 
town,  and  was  afterward  quite  an  extensive 
dealer  in  cattle.  His  wife,  Sarah,  whom'  he 
wedded  May  2,  1797,  was  born  June  18,  1780, 
daughter  of  Oliver  Calef.  She  became  the 
mother  of  sixteen  children,  of  whom  fourteen 
attained  maturity.  Of  the  latter,  four  are 
living,  namely:  Sally,  the  widow  of  Barnard 
H.  Smith;  William  S.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Mary  S. ,  the  widow  of  Harris  Allen  ; 
and  Lawrence  C,  a  resident  of  Otonia,  Minn. 
The  others  were:  Stephen  M.,  Susan,  Joshua, 
Lois  and  Eliza  (twins),  Samuel,  John,  Ira, 
Charles  C. ,  and  Nathaniel.  The  father  died 
October  30,  1865  ;  and  the  mother  on  Febru- 
ary 12,  1866.  Both  were  members  of  the 
Baptist  church,  the  father  having  served  it  in 
the  capacity  of  Deacon. 

William  Sanborn  Woodman  attended  the 
district  schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
went  to  Meredith,  where  he  assisted  his 
brother-in-law  upon  a  farm  for  two  years.  He 
then  completed  his  studies  by  attending  the 
New  Hampton  Literary  Institute,  after  which 
he  returned  to  his  native  town,  where  he 
erected  a  house,  and  resided  in  it  until  1848. 
Then  he  bought  his  present  farm  of  about 
three  hundred  acres.      Of   this,   he   cultivates 


some  forty  acres,  raising  hay,  corn,  oat.s,  bar- 
ley, and  jiotatocs,  keeping  twenty  head  of 
cattle  and  the  same  number  of  sheep.  He 
does  ([uite  a  business  in  dairying,  and  has 
regular  customers  for  all  the  butter  he  can 
produce.  Politically,  he  is  a  Democrat. 
While  representing  his  district  in  the  legisla- 
ture of  1869,  he  was  instrumental  in  causing 
the  enactment  of  laws  favoring  Sanbornton 
when  the  town  was  divided.  He  served  with 
ability  as  a  Selectman,  and  was  County  Treas- 
urer for  two  years.  For  five  years  he  hail 
charge  of  the  Town  Farm,  and  he  was  Super- 
intendent of  the  County  Farm  and  Keeper  of 
the  jail  and  house  of  correction  from  1S71  to 
1879.  He  is  a  public  spirited,  enterprising, 
and  progressive  citizen,  and  has  labored  dili- 
gently and  faithfully  for  the  welfare  of  the 
town.  Formerly  he  was  much  interested  in 
military  affairs,  and  held  a  Cajitain's  com- 
mission in  the  old  State  militia. 

On  June  23,  1841,  Mr.  Woodman  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Ann  I"ox, 
daughter  of  ]5enjamin  Fox,  of  Meredith. 
Mrs.  Woodman  has  had  five  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Stephen  M.,  who  married  Lizzie  Smith, 
and  died  leaving  a  widow  and  eight  children, 
of  whom  six  are  living;  Cynthia,  who  married 
Orville  M.  Smith;  Ella,  the  wife  of  Dennis 
O'Shea,  a  merchant  of  Laconia;  Josephine, 
who  married  Frank  M.  Sanborn,  of  Milton 
Mills,  N.H.  ;  and  George,  who  has  had  the 
management  of  the  farm  since  his  fatlier's 
retirement.  George  Woodman  wedded  Mrs. 
Anna  (Randlett)  Merrill,  daughter  of  Jona- 
than Randlett,  of  Laconia.  By  her  funner 
marriage  she  has  two  children — Arthur  and 
Bud;  and  by  her  present  marriage  three  sons 
—  Roscoe  Stevens,  Clarence  John,  and  Will- 
iam Lawrence.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willian)  S. 
Woodman  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church, 
which  he  fornierly  served   as  clerk  and   as   a 


4S8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


member  of  the  executive  committee.  An  oc- 
casion long  to  he  remembered  by  the  partici- 
pants was  the  celebration  of  their  golden  wed- 
ding on  June  23,  1891,  when  about  two  hun- 
dred of  their  relatives  and  friends,  including 
many  from  the  neighboring  towns  and  some 
from  Massachusetts,  assembled  at  their  pleas- 
ant residence  to  congratulate  them  upon  the 
happy  event ;  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hunter,  in 
behalf  of  the  donors,  presented  the  happy 
couple  with  several  costly  gifts,  while  excel- 
lent  music  was  furnished    by  the   Sanbornton 

Orchestra. 

« *  ■ » * 

'RANCIS  L.  GERALD,  M.D.,  of 
Belmont,  now  living  in  retirement, 
was  born  in  Warren,  N.  H.,  January  5 
1838,  son  of  Addison  W.  and  Mary  H.  (Mer- 
rill) Gerald.  He,  in  common  with  nearly  all 
who  bear  the  surname  of  Gerould  or  Gerald  in 
this  country,  is  a  descendant  of  Dr.  Jacques 
Jerauld,  one  of  the  Huguenots  who  left  France 
after  the  Revolution  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
in  1685.  Settling  in  Medfield,  Mass.,  he 
practised  medicine  there  until  his  death,  Oc- 
tober 25,  1760.  He  married  Miss  Dupee, 
who  was  born  on  the  voyage  when  her  parents 
were  coming  to  this  country  in  1685. 

Addison  W.  Gerald  acquired  his  education 
in  New  York  State.  Shortly  after  attaining 
his  majority  he  located  in  Warren,  N.  H.  His 
wife,  Mary,  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Mer- 
rill, a  well-to-do  farmer  and  a  leading  light 
in  the  Free  Baptist  church  of  that  town.  By 
their  marriage,  which  was  performed  in  1836, 
there  were  twelve  children;  namely,  Francis 
L.,.  Laura  A.,  Lucy  J.,  Henry  J.,  Maria  (de- 
ceased), Charles  S.,  Ellen,  Abbie,  Emeline, 
Alma,  Emily,  and  one  who  died  in  early  life. 
Laura  A.  married  Nathaniel  Sawyer,  and 
they  removed  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Lucy  J.  mar- 
ried Charles  Norris,  of  Laconia.      They  reside 


in  Lowell,  Mass.,  where  he  is  a  well-known 
machinist.  Henry  J.  married  Elizabeth  Tay- 
lor. He  is  overseer  in  Baker's  Chocolate 
Mills  in  Milton,  Mass.,  where  they  reside. 
Charles  S.  is  a  prominent  [physician  in  South 
Dakota.  Ellen  M.  married  Edwin  J.  San- 
born, and  resides  in  Nebraska.  Abbie,  who  is 
unmarried,  lives  in  Tilton,  N.  H.  Emeline 
married  Olcott  Colby,  of  Warren,  N.H. 
Alma  became  Mrs.  Byron  Copp  of  the  same 
town.  Emily  married  Charles  Whiteman, 
and  with  her  husband  is  living  in  Tilton, 
N.H. 

Francis  L.  Gerald  graduated  from  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  He  began  practice  in  Nashua  in  i86g, 
and  came  to  Hyde  Park  in  1873,  being  the 
first  physician  on  the  Board  of  Health  in  that 
town.  Beginning  in  1880,  he  was  Treasurer 
of  the  Massachusetts  Eclectic  Medical  Soci- 
ety for  several  years,  and  in  18S8  he  became 
the  President  of  that  organization.  F"ailing 
health  subsequently  obliged  Dr.  Gerald  to  re- 
linquish his  extensive  and  lucrative  practice 
in  Hyde  Park  and  move  to  the  country.  At 
that  time  he  came  to  Belmont  and  settled  on 
Ladd  Hill,  where  he  has  since  devoted  his 
time  to  farming  and  stock-raising,  owning 
some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  stock  ever 
raised  in  New  England.  In  politics  he  affil- 
iates with  the  Republican  party;  but  on  license 
questions  he  is  a  Prohibitionist,  being  an 
active  temperance  worker.  He  has  served  as 
Moderator  in  town  meetings,  and  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Belmont  School  Board  for  four 
years.  In  1896  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
legislature,  and  will  no  doubt  prove  an  able 
Representative. 

The  first  of  Dr.  Gerald's  two  marriages  was 
contracted  in  i860.  By  his  second  marriage, 
which  was  contracted  in  1S74,  with  Lucy  A., 
daughter    of    Bowman    Goodrich,    of    Hudson, 


FRANCIS    L.    GERALD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


461 


N.II.,  there  were  three  chiltlren  —  Florence 
N. ,  Frank  W.,  and  Mabel.  Frank  is  now 
deceased.  I'Morence  is  a  teacher  in  lielniont, 
and  Mabel  is  a  student  in  the  Laconia  High 
School.  Dr.  Gerald  was  the  Treasurer  of 
Forest  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Hyde  Park, 
Mass.,  and  he  has  been  Recorder  for  seven 
years  of  Cyprus  Commandery,  Knights  Tem- 
plars, of  the  same  town.  An  esteemed  member 
of  the  Laconia  Methodist  church,  he  has  been 
a  trustee  of  the  society  for  ten  years,  and  the 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school  for  five 
years. 

«^*^» 

'AMES  C.  LOCKE,  a  representative  of 
one  of  the  oldest  families  in  North 
Barnstead,  was  born  here,  September  7, 
1846,  son  of  Jacob  and  Pamelia  (Dow)  Locke. 
The  first  ancestor  of  the  family  to  settle  in  the 
locality  was  James  Locke,  great-grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  came  from  Rye, 
N.H.,  and  acquired  a  tract  of  wild  land  located 
at  what  has  since  been  known  as  Locke's  Corner. 
Some  time  after  he  moved  to  another  tract, 
situated  nearer  to  the  present  farm  of  his  great- 
grandson,  and  when  opportunity  permitted  he 
built  a  frame  house  to  replace  the  primitive  log 
cabin  he  had  originally  erected  for  an  abode. 
He  made  his  living  by  trapping  bears,  and  till- 
ing the  soil.  Making  a  substantial  success  of 
the  last-named  occupation,  he  became  the  pos- 
sessor of  several  farms.  He  was  prominent  in 
the  early  town  government,  in  which  he  served 
as  a  Selectman  ;  his  religious  principles  were 
those  of  the  Quakers ;  and  he  lived  to  be  over 
eighty  years  old.  His  children  were  James, 
luioch,  John,  Edward,  Lucy,  and  Lovey. 

Enoch  Locke,  grandfather  of  James  C,  in- 
herited the  homestead,  and  resided  there  through- 
out his  life,  which  ended  when  he  was  well  past 
his  eightieth  year.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
members  of  the    Free    Baptist  Church  at   New 


Diuham  Ridge.  He  married  Sally  Berry,  and 
reareil  three  children  ;  namely,  Lucy,  Jacob, 
and  James.  Lucy  lived  to  be  over  seventy 
years  old.  James  always  resided  in  Barnstead, 
and  died  about  the  age  of  si.xty  years.  Jacob 
Locke,  James  C.  Locke's  father,  spent  his  entire 
life  at  the  homestead,  and  became  an  extensive 
farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen  for  many  )'ears,  and  represented  the 
town  in  the  Legislature.  He  died  before  his 
father,  about  the  year  i860.  He  was  a  leading 
spirit  of  the  Democratic  party  in  this  section, 
was  a  ready  speaker  and  an  able  Moderator  at 
town  meetings.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  serving  his  second  term  in  the  New  Hamp- 
shire House  of  Representatives.  In  religion  he 
was  a  Congregationalist.  His  wife,  I'amelia,  a 
daughter  of  Timothy  Dow  of  Barnstead,  be- 
came the  mother  of  two  children  :  Nellie  S. 
and  James  C.  Nellie  S.,  who  formerly  taught 
school,  gave  up  her  position  during  her  mother's 
illness,  and  is  now  residing  in  Farmington,  N.H. 

James  C.  Locke  was  educated  in  the  district 
and  private  schools  of  Barnstead.  He  was 
fourteen  years  old  when  his  father  died,  leaving 
to  him  the  management  of  the  farm,  whicii  he 
carried  on  with  energy  and  success  until  i  S84. 
The  Locke  homestead,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
desirable,  as  well  as  one  of  the  oldest,  pieces  of 
agricultural  property  in  North  Barnstead,  has 
been  the  property  of  the  family  for  four  gener- 
ations. 

Mr.  Locke  married  Emma  Rodgers,  daughter 
of  Rev.  William  Rodgers,  a  Free  lia|itist  min- 
ister. Mrs.  Locke  was  born  a  subject  of  the 
English  government,  on  the  Isle  of  Wight. 
Rev.  William  Rodgers  preached  in  ICngland 
previous  to  coming  to  Amci'ica,  and  he  had 
pastoral  charges  in  New  Jersey,  and  in  Hamp- 
ton and  other  places  in  this  State.  At  the 
time  of  his  death,  he  was  preaching  in  North 
Barnstead.     In  early  life  he    officiated  without 


462 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


pay,  maintaininjj;  himself  as  best  he  could  by 
following  other  occupations  in  cimnection  with 
his  ministerial  duties.  He  was  the  father  of 
nine  children,  two  of  whom  ilied  in  England 
while  young.  The  others  were  Ann,  who  is 
now  Mrs.  Leonard  Smith  ;  Jemima,  Maria,  Mary, 
Elizabeth,  and  Emma,  all  of  whom  were  born  in 
ICngland  ;  and  Catherine,  who  was  born  in  New 
Jersey.  Maria  married  Henry  Smith,  and  re- 
sides in  Haverhill,  Mass.  Mary,  now  deceased, 
was  the  wife  of  Rev.  George  Barber,  a  Metho- 
dist minister  in  Epping,  N.H.  Catherine  is  the 
wife  of  Nathan  L.  Proctor,  of  Earmington,  N.H. 
Elizabeth  is  the  widow  of  George  Webster,  late 
of  Wilmot,  who  died  in  1889,  leaving  five  chil- 
dren. Mrs.  Locke  was  but  an  infant  when  her 
parents  came-  to  the  United  States.  She  ac- 
quired a  good  education  and  became  a  school- 
teacher. She  taught  first  in  Alfred,  Me.,  later 
having  charge  of  schools  in  other  places  ;  and 
she  was  identified  with  educational  work  in 
North  Barnstead  until  1896,  a  period  of  ten 
years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Locke  have  no  children. 
For  some  years  past  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Locke, 
Miss  Gertrude  Webster,  has  resided  with  them, 
and  she  succeeded  to  the  school  formerly  taught 
by  her  aunt. 

Mr.  Locke  attends  divine  worship  at  the  Con- 
gregational church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. He  is  now  serving  his  first  term  as  a 
Selectman,  representing  the  third  of  the  three 
generations  of  his  family  that  have  been  repre- 
sented in  that  body.  He  is  a  member  of  Wood- 
bine Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  E.  of  Earmington  ;  and  a 
charter  member  of  Crescent  Lake  Grange,  of 
Barnstead,  of  which  he  was  for  two  years  master. 


AVID    S.    HANSON,    a    skilful  and 

thriving    agriculturist,    owning  and 

occupying   a  valuable    farm    on  the 

Knox  Marsh  Road,  two  miles  west  of  the  city 


M 


limits  of  Dover,  Strafford  County,  was  born  on 
the  homestead  where  he  now  lives,  August  24, 
1837.  He  comes  of  pioneer  ancestry,  the 
Hansons  having  been  prominent  amongst  the 
earlier  settlers  of  this  part  of  the  State.  His 
grandfather,  John  Hanson,  was  the  original 
owner  of  the  farm.  Samuel  Hanson,  son  of 
John  and  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  here.  May  24,  1789.  He  inherited 
the  paternal  acres,  and  spent  his  entire  life  on 
the  estate,  and  was  engaged  in  farming  and 
carpenter's  work  throughout  his  active  period. 
An  upright,  hard-working  man,  and  prudent 
in  his  habits,  he  was  eighty-two  years  old 
when  he  died  here,  December  12,  1871.  He 
married  Miss  Clarissa  Varney,  who  passed 
away  September  8,  1889.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  seven  children;  namely,  John  C, 
James  V.,  Mary,  Hannah  C. ,  Daniel  E., 
David  S.,  and  Clara  A.  All  are  living  but 
Mary.  Samuel  Hanson  never  knew  a  sick 
day  until  his  last  illness,  which  was  brief. 

David  S.  Hanson  attended  the  district 
school  in  his  younger  days.  Besides  receiv- 
ing a  practical  training  in  agriculture  on  the 
homestead,  he  also  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade  from  his  father.  The  latter  calling  he 
followed  for  many  years,  working  first  with 
his  father  and  afterward  alone,  being  employed 
in  different  places,  although  he  always  lived 
on  the  farm.  Since  the  death  of  his  parents, 
Mr.  Hanson  has  had  the  entire  charge  of  the 
home  property,  and  has  successfully  carried  on 
general  agriculture  and  dairying.  It  contains 
one  hundred  acres  of  land,  in  a  good  state  of 
cultivation,  and  is  well  furnished  with  sub- 
stantial buildings.  The  good  condition  of  the 
estate  is  a  standing  monument  to  the  industry 
and  good  management  of  its  projirietor. 

In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Hanson  has 
always  been  identified  with  the  Republican 
party,     and     be    represented     Ward     Four     in 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


463 


Dover's  Boanl  of  Selectmen  lor  one  j-ear.  He 
is  liberal  in  his  relijj;ioiis  beliefs,  while  he 
gives  friendly  support  to  church  organizations. 
Residing  with  him  on  the  home  farm  are  his 
sisters,  Hannah  and  Clara,  who  attend  to  the 
housekeeping  and  exercise  a  general  super- 
vision over  the  farm. 


Y^TON.  OLIVER  J.  M.  OILMAN,  of 
f^i  Alton,  one  of  the  well-known  public 
-Ji®  V  men  of  l?elknap  County,  and  who 
has  served  for  eight  years  in  the  State  legisla- 
ture, is  the  only  son  of  Oliver  and  Mary  Ann 
(Morrison)  Gilman,  to  whom  he  was  born  in 
Alton,  January  31,  1847.  The  children  of  his 
grandparents,  David  and  Rhoda  (Hunt)  Gil- 
man,  were:  Moses,  who  was  Selectman  of 
Alton,  N.  H. ,  for  several  years,  and  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  State  legislature  for 
a  time;  Henry,  who  also  served  in  the  legisla- 
ture; Rhoda,  who  became  the  wife  of  Moses 
Gilman  ;  Captain  John  Gilman,  v;ho  com- 
manded a  militia  company,  and  spent  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  in  Barrington,  N.  H.  ; 
David,  who  taught  school  and  cultivated  a  farm 
in  Sangerville,  Me.  ;  Oliver,  the  father  of 
Oliver  J.  M.  ;  and  Ai  Titcomb,  who  was  at 
one  time  Postmaster  of  East  Alton,  N.  H.,  and 
spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  New 
Market,   this  State. 

Oliver  Gilman  was  born  in  Alton,  N.H., 
December  3,  181 5.  He  was  given  a  good 
education,  which  was  finished  at  VVolfboro 
Academy.  Settling  on  a  farm  in  I'2ast  Alton 
after  he  attained  maturity,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  town  affairs,  and  was  Postmaster  and 
Selectman  of  the  town  when  he  died  at  the 
age  of  thirty-one.  His  wife  was  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  John  Morrison,  one  of  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Alton,  and  niece  of  Robert  Morrison, 
a  noted   scholar  and   public   man,    who   taught 


school  in  Portsmouth  and  Boston,  and  was  suc- 
cessively elected  Mayor  of  Portsmouth  in  1.S57, 
1858,  and  1859.  Robert  Morrison  at  one  time 
had  charge  of  Thomi)s<)n's  Island.  He  lived  to 
be  eighty-eight  years  old.  Dr.  John  Morrison 
taught  school  for  a  number  of  years  in  liis 
early  youth,  saving  his  earnings  for  the  train- 
ing necessary  to  fit  him  for  a  professional  ca- 
reer. He  first  took  up  the  study  of  medicine 
with  Dr.  Graves,  of  Dccrficld,  N.H.,  and  was 
subsequently  associated  with  established  prac- 
titioners in  Vermont.  His  training  was  fin- 
ished at  the  Dartmouth  Medical  School, 
and  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  from  the  New  Hampshire  Medical 
Society  in  1S14.  During  the  latter  jiart  of 
the  War  of  1S12,  he  was  Surgeon  on  board  the 
privateer  "Fo.\,"  remaining  in  the  govern- 
ment service  until  181 5.  He  moved  from 
Lee  to  Alton  when  the  latter  town  was  but  a 
small  settlement,  and  starteil  bravely  in  on  the 
arduous  duties  of  a  country  doctor.  In  the 
course  of  his  practice  he  had  to  travel  on 
horseback  in  all  kinds  of  weather,  often  mak- 
ing his  own  path,  and  braving  the  perils  of 
darkness  and  precarious  footing.  As  the  town 
grew  his  practice  became  more  lucrative  and 
easier  of  attendance;  and  in  the  fifty  years, 
or  more,  of  his  professional  work,  he  accumu- 
lated both  reputation  and  wealth.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  New  Hampshire  Medical  Soci- 
ety, and  of  Sullivan  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  His 
death  occurred  May  17,  1878.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Lee,  N.H.,  to  Mary,  daughter  of 
Simon  Randall.  After  the  marriage  the 
young  couple  travelled  on  one  horse  to  Alton, 
where  they  settled  on  a  farm.  Three  children 
were  born  to  them,  namely  :  Betsey,  who  died 
young;  Addie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight;  and  Mary  Ann,  the  mother  of  Oliver 
J.  M.  Gilman.  This  lady,  after  Mr.  Gil- 
man's  death,  married  Moses  F.  Gate,  of  Wolf- 


464 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


boio,  by  whcmi  she  had  throe  cliiUlreii — 
George,  Edward,  and  Arthur.  She  is  yet 
living. 

Oliver  J.  M.  Oilman,  after  his  father's 
death,  went  to  live  with  his  grandfather.  Dr. 
Morrison,  and  was  reared  on  the  doctor's  farm 
in  Alton.  He  attended  VVolfboro  and  Straf- 
ford Academies,  and  studied  for  a  while 
imder  the  tuition  of  Mrs.  Marilla  Ricker,  one 
of  the  best  teachers  of  that  day.  Afterward, 
for  several  years,  he  taught  school  during  the 
winter  season  in  Alton  and  New  Durham, 
N.  H.,  and  worked  on  the  farm  in  summer. 
Naturally  serious  and  studious,  he  devoted 
most  of  his  leisure  moments  to  reading,  his 
actions  and  studies  all  the  time  governed  by 
religious  principles.  He  succeeded  his  grand- 
father. Dr.  Morrison,  as  owner  of  the  farm  in 
Alton,  and  has  since  been  extensively  engaged 
in  general  farming.  He  has  been  Associate 
Justice  for  a  number  of  years,  and  he  has 
taken  an  important  part  in  town  and  State 
affairs.  Under  the  old  law,  he  was  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools  for  ten  years;  and  since 
the  new  law  went  into  effect,  he  has  served  on 
the  School  Board  another  period  of  ten  years, 
presiding  for  the  last  five  years  as  Chairman  of 
the  board.  He  is  often  called  upon  to  preside 
as  Moderator  at  the  Alton  town  meetings.  He 
was  Selectman  for  two  years.  County  Commis- 
sioner for  four  years,  and  he  is  now  Secretary 
of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Correction. 
In  1879  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  for 
two  years,  and  he  was  honored  with  re-election 
in  1881,  1885,  and  1895.  While  in  the 
House,  he  served  on  the  Committees  on 
Banks,  Agriculture,  Roads,  Bridges  and 
Canals,  Insane  Asylums,  and  Temperance 
Legislation.  The  bill  to  reduce  the  tax  on 
savings  banks,  which  was  passed  after  a  pro- 
longed fight,  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Oilman. 
He  has  discharged  all  his  official  duties  faith- 


fully and  ably;  and  his  honesty,  good  judg- 
ment, and  marked  ability  won  for  him  many 
admirers  in  the  State  legislature. 

On  August  16,  1874,  Mr.  Oilman  was  mar- 
ried to  Octavia  H.,  daughter  of  Sewall  T. 
Roberts,  of  Alton,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
State  legislature.  Mrs.  Oilman  taught  school 
for  some  time  previous  to  her  marriage.  She 
has  had  two  children,  who  died  in  infancy. 
Mr.  Oilman  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  and  has  been  superintendent  of 
the  Sabbath  school  for  fifteen  years. 


fJitOHN  C.  HANSON,  a  successful 
farmer  residing  on  the  old  Demerritt 
homestead  in  Madbury,  Strafford 
County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  Dover,  N.  H., 
December  19,  1S27,  son  of  Samuel  Hanson, 
who  was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  spent  his 
boyhood  years  in  Dover  and  received  a  district 
school  education.  At  eighteen  years  of  age, 
he  began  learning  the  carpenter's  trade  with 
his  father,  and  after  completing  his  apprentice- 
ship worked  in  Dover  village  and  in  the  mills 
for  about  fifteen  years.  In  1862,  shortly  after 
his  marriage,  he  came  to  Madbury  and  settled 
on  the  farm  which  has  since  been  his  home. 
It  contains  about  two  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
proportionately  divided  between  tillage  and 
pasturage,  and  he  is  profitably  engaged  in 
mi.xed  husbandry.  He  also  owns  about  thirty- 
three  acres  in  Dover,  another  farm  of  fifty 
acres  in  Madbury,  and  a  wood  lot  in 
Barrington. 

On  February  5,  1862,  Mr.  Hanson  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Demerritt,  daughter  of  Hopley 
Demerritt,  who  was  born  on  this  farm.  She 
is  a  grand-daughter  of  John  Demerritt,  and 
her  great-grandfather  and  great-great-grand- 
father were  also  named  John,  the  latter  being 
the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in   Madbury. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


465 


Her  niuthcf,  Aihgail  (Siicll)  Denicrritt,  was 
a  native  of  Lee,  N.  H.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  l)e- 
nierritt  had  four  children,  namely:  Elizabeth; 
Loisa,  widow  of  Ezra  E.  Denicrritt ;  Abbie 
J.  ;  and  John  W. ,  who  died  when  two  years 
and  a  Iialf  old. 

In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Hanson  is  a  Re- 
publican. In  I.S79  he  represented  the  town  of 
Madbury  in  the  Lower  House  of  the  State 
legislature,  and  has  served  as  Selectman  five 
years  and  as  Collector  three  years.  He  is 
now  wood  agent.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  P.,  of 
Dover. 


jURTIS  F.  SMITH,  a  skilful  machin- 
ist and  a  well-known  resident  of 
Meredith,  was  born  in  this  town, 
April  4,  1855,  son  of  Alva  and  Mchitable  L. 
(Swain)  Smith.  John  Smith,  second,  his 
great-grandfather,  who  was  born  in  Plymouth, 
England,  son  of  John  Smith,  first,  was 
"pressed"  into  the  British  navy  during  the 
American  Revolution,  but  upon  reaching 
Boston  he  made  his  escape.  The  great-grand- 
father settled  in  Holderness,  N. H.  His  son, 
William  Smith,  the  grandfather,  was  born  in 
Holderness,  March  24,  1 794,  and  resided  upon 
the  home  farm  until  he  came  of  age.  He  was 
afterward  employed  in  various  occupations,  and 
was  accidentally  killed  by  an  explosion  in  a 
copperas  mine  at  Hubbardston,  Mass.,  in 
1836.  He  married  Lucinda,  daughter  of 
Stephen  Pillsbury,  and  reared  three  children 
—  Alva,  Melvina,  and  Adeline.  Melvina  was 
three  times  married.  Her  first  husband  was 
David  Taylor,  her  second  was  William  Chase, 
and  her  third  was  Luther  M.  Chase.  Adeline 
married  Charles  Belden. 

Alva  Smith,  Curtis  F.  Smith's  father,  was 
born  in  Holderness,  August  2,  1824.  After 
leaving  school  he  obtained  employment   in  the 


scale  manufactory  nf  Concord,  N.  H.,  where 
he  remained  two  years.  He  then  went  to 
Lowell,  Mass.,  where  he  was  employed  at  the 
same  kind  of  work  for  another  year.  After 
his  marriage  he  bought  his  present  farm  in 
Meredith  Centre.  He  owns  one  hundred  and 
si.Nty  acres  of  land,  thirty  of  which  are  under 
cultivation.  He  raises  general  farm  products, 
keeps  ten  cows,  a  small  flock  of  sheep, 
makes  about  twelve  hundred  pounds  of  butter, 
and  kills  an  average  of  sixteen  hundred 
pounds  of  pork  annually.  His  wife,  Mchit- 
able, whom  lie  married  September  28,  1851, 
is  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah  ]i.  Swain  of  this 
town.  She  has  been  the  mother  of  three  chil- 
dren, namely:  William  B.,  a  resident  of  Mer- 
edith; Curtis  F. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
and  George  H.,  who  is  no  longer  living. 
William  B.  Smith,  who  was  born  July  13, 
1852,  and  is  now  a  hyilraulic  engineer  in  Bos- 
ton, on  December  13,  1872,  married  Julia 
Mclntyre,  and  has  two  sons  —  Herman  P.  and 
Howard  A. 

Curtis  F.  Smith  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  town.  On  finishing  his  studies, 
he  served  an  apprenticeshiji  to  the  machinist's 
trade,  at  which  lie  was  emjiloyed  in  Laconia 
for  seven  years.  In  the  fall  of  18S8,  he  took 
his  wife  to  Denver,  Col.,  for  the  benefit  of  her 
health.  Returning  East  in  the  following 
spring,  he  remained  ujion  the  home  farm  until 
August,  1890,  when  he  once  more  visited  Den- 
ver, and  followed  his  trade  there  until  1S91, 
at  which  time  he  again  came  East.  In  No- 
vember, 1894,  he  made  another  visit  to  Colo- 
rado; but  since  March  i,  1895,  he  has  resided 
continuously  in  Meredith.  Besides  tilling  the 
soil,  he  transacts  considerable  business  in  the 
way  of  settling  estates. 

On  February  28,  1874,  Mr.  Smith  wedded 
Ilattie  M.  Hawkins,  daughter  of  David  M. 
Hawkins,    of  Centre   Harbor.      Owing    to    her 


466 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


delicate  health  and  the  rigorous  climate  of 
New  England,  Mrs.  Smith  is  obliged  to  re- 
main in  Colorado,  although  she  occasionally 
visits  her  home  during  the  summer.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Smith  is  a  Republican.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen 
in  i8g6,  and  was  re-elected  in  March,  1S97. 


\ROF.      CHARLES      H.      TETTEE, 
senior  member  of  the  faculty  of  the 
New    Hampshire    College    of    Agri- 
culture and  the  Mechanic   Arts,   is   a   man   of 
superior   mental    attainments    and     executive 
ability.      He  was  born   February  2,    1853,    in 
the  city  of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  son   of  Horace 
and    Elizabeth     F".     (Wilson)    Pettee.      From 
childhood  he  was  an  apt  scholar,  often  distanc- 
ing the  companions  of  his  age  in  their  studies. 
In    1870   he    received    his    diploma    from    the 
Manchester    High    School.      Four  years   later 
he  was  graduated    from    Dartmouth    College, 
and  two  years  after  from  the  Thayer  School  of 
Civil   Engineering,    in  which    he   was  for  one 
year  one  of  the  corps  of    instructors.      When 
offered  a  more  desirable  position   in   the   New 
Hampshire  College,  which  was  also  connected 
with  Dartmouth  College,  and  then  located   in 
Hanover,  the    professor  accepted    it,  and   from 
1877  until  1S93  held  the  chair  of  mathematics 
and  civil   engineering   in   that  school.      Upon 
the  acceptance  by  the  State   of  the  terms  of 
the  will  of  the  late  Benjamin  Thompson,  and 
the  transfer  of   the   College  of  Agriculture  and 
Mechanic  Arts  from  Hanover  to  Durham,  Pro- 
fessor Pettee  co-operated  with   the  trustees  in 
planning  and  providing  for  the  erection  of   the 
necessary  buildings  and  in  effecting  the  actual 
removal  of  the  institution.      Besides  being  the 
instructor  of  several  classes,  the  professor  has 
been  Dean    of   the   college  for   the   past   eight 
years. 


On  July  24,  1877,  Professor  Pettee  married 
Miss  Luella  E.  Swett,  of  Hanover,  a  daughter 
of  Franklin  P.  and  Sarah  E.  (Piper)  Swett. 
Their  children  are:  Alvena  B.,  born  February 
14,  1 88 1,  who  is  a  student  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire College;  Horace  J.,  born  March  6, 
1883;  Sarah  E. ,  born  January  14,  1886;  and 
Charles  S. ,  born  May  3,  1S95.  In  ])olitics 
the  professor  is  a  stanch  Republican,  having 
been  a  warm  advocate  of  the  principles  of  that 
party  since  attaining  years  of  discretion.  He 
is  prominently  connected  with  the  grange, 
having  been  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  State  Grange,  and  a  Master  and 
Lecturer  of  local  granges.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Dartmouth  College  society  known 
as  the  K.  K.  K.  An  esteemed  member  of  the 
Congregational  church,  he  serves  the  society 
in  the  capacity  of  Deacon. 


OHN  A.  RANDALL,  an  enterprising 
and  skilful  farmer,  residing  in  the  town 
of  Madbury,  was  born  October  10, 
1849,  in  Lee,  Strafford  County,  being  one  of 
the  family  of  seven  sons  and  two  daughters 
born  to  Richard  and  Betsey  (Freeman)  Ran- 
dall. His  father,  likewise  a  farmer  by  occu- 
pation, was  one  of  the  brave  sons  of  New 
Hampshire  that  fought  so  courageously  in  the 
Civil  War.  His  brother  Nehemiah,  as  well 
as  himself,  also  participated  in  the  conflict. 
Mr.  Randall  acquired  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  his  native  town.  On  the  home 
farm,  beginning  at  an  early  age,  he  was  thor- 
oughly instructed  in  practical  agriculture. 
Though  but  a  boy  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Re- 
bellion, he  shared  in  the  patriotic  ardor  that 
impelled  his  father  and  brother  to  give  up 
home  and  friends  to  assist  in  defending  our 
Union.  Enlisting  in  Company  A  of  the  Fifth 
New   Hampshire   Volunteer   Infantry,   he    was 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


467 


nuistcrcd  intu  sci\icc  nt  Concord,  whence  he 
was  sent  to  Hoston,  and  three  months  later  to 
City  ]'oint.  He  subsequently  took  an  active 
part  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  and  in 
several  mimir  engagements.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term  of  service,  Mr.  Randall  re- 
turned to  the  old  homestead  in  Lee,  where  he 
afterward  resided  until  icSji.  In  that  year  he 
bought  the  farm  which  he  now  occupies,  and 
has  since  carried  on  general  farming  as  his 
chief  business.  He  has  twenty-five  acres  of 
land,  a  large  portion  of  which  is  in  a  good 
state  of  culture,  yielding  abundant  crops. 

On  November  11,  1869,  Mr.  I\andall  was 
married  to  Miss  Susan  Gerrish,  who  was  born 
in  Nottingham,  Rockingham  County,  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Fo.\  Gerrish.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Randall  have  had  three  children,  none  of 
whom  are  living.  In  politics  Mr.  Randall  is 
a  straightforward  Republican. 


RANCIS  HENRY  CRAM,  one  of  the 
best-known  residents  of  Meredith,  was 
born  in  Boston,  January  14,  i,S4cS",  son 
of  George  S.  and  Abbie  J.  (Dean)  Cram. 
His  great-grandfather,  Jonathan  Cram,  an 
early  settler  in  Meredith,  who  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  in  this  town,  was  a 
carpenter  by  trade.  Amos  Cram,  the  grand- 
father, was  a  native  of  Meredith,  and  for 
many  years  followed  the  carpenter's  trade  in 
connection  with  farming.  His  last  years  were 
spent  in  Boston,  where  he  was  for  a  short  time 
engaged  in  the  wood  and  coal  business.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Jane  S.  Prcscott, 
and  he  reared  several  children. 

George  S.  Cram  was  born  in  Meredith, 
March  2,  1S26.  He  grew  to  manhood  upon 
the  farm  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
with  his  father.  In  early  manhood  he  went  to 
Boston,  and   there  worked  as  a  journeyman   for 


a  few  years.  Then,  retiring  to  his  native 
town,  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  building 
contractor  in  company  with  his  father.  He 
sub.sequently  erected  a  large  number  of  build- 
ings in  Meredith,  and  was  very  bu.sy  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War.  I'mmjilly  re- 
sponding to  the  call  lor  soldiers,  he  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  Company  I,  Twelfth  Regiment 
of  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  and  went  to 
the  front  as  Orderly  Sergeant.  On  March  2, 
1863,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  First 
Lieutenant  and  transferred  to  Company  \i  of 
the  same  regiment.  lie  was  killed  in  the 
battle  of  Chancellorsvillc,  May  3,  1863.  His 
wife,  Abbie  J.,  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Dean, 
of  Lincolnville,  Me.,  whom  he  wedded  No- 
vember 9,  1846,  became  the  mother  of  four 
children,  three  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 
These  were:  Francis  II.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Clara  A.,  who  married  John  James,  of 
New  Bedford,  Mass.  ;  and  Alberto  J. 

Francis  Henry  Cram  attended  the  district 
schools  of  Meredith  for  the  usual  period. 
When  a  young  man  he  began  work  in  a  piano 
case  factory.  He  learned  the  trade  and  after- 
ward followed  it  until  1890.  In  jjolitics  he 
acts  with  the  Kepublican  party.  He  served 
as  Postmaster  from  1890  to  1S94,  in  which 
ofifice  he  was  both  popular  and  efificient.  He 
has  also  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Fdu- 
cation  for  the  village  district  for  nine  years. 
On  February  20,  1870,  he  wedded  Mary  C. 
Woodman,  daughter  of  Benjamin  V.  and  Fliz- 
abeth  N.  (Hill)  Woodman.  Mrs.  Cram's 
grandfather,  Thomas  Woodman,  a  native  and 
lifelong  resident  of  New  Hampton,  of 
which  town  his  father  was  an  early  settler, 
married  Polly  Pease,  a  native  of  Meredith, 
lienjamin  P.,  born  in  New  Hamilton,  culti- 
vated a  farm  in  New  Hampton  until  1863, 
when  he  ojiened  a  meat  market.  He  married 
Elizabeth  N.,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Juhn  Hill, 


468 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  had  a  family  of  six  children;  namely, 
John  O.  II,  Mary  C,  VV.  Scott,  Benjamin  ¥., 
Emma  L. ,  and  Charles  S.  Both  the  parents 
were  Free  liaptists.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cram  have 
one  daughter,  Elena  B. 

On  December  15,  i86g,  Mr.  Cram  was  made 
a  Mason  in  Chocorua  Lodge,  of  Meredith,  of 
which  he  is  now  a  Past  Master.  He  is  a 
member  of  William  H.  Hawkins  Camp,  Sons 
of  Veterans.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Cram  attend 
the  Free  Baptist  church,  of  which  the  latter  is 
a  member. 

'AMES  M.  HAYES,  a  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  the  agricultural  and  horti- 
cultural interests  of  Strafford  County, 
and  the  owner  of  a  productive  farm  in  the 
town  of  Dover,  was  born  August  3,  1845,  in 
Sandwich,  Carroll  County,  son  of  Andrew  and 
Elizabeth  Hale  (Hayes)  Hayes.  He  comes 
of  pioneer  ancestry,  being  a  lineal  descendant 
of  the  emigrant,  John  Hayes,  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Dover.  The  mother  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  John  W.  Hayes.  Both  parents 
settled  in  Sandwich  in  1837,  soon  after  their 
marriage,  making  that  their  home  until  1864. 
Then  they  removed  to  Dover,  locating  on  the 
farm  where  their  son  James  now  resides,  the 
father  carrying  it  on  until  his  death,  January 
9,   1879. 

James  M.  Hayes  received  his  elementary 
education  in  his  native  town,  attending  the 
public  schools  and  Beede's  High  School.  He 
completed  his  studies  at  the  Franklin  Acad- 
emy in  Dover,  and  at  Bryant  &  Stratton's 
Commercial  College  in  Providence,  R.L 
Afterward,  for  a  period  of  more  than  twelve 
years,  he  assisted  his  father  on  the  homestead 
during  the  summer  seasons,  teaching  school  in 
Rochester  and  Dover  during  the  winter. 
Since  that  time  he  has  devoted  most  of  his 
time  and  attention  to  the  cultivation   of   his 


land,  making  a  specialty  of  raising  early  vege- 
tables and  small  fruits  of  all  kinds  for  the 
market.  He  has  made  quite  a  study  of  this 
branch  of  farming,  and  is  of  opinion  that  it  is 
the  most  profitable  work  for  the  average  New 
England  farmer.  His  reputation  as  a  practi- 
cal and  successful  agriculturist  has  extended 
throughout  this  section  of  the  State,  and  his 
services  in  the  capacity  of  Judge  and  in  the 
Secretary's  office  at  the  annual  fairs  held  in 
Rochester  and  Tilton,  are  always  in  demand. 
He  has  been  Lecturer  and  Master  of  Cochcco 
Grange,  of  which  he  was  a  charter  member  and 
the  first  Secretary ;  a  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture  for  Strafford  County ; 
Secretary,  Lecturer,  and  Master  of  Eastern 
New  Hampshire  Pomona  Grange;  a  Director 
and  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Nomenclature  of  the  New  Hampsliire  Horti- 
cultural Society;  and  for  several  years  the 
Chairman  of  the  General  Fruit  Committee  of 
the  American  Pomological  Society.  He  is  a 
writer  of  some  note,  and  his  contributions  to 
the  Dover  Enquirer^  of  which  he  conducts  the 
farm  and  grange  department,  are  full  of  valu- 
able hints  to  the  agriculturist. 

On  March  24,  1869,  Mr.  Hayes  married 
Miss  Martha  T.  Jenness,  who  was  born  Decem- 
ber 19,  1832,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Mercy 
(McDuffee)  Jenness,  of  Rochester,  N.H.  She 
died  July  i,  1870,  leaving  one  son,  Jasper  J. 
Hayes,  who  is  now  associated  with  his  father 
in  business,  being  the  junior  member  of  the 
firm  of  J.  M.  Hayes  &  Son.  Messrs.  Hayes  & 
Son,  who  force  their  early  plants  in  a  large 
greenhouse,  have  also  an  extensive  trade  in 
plants,  making  the  raising  and  sale  of  straw- 
berry plants  an  especial  feature  of  their  work. 
In  politics  Mr.  Hayes  is  a  stanch  Republican. 
In  1877  and  1878  he  represented  Dover  in  the 
State  legislature.  Beside  this  he  has  been 
Ward    Clerk,    Selectman,    Moderator,    School 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


469 


Coniniittce,  and  since  1S93  lie  has  been  As- 
sessor at  large,  serving  as  Clerk  of  the  board. 
Mr.  Hayes  has  been  an  attendant  of  the  l-'ree 
Baptist  church.  His  son  belongs  to  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  l''rientls. 


'AAIUEL  DUSTIN  WEEKS,  a  re- 
tired farmer  of  Sanbornton,  was 
born  in  this  town,  October  21, 
1834,  son  of  Curtis  and  Julia  (Dustin)  Weeks. 
He  is  a  descendant  of  Leonard  Weeks,  the 
original  ancestor  of  the  family  in  America. 
Leonard  Weeks  was  born  in  England  in  1635. 
He  emigrated  to  New  England,  and  in  Janu- 
ary, 1656,  he  received  from  the  town  of  Ports- 
mouth a  grant  of  eight  acres  of  land.  In  1660 
or  1661  he  was  living  in  the  part  of  Ports- 
mouth called  Winnicut,  now  Greenland,  and 
remained  there  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He 
was  jirominent  in  the  public  affairs  of  his  day, 
served  as  Selectman  of  Portsmouth  in  1669, 
acted  as  a  Constable  for  some  time,  and  was 
Sheriff  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  mar- 
ried twice.  His  first  marriage  was  contracted 
in  1667  with  Mary,  daughter  of  Deacon  Sam- 
uel Haines,  of  Portsmouth.  He  died  in 
1707.  His  son.  Captain  Samuel  Weeks,  who 
was  born  in  1670  and  died  in  1746,  followed 
the  occupation  of  a  farmer.  John  Weeks,  son 
of  Captain  Samuel,  was  baptized  in  171 2,  and 
resided  in  Greenland.  The  Christian  name  of 
his  second  wife  was  Abigail.  Cole  Weeks, 
the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  in 
Sanbornton,  to  which,  it  is  believed,  he  came 
jirior  to  1768  from  Epping,  N.H.  He  was  a 
car])enter  by  trade,  and  he  served  on  the  first 
Hoard  of  Selectmen.  By  his  wife,  Hannah 
(Chapman)  Weeks,  who  was  born  in  Epping 
in  1737,  he  was  the  father  of  nine  children. 
It    was    claimed    that    the    average    weight    of 


these  children  was  two  iunulred  and  eighteen 
pounds.  Cole  Weeks  died  l-"ebruary  n, 
1S15. 

Chase  Weeks,  grandfather  of  Samuel  U., 
whose  active  period  was  s])ent  in  tilling  the 
soil,  was  a  prosperous  resident  of  Sanbornton. 
He  was  three  times  married.  His  first  wife, 
in  maidenhood  I'atty  Cawley,  whom  he  wedded 
June  8,  17S4,  was  born  January  16,  1764, 
daughter  of  William  Cawley,  or  Calley.  He 
had  two  sons,  to  whom,  as  they  came  of  age, 
he  gave  one  of  his  two  farms.  Curtis  Weeks 
was  born  in  Sanbornton,  December  6,  1S06, 
of  his  father's  first  wife.  He  inherited  the 
home  farm,  where  he  always  resided  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  October  22,  1870.  He- 
sides  carrying  on  general  farming,  he  gave 
much  attention  to  the  raising  of  cattle,  sheep, 
and  horses.  He  was  Selectman  for  three 
terms,  and  represented  this  town  in  the  legis- 
lature, being  in  politics  a  Democrat.  His 
wife,  Julia,  who  was  born  December  23,  1809, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Dustin,  bore  him  one 
child,  Samuel  D.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Curtis  Weeks  attended  the 
Christian  liaptist  church. 

Samuel  Dustin  Weeks  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools  and  at  P'ranklin  Academy. 
His  early  experience  in  agriculture  upon  the 
farm  was  of  a  nature  to  make  him  a  |)ractical 
and  successful  farmer.  After  residing  at  the 
homestead  until  1894,  he  let  the  farm  and  re- 
tired to  his  present  home  in  Sanbornton 
Square.  He  has  always  evinced  an  interest  in 
the  public  affairs  of  the  town,  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  he  served  on  the  15oard  of  Se- 
lectmen for  three  years. 

On  March  10,  i860,  Mr.  Weeks  was  joined 
in  marriage  with  Ellen  E.  Marshall,  who  was 
born  in  Concord,  N.  IL,  April  17,  1840, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  K.  Marshall,  of  Hill, 
N.H.      Mrs.   Marshall  has   had   three   children 


470 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


two  of  whom  arc  living —  Myrtie  Augusta  and 
Elmo  C.  Myrtie  Augusta  Weeks  was  born 
August  20,  1.S61.  She  is  now  the  widow  of 
Charles  E.  Hill,  late  of  Sanbornton,  and  a 
prominent  school-teacher  in  this  town.  Mr. 
Weeks  is  connected  with  Meridian  Lodge,  E. 
&  A.  M.  ;  and  with  Harmony  Grange.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Unitarian  Society  in 
Eranklin. 


/^Teorge    WHITEHOUSE    FER- 

\  ^  I  NALD,  civil  engineer,  was  born  in 
Farmington,  Strafford  County,  N.H,, 
February  16,  1S54,  and  died  here,  November 
2,  1890.  He  was  the  only  son  of  James  E. 
and  Laura  A.   (Whitehouse)  Fernald. 

His  paternal  grandparents  were  Robert  and 
Apphia  (Coffin)  p-ernald,  and  his  ancestry  was 
a  distinguished  one  on  both  sides.  On  the 
paternal  side  he  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Dr. 
Reginald  Fernald,  the  original  owner  of  Fer- 
nald's  Island,  the  present  site  of  Portsmouth 
Navy  Yard.  On  the  maternal  side  he  is  a 
grandson  of  the  Hon.  George  L.  Whitehouse, 
an  accomplished  and  experienced  ofificer  of 
survey,  with  whom  he  was  intimately  asso- 
ciated during  his  entire  life.  So  intimate 
was  this  association,  and  so  cordial  and  kindly 
their  relationship,  that  a  resume  of  the  grand- 
father's biography  is  here  given. 

George  L.  Whitehouse  was  born  January  6, 
1797,  in  Middleton,  N.H.  His  schooling  was 
limited  to  twenty  months,  si.x  weeks  of  which 
was  spent  at  Gilmanton  Academy.  Yet,  al- 
though self-educated,  he  was  a  well-informed 
man.  Like  the  immortal  Lincoln  he  had  an 
inborn  passion  for  an  education,  and,  like  him, 
night  after  night  and  hour  after  hour  he  would 
study  his  books  by  the  light  of  a  pitch-pine 
torch.  He  hired  money  at  twelve  per  cent, 
interest  to  obtain  the  necessary  means  for  the 
brief  time  he  vvas  at  school.     At  sixteen  years 


of  age  he  commenced  teaching,  and  taught 
several  terms.  He  had  a  strong  liking  for 
mechanics,  and  about  this  time  did  some  sur- 
veying. He  was  Deputy  Sheriff  of  old  Straf- 
ford County  from  April,  1827,  to  May,  1833, 
and  Register  of  Deeds  from  1833  till  1839. 
After  this  he  was  Assistant  Engineer  for  a  year 
and  a  half  in  the  construction  of  the  road  from 
Dover  to  Farmington.  From  1851  to  1871  he 
was  engaged  in  the  survey,  and  part  of  the 
time  as  Chief  Engineer  of  Great  Falls  &  Con- 
way, Rochester  &  Nashua,  Wolfboro  Branch, 
and  other  railroads  —  his  grandson,  George  W. 
Fernald,  being  associated  with  him  in  nearly 
all  of  this  work.  As  a  summary  of  his  official 
positions,  we  may  put  it  thus:  Land  Surveyor 
for  sixty  years.  Civil  Engineer  forty  years, 
Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum,  Notary  Pub- 
lic for  New  Hampshire  anil  Illinois,  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  thirteen  years. 
Deputy  Sheriff  six  years.  Crier  of  Court  three 
years,  Recorder  of  Deeds  six  years,  Captain  of 
New  Hampshire  militia,  member  of  legislature 
in  1830  and  1856-57,  serving  on  the  Railroad 
and  Judiciary  Committees,  and  has  also  held 
every  important  town  office  in  Middleton  and 
P'armington.  During  the  time  he  was  Judge 
he  was  associated  with  the  flon.  Hiram  A. 
Roberts,  of  Rollinsford,  and  the  Hon.  J.  H. 
Edgerly,  of  Rochester.  He  was  a  pensioner 
of  the  War  of  1812.  In  June,  1822,  he  mar- 
ried Liberty  N.,  daughter  of  Paul  Dame,  of 
Rochester.  The  fruit  of  this  union  was  four 
children,  all  deceased  but  Laura  A.,  who  niar- 
rieil  James  ¥..  Fei'nald,  and  whose  only  child, 
George  W.,   is  the  subject  of  this  biography. 

George  Whitehouse  F"ernald's  education  was 
acquired  in  the  public  and  private  schools  of 
his  native  town,  supplemented  by  the  study  of 
civil  engineering,  under  the  immediate  super- 
vision of  his  mother's  father,  the  late  Hon. 
George    L.      Whitehouse.      Possessed    of     in- 


GEORGE    W.    FERNALD. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


473 


licrcnt  niathoniatical  ability  ami  alertness  of 
mind,  Mr.  l""ernaUl  rose  rapidly  to  a  degree  of 
skill  which  made  his  services  desirable  in 
many  directions,  and  he  was  probably  the 
ablest  civil  engineer  of  his  age  in  the  State. 
He  was  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the 
Great  Falls  &  Conway,  Rochester  &  Nashua, 
Wolfboro  Branch,  Lake  Shore  &  York  Ik'ach 
lines  of  railway,  besides  others  in  different 
parts  of  New  England.  In  1885  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  late  Professor  E.  T.  Quimby  in 
establishing  the  boundaries  between  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Hampshire,  and  perhaps  the 
exposure  incident  to  that  work  brought  on  the 
disease  that  terminated  in  his  death.  In 
18S7,  at  the  suggestion  of  his  physicians,  he 
went  to  Southern  California,  and  while  there 
wrote  very  interesting  letters,  which  were 
published  in  his  paper,  Tlic  Fannijigton  A^ccvs. 
The  relief  furnished  by  the  trip  was  but  tem- 
porary, yet  it  prolonged  his  life  for  three 
years.  He  was  asked  by  Commissioners  Bell, 
Clark,  and  Roberts,  to  succeed  the  late  fine 
mathematician.  Professor  Quimby,  as  Chief 
luigineer  for  New  Hampshire,  in  the  settlc- 
m'ent  of  the  boundary  line  named,  but  on  ac- 
count of  his  failing  health  he  was  obliged  to 
decline  the  offer. 

Beside  the  study  and  practice  of  civil  engi- 
neering, Mr.  P^ernald  found  time  to  become  an 
e.xpert  manager  of  a  printery  and  proficient 
in  the  production  of  a  weekly  pajK-r;  and  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  publication  of  T/ic 
Farmiiigton  Nezvs  the  father  and  son  worked 
harmoniously  together.  A  reader  of  good  lit- 
erature, and  having  a  retentive  memory,  Mr. 
Fernald  was  a  man  of  wide  information.  He 
was  ever  interested  in  the  eihication  of  his 
daughter,  who  was  greatly  benefited  by  his 
guidance  and  encouragement 

Mr.  F"ernald  was  married  in  August,  1875, 
to   a   schoolmate    and    lifelong    friend,    Alice 


Nute,  daughter  of  Jeremy  O.  Nute.  Of  this 
union  were  born  two  children,  the  elder  a 
beautiful  boy,  who  died  in  1878,  at  two  years 
of  age ;  anil  a  daughter,  Bessie,  born  Novem- 
ber 30,  1878.  Well  di<l  a  dear  friend  write 
these  words  of  esteem :  "  It  is  not  frequent 
that  the  domestic  relations  are  so  intimate  and 
heartsome  as  have  been  those  of  the  family 
now  bowed  in  sore  affliction;  and  the  well- 
kni)wn  passionate  affection  between  the  par- 
ents and  their  son,  makes  with  its  remembered 
sweetness  the  present  more  poignant  in  pain. 
We  may  see  no  more  the  slight,  tall  figure, 
nor  hear  the  cheery  greeting  of  his  friendly 
voice,  yet  we  must  strive  to  bear  in  miiul 

"  Angels  of  Life  and  Death  are  bis, 
Witliout  his  leave  they  pass  no  threshold  o'er ; 
Who,  then,  would  wish  or  dare,  believing  this. 
Against  his  messengers  to  shut  the  door?" 


fs^OHN  A.  JEWETT,  one  of  Gilford's 
retired  farmers,  was  born  in  this  town, 
April  16,  -1827,  son  of  Samuel  and 
Sally  (Crosby)  Jewett.  His  grandfather, 
Samuel  Jewett,  accompanied  by  his  brother 
Jacob,  came  here  from  Ihdlis,  N.il.,  and  set- 
tled upon  land  given  them  by  their  father. 
The  brothers  erected  log  houses  near  each 
other,  and  felled  the  first  trees  upon  land  now 
occupied  by  the  mills  upon  the  Gilford  side  of 
the  river.  It  is  related  of  Samuel,  having 
lost  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree  the  only  a.\e  he 
owned,  he  was  obliged  to  go  on  foot  to  Hollis, 
a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  to  procure  another. 
His  land  was  half  of  a  tract  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres.  At  a  later  date  he  erected  a 
frame  house,  and  cleared  a  good  farm.  He 
lived  to  be  eighty-three  years  old.  His  wife, 
who  was  before  marriage  a  Miss  Smith,  of 
Gilmanton,  now  Gilford,  was  seventy-five  at 
her    death.       They    reared     eight     children; 


474 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


namely,  Sarah,  Polly,  Effie,  Ruth,  Hannah, 
Samuel,  Smith,  and  John.  Polly  married 
Oilman  Bennett;  Sarah  married  Samuel  Phil- 
brick;  Effie  became  Mrs.  Hackett;  Hannah 
wedded  Thomas  Craft;  Ruth  became  the  wife 
of  P^lisha  Osgood;  and  Smith  married  Statira 
Glines.  Samuel  received  the  part  of  his 
father's  property  bordering  on  the  river,  seven 
acres  of  which  is  said  to  have  been  originally 
sold  for  seven  Spanish  dollars,  and  this  tract 
is  now  the  site  of  the  principal  industry  of  La- 
conia. 

Samuel  Jewett,  the  father  of  John  A.,  was 
born  in  Gilford,  and  reared  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  He  inherited  a  part  of  the  home- 
stead, tilled  the  soil  with  success  during  his 
active  life,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy. 
His  wife,  Sally,  who  was  a  daughter  of  John 
Crosby,  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years. 
She  was  the  mother  of  five  children;  namely, 
Eliza  Jane,  John  A.,  Samuel  N.,  Elvira  A., 
and  Charles  E.  Eliza  Jane,  who  married 
John  J.  Bennett,  died  in  1S94.  Samuel  N., 
who  died  in  1891,  married  successively  Mary 
J.  Cate  and  Ellen  Blaisdell.  By  his  first  mar- 
riage he  had  one  son,  who  is  no  longer  living, 
and  by  his  second  he  became  the  father  of  John 
B.  Elvira  A.  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two. 
Charles  E.  enlisted  in  the  Second  Regiment 
of  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  and  was  killed 
in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run. 

John  A.  Jewett  was  educated  in  the  district 
school  of  his  native  town,  and  at  an  early  age 
began  to  assist  upon  the  farm.  He  afterward 
had  the  management  of  the  homestead,  caring 
for  his  parents  during  their  last  days.  Some 
years  after  their  death  he  sold  the  property, 
and  bought  another  farm,  which  he  carried  on 
for  three  years.  Then  he  purchased  his  pres- 
ent farm,  an  estate  of  one  hundred  acres, 
which  was  settled  by  Jacob  Jewett,  son  of 
Benjamin.      Here  he  carried  on  general   farm- 


ing and  stock-raising  successfully  until  his  re- 
tirement. The  place  is  now  conducted  by  an 
experienced  man  hired  for  that  puri)ose.  Mr. 
Jewett  married  Sarah  E.  Leighton,  who  was 
born  in  Barrington,  N.H.,  only  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Sarah  (Woodman)  Leighton. 
They  have  had  no  children.  A  comfortable 
competency  has  rewarded  Mr.  Jewett's  close 
attention  to  his  farm.  He  has  never  taken  an 
active  part  in  politics.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

ARTIN  L.  LORD,  who  is  living 
partly  retired  from  active  business 
on  a  well-kept  farm  in  Dover, 
was  born  in  Lebanon,  York  County,  Septem- 
ber 20,  1833.  His  parents,  George  and  Sarah 
(Hanson)  Lord,  removed  from  Lebanon  to 
Somersworth,  N.H.,  about  the  year  1840,  and 
there  spent  their  remaining  days.  Their  only 
child  was  Martin  L. ,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  George  Lord,  after  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  married  Mrs.  Eliza  Page,  of  Somers- 
worth, daughter  of  Moody  Pike.  By  her  he 
had  one  son,  Albert  E.  Lord,  now  of  Wake- 
field, Mass. 

Martin  L.  Lord  completed  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  Somersworth  High  School,  and  at 
the  age  of  nineteen  years  started  in  life  on  his 
own  account.  Going  then  to  Great  Falls,  this 
county,  he  there  entered  the  cotton-mills  as  a 
bobbin-boy.  Proving  faithful  to  his  duties 
wherever  placed,  he  was  from  time  to  time 
promoted  to  more  important  positions.  Fif- 
teen years  after  entering  the  mill,  Mr.  Lord 
was  made  foreman  of  the  largest  weaving- 
room  in  the  mills,  in  which  capacity  he  con- 
tinued employed  until  his  retirement  from  the 
factory  in  1890.  Both  as  workman  and  fore- 
man he  was  industrious,  skilful,  and  judi- 
cious, giving  close  attention    to  his   business. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


47  S 


and  winning  the  confidence  iind  respect  of  all 
with  whom  he  was  brought  in  contact.  While 
still  working  in  the  mill,  he  invested  his 
money  in  farming  property,  and  is  now  the 
owner  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land, 
all  in  Strafford  County,  thirty  acres  being  in 
Rochester,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  in 
Somersworth.  The  remaining  eighty  acres 
comprise  the  home  farm  on  which  he  has 
lived  for  twenty-eight  years,  and  which,  since 
i8go,  he  has  carried  on  himself. 

On  November  4,  1854,  Mr.  Lord  married 
Miss  Lavina  Varney,  daughter  of  Elias  and 
Mary  B.  (Foss)  Varney,  of  Barrington.  The 
union  has  been  blessetl  by  the  advent  of  five 
children,  namely:  Charles  F.,  born  January 
20,  1845;  Sarah  F.,  born  May  ig,  1861; 
Shubael  V.,  born  July  20,  1862;  Annie  B., 
born  September  6,  1868;  and  Frank,  born 
February  12,  1871.  Mr.  Lord  is  a  zealous 
supporter  of  the  Republican  party,  sustaining 
it  by  voice  and  vote.  He  has  had  but  little 
time  to  devote  to  public  affairs,  but  he  served 
as  Selectman  of  Dover  from  Ward  One  for  two 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  Washington  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Somersworth;  and  of  Cocheco 
Grange,  No.  81,  of  Dover. 


<^#^» 


r^TON.     THOMAS     GAY     JAMESON, 
w^i       farmer,  of  Somersworth,  was   born   in 

-li^  V_ Gushing,    Me.,   December  4,    1824, 

son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  and  Hannah  (Allen) 
Jameson.  His  grandfather,  Martin  Jameson, 
who  went  from  Old  Orchard  to  Gushing,  Me., 
and  settled  as  a  farmer  in  that  town,  married 
Lowley  Wadsworth,  of  the  famous  Wadsworth 
family  of  Kno.x  County,  and  became  the  father 
of  fourteen  children ;  namely,  Peter,  Rufus, 
Polly,  Cynthia,  Lowley,  Rachel,  Waita,  Deb- 
orah, Thomas,  Silence,  PLlisha,  Thankful, 
Samuel,     and     Joseph.       Thomas,     the     ninth 


child,  who  afterward  became  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  May  27,  1791. 
He  was  always  studious,  and  secured  an  educa- 
tion that  fitted  him  to  teach  in  the  winter 
terms  of  the  district  schools.  In  the  summer 
he  followed  the  sea  on  vessels  engaged  in  the 
coasting  trade.  P'inall)',  he  moved  from 
Gushing  to  St.  George,  where  his  wife's  family 
lived;  and  thence,  when  about  forty-five  years 
old,  to  Isleboro,  where  he  was  ortlained  to  the 
Baptist  ministry  and  where  he  preached  for  a 
year.  After  that  he  jireached,  sometimes 
teaching  school,  in  Montville,  Acton,  Shap- 
leigh,  and  Lyman,  Me.,  and  in  Newton,  N.  H. 
In  the  fall  of  1856  he  went  to  Ghillicothe, 
111.,  where  he  labored  in  his  sacred  calling 
until  his  death  fourteen  years  later.  He  mar- 
ried Hannah,  a  daughter  of  Gideon  Allen,  of 
St.  George.  Mr.  Allen  had  come  to  St. 
George  from  Allen's  Island,  which  was  settled 
by  the  Allen  family.  He  brought  his  children 
up  on  the  mainland.  Mrs.  (Allen)  Jameson, 
who  was  a  valuable  helper  in  her  husband's 
work,  died  in  August,  1884,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-seven.  Her  children  were  :  Henry  A., 
Thomas,  Olive,  Elisha,  Samuel,  I^lsie,  and 
Emery. 

Thomas  G.  Jameson  worked  as  a  farmer 
until  he  was  married.  Then,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  he  went  to  Great  Falls,  N.  IL. 
learned  the  machinist's  trade  with  the  (ireat 
Falls  Manufacturing  Company,  and  afterward 
worked  for  that  firm  until  1886,  a  period  of 
forty  years,  ten  of  them  having  been  spent  in 
the  capacity  of  superintendent  of  their  gas 
works.  Since  that  time  he  has  devoted  his 
attention  very  largely  to  the  management  of  an 
extensive  farm  purchased  by  him  in  1869. 
The  farm,  containing  about  five  hundred  acres, 
including  sixty  acres  of  tillage  and  much  val- 
uable timber  land,  has  yielded  to  Mr.  Jameson 
large  quantities  of   timber  and  wood.      Prior  to 


476 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


1894  it  was  worked  by  Alberton  Seavey,  son- 
in-law  of  Mr.  Jameson,  principally  as  a  dairy 
farm  with  the  famous  Roy  Holstein  cattle 
stock.  In  1894  a  disastrous  fire  destroyed  two 
barns,  five  hor.ses,  and  about  ninety  tons  of 
hay.  Since  then  Mr.  Seavey  has  been  princi- 
pally engaged  in  a  teaming  business  and  keep- 
ing a  boarding  stable.  He  is  a  director  of 
the  Rochester  &  Sommersworth  Coach  Horse 
Association  and  is  manager  of  stallion  Balthasa, 
Jr.,  an  important  animal  of  fine  breed.  He 
markets  on  an  average  one  hundred  barrels  of 
apples  annually,  and  e.xpects  soon  to  raise  a 
large  crop  of  peaches,  as  he  has  a  fine  growing 
orchard  of  young  peach  trees.  In  1888  Mr. 
Jameson  bought  a  farm  in  Wells,  Me.,  and  has 
since  spent  his  summers  there,  attending  to 
its  management.  On  this  property,  hay,  har- 
vested there,  of  which  about  one  hundred  tons 
are  cut  every  year,  is  the  principal  crop.  Mr. 
Jameson  is  also  a  Trustee  of  the  Somersworth 
Savings  Bank. 

Mr.  Jameson  married  Hannah  \V. ,  daughter 
of  Luther  Coding,  of  Acton.  He  has  one 
daughter,  Lola  Anna,  who  is  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Seavey  above  referred  to.  An  adopted  daugh- 
ter married  Charles  Coding,  of  Somersworth. 
Both  Mr.  Jameson  and  his  wife  attend  and 
support  the  Congregational ist  church  of  Som- 
ersworth. Mr.  Jameson  served  in  the  police 
force  of  the  town  for  ten  years,  on  the  Board 
of  Selectmen  for  a  number  of  years,  and  he 
represented  the  town  in  the  State  legislature 
in  1867  and  1868.  While  in  the  legislature 
he  served  on  the  Elections  and  Claims  Com- 
mittees. In  1881-82  he  was  a  member  of 
Covernor  Bell's  council.  In  1885  and  in 
1886  he  was  in  the  State  Senate,  where  he 
also  served  on  Elections  and  Claims.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
held  in  1875.  Mr.  Jameson  is  a  member  of 
Libanus  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Somersworth; 


of  Edwards  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.  ;  Orphan  Coun- 
cil, of  Dover;  and  of  St.  Paul  Commandery, 
Knights  Templar. 


(gTrLBERT  CYRUS  LORD,  the  founder 
fjA  of  the  Lord  Brothers  Manufacturing 
^  *V_^  Company  of  Tilton,  was  born  at 
Shaker  Bridge,  N.H.,  July  30,  1852,  son  of 
Cyrus  Woodruff  and  Lydia  Thurston  (Evans) 
Lord.  He  is  a  descendant  of  Robert  Lord 
(first),  born  in  1603,  who  was  an  early  settler 
of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  and  a  member  of  the  Cen- 
eral  Court,  and  who  died  August  21,  1683. 
The  maiden  name  of  Robert's  wife,  whom  he 
married  in  1630,  was  Mary  Waite.  His  son, 
Robert  Lord  (second),  who  was  born  in  1631 
or  1632,  and  died  in  1696,  married  Hannah 
Day.  Thomas  Lord,  son  of  Robert  (second), 
wedded  Mary  Brown.  John  Lord,  son  of 
Thomas,  settled  in  Exeter,  N.H.,  married 
Abigail  Cilman,  and  was  the  father  of  sixteen 
children.  One  of  the  latter  was  the  father  of 
Eliphalet,  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Eliphalet  Lord,  who  was  probably  born  in 
Exeter,  and  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  afterward  settled  at  Shaker 
Bridge,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  pottery 
business,  and  died  August  5,  1826.  Lewis 
Lord,  the  grandfather  of  Albert  C. ,  began  to 
learn  the  hatter's  trade  when  fourteen  years 
old.  On  account  of  permanent  lameness 
caused  by  fever,  he  afterward  relinquished  the 
hatter's  trade  for  that  of  shoemaker.  He  died 
at  Shaker  Bridge,  October  18,  1852,  aged 
sixty-four.  In  June,  1S18,  he  wedded  Mary 
Thorn,  a  daughter  of  Abraham  Thorn.  She 
died  in  Woburn,  in  February,  1863,  aged  sixty- 
four  years  and  two  months.  Cyrus  Woodruff 
Lord  was  born  at  Shaker  Bridge,  November 
14,    1819,  and  was  the  last  of  the  family  to  re- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


477 


side  in  that  place.  lie  followed  the  trade  of 
stone  mason.  After  removing  to  Medfortl, 
Mass.,  where  he  remained  for  a  time,  lie  fi- 
nally settled  in  the  locality  now  occupied  hy 
Tilton.  The  last  years  of  his  life  were  spent 
with  his  son,  Albert  C. ,  and  he  died  in  1S95. 
His  wife,  Lydia,  whom  he  married  November 
17,  1842,  was  a  daughter  of  John  Evans,  Jr., 
of  Gilmanton,  N.  H.  She  became  the  mother 
of  five  children,  namely:  I*" ranees  Anna,  born 
September  5,  1S43;  George  W.,  born  April 
24,  1847;  Albert  C. ,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch ;  Flora  E. ,  who  married  George  T. 
Leavitt,  of  Newbury,  Vt.  ;  and  Clarence  H., 
born  July  31,  1854,  who  died  in  January, 
1864.  Of  these,  Albert  C,  I'rances  Anna, 
and  Clarence  H.  were  born  at  Shaker  ]?ridge, 
and  George  W.  was  born  in  Medford,  Mass. 
Flora  was  born   in  Tilton. 

Albert  Cyrus  Lord  obtained  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  and  in  the  New  Hani])- 
shire  Conference  Seminary.  During  his  vaca- 
tions, and  after  completing  his  studies,  he 
worked  in  the  woollen  mills  until  he  was  six- 
teen years  old.  He  then  commenced  to  learn 
the  trade  of  a  watchmaker  and  jeweller.  At 
the  age  of  nineteen  he  bought  out  his  em- 
ployer, and  carried  on  business  for  fifteen 
years,  having  been  for  over  thirteen  years  the 
only  watchmaker  and  jeweller  in  Tilton. 
Then  his  energetic  nature  prompted  him  to 
look  about  for  something  that  would  yield 
more  profit.  Having  accpiired  some  knowledge 
of  o]jtical  goods,  he  decided  to  enter  the  field 
as  a  manufacturer  of  them.  In  1876  he  rented 
a  small  room,  and  without  any  experience 
whatever  began  to  make  rubber-framed  eye- 
glasses, with  a  few  crude  tools.  Subsequently, 
he  devised  and  made  such  implements  as  he 
needed,  and  ere  long  was  able  to  grind  and 
finish  eye-glasses  and  spectacles  that  compared 
favorably  with   those  produced   by  experienced 


manufacturers.  To  place  his  goods  upon  the 
market  was  no  easy  task,  as  the  trade  was  prac- 
tically controlled  liy  one  firm,  which  cut  its 
prices  immediately  upon  tiie  discovery  of  com- 
petition. He  visited  the  large  dealers  in  New 
York  City,  however,  and,  i)y  meeting  the  cut 
prices,  sold  a  large  amount  of  goods.  His 
annual  output  has  steadily  increased  since. 
Progressive  and  energetic,  he  holds  his  busi- 
ness to  the  pace  of  the  times.  He  not  only 
produces  a  varied  line  of  optical  goods,  but 
makes  a  specialty  of  filling  oculists'  prescrip- 
tions. Some  years  ago  his  brother,  George 
W. ,  became  associated  with  him  in  business, 
and  the  firm  is  now  known  as  the  Lord 
l^rothers  Manufacturing  Company. 

In  1875  ^^i"-  Lord  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Alma  W.  Neal,  daughter  of  John  C.  Neal, 
of  Franklin  Falls,  N.  H.  They  have  four  sons 
—  Guy  M.,  Arthur  M.,  Harry  A.,  and  George 
T.  Mr.  Lord's  extraordinary  success  in.  busi- 
ness is  a  lesson  in  pluck  and  perseverance  to 
the  coming  generation. 


/^TuST  A.  COPP,  a  leading  builder  of 
V  1^  I  Gilford,  was  born  in  Bristol,  N.H., 
May  I,  1839,  son  of  Hazen  antl  Bet- 
sey (Glover)  Copp.  His  granilfather,  Tiiomas 
Copp,  who  was  born  in  Sanbornton,  N.H., 
lived  the  great  part  of  his  life  in  New  Hamil- 
ton, N.H.  Thomas  married  Abigail  Kowen 
and  their  children  were:  Hazen,  Jason,  Mary, 
Sarah,  Abbie,  I-klnnnuI,  Clarinda,  Orrin  P., 
and  one  that  died  in  infancy.  Jason  served 
through  the  Mexican  War,  and  afterward  mar- 
ried and  lived  in  New  Hampton,  N.H.  ;  Mary 
married  Charles  G.  Allen,  of  Gilmanton; 
Sarah  married  William  V.  Ladd ;  Edmund 
married  Cyntha  Sanborn,  of  Sanbornton  ;  Cla- 
rinda married  George  Cross,  of  Maine;  and 
Orrin  P.  married  Lavinia  Bartlett,  of  Gilford. 


478 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Hazen    Cojip,    tlic   father  of  the  subject   of 
this   sketch,  was  born    in    New  Hampton,    and 
there  lived  during  his  younger  years.      After- 
ward he    moved  to  Bristol,  N.H.,  and  engaged 
in   the   lumber  business,  which,   in   the  course 
of  time,  became  very  extensive.      From  Bristol 
he   removed    to    Gilford,    where    he    remained 
twenty-nine    years.        Although      quite     poor 
when  he  started   in    business,  by  diligence   and 
industry  he  has  acquired   wealth,  now   owning 
two  factories,  a  grist-mill,  and  four  dwelling- 
houses,  besides  other  real   estate.      He  is  very 
liberal  and  charitable.      In   the   Masonic   order 
he  has  taken  the  thirty-second   degree,  belongs 
to  the  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  Union  Chapter, 
No.   9,    and    Pythagorean  Council,    No.    7,    all 
of  Laconia;  to   Mount   Horeb  Commandery,  of 
Concord;  and  he  has  been  for  thirty  consecu- 
tive years  Treasurer  of  the  chapter  and  council. 
He  travels  a  great  deal  with   the   commandery, 
and   in   Denver  he   was  presented  with  a  gold- 
headed    cane    in    recognition   of    his   seniority 
of    rank.      He   is   also    prominent    in   the   Odd 
Fellows     Lodge    of    Tilton.       For     the     last 
twenty-one    years   he    has    made    his   home   in 
Tilton,    where    most   of    his   interests    are   lo- 
cated.      He    was    formerly   a   member  of     the 
Methodist    society    in     Gilford.      He    married 
Betsey  Glover,    and    they   have  three  children 
—  Gust    A.,    Abbie,   and    Lizzie    E.      Abbie, 
who  married  a   Mr.    Hill,    now   deceased,    has 
one   child,    and    is    living    in    Tilton.      Lizzie 
married  Aaron  Morrison,  and   died    in   Tilton, 
November  17,  1896. 

Gust  A.  Copp  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Gilford,  and  for  two  terms  was  a  pupil  of  one 
at  New  Hampton.  He  then  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  with  his  father,  which  he  has 
since  continued,  taking  entire  charge  of  the 
same  when  the  latter  removed  to  Tilton.  It  is 
estimated  that  he  turns  out  about  five  hundred 
thousand  feet  of   lumber  every  year.      He  also 


does  a  large  custom  business  at  sawing.  In 
addition  he  is  a  contractor  and  builder,  making 
a  specialty  of  building,  and  employing  six 
hands.  After  serving  in  the  capacity  of  legis- 
lative Representative  for  two  years,  his  large 
business  interests  compelled  him  to  decline 
further  nominations  to  public  office.  In  his 
politics  he  is  a  Republican.  In  1864  he  en- 
listed in  the  First  New  Hamjishire  Heavy  Ar- 
tillery, and  was  in  the  defences  of  Washing- 
ton, D. C,  for  the  greater  part  of  his  term. 
He  is  a  member  of  Darius  A.  Drake  Post,  No. 
36,  G.  A.  R.  ;  also  of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge, 
No.  32,  Union  Chapter,  No.  9,  and  Pythago- 
rean Council,  No.  7,  of  the  Masonic  Order. 
Since  its  organization  he  has  been  a  leading 
member  of  the  Methodist  P-piscopal  church, 
serving  on  various  committees,  and  being  Pres- 
ident of  its  Board  of  Trustees  since  its  forma- 
tion. Recording  Steward  for  fifteen  years,  and 
Collector  for  twelve  years. 

On  March  31,  1861,  Mr.  Copp  married  S. 
Jennie  Thurston,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and 
Sally  (Goss)  Thurston,  of  Gilford.  Mrs. 
Copp  taught  school  before  her  marriage,  most 
of  the  time  in  Gilford.  She  is  also  a  member 
of  the  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  church,  being  very 
active  in  its  interests,  particularly  in  raising 
money  for  its  benefit,  and  has  also  donated  a 
bell  for  the  church  edifice.  A  man  of  even 
disposition,  liberal  and  public-spirited,  Mr. 
Copp  has  many  friends  and  is  highly  esteemed 

in  the  town. 

«» ■*  ■ 

OHN  F.  MEADER,  born  January  8, 
1782,  in  the  town  of  Lee,  was  a  son  of 
Joseph  Meader,  who  had  nine  children. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  respected  resident  of 
Strafford  County,  and  the  owner  of  a  home- 
stead in  the  town  of  Rochester.  During  his 
last  years  he  had  charge  of  a  grist-mill  near 
his  home.      His  death  occurred  in  1825. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


479 


Mr.  Mcader  was  iiiiitcd  in  niarriajio  at  an 
early  age  with  Miss  Deliverance  \'arney,  whose 
death  occurred  Sei)tember  20,  1863,  at  the 
ailvanccd  age  of  eighty-two  years.  Their 
children  were:  Stejihen,  born  August  6,  1806; 
Joseph,  born  April  11,  1809,  who  died  Octo- 
ber, 1873;  Abigail,  born  January  19,  1811, 
who  died  March  26,  1852;  Daniel,  born  June 
25,  1812,  who  died  January  i,  1886;  Hannah, 
born  August  6,  1814,  who  died  March  20, 
1861  ;  Sophia,  born  December  31,  1817,  who 
died  December  10,  1887;  Caroline,  born  No- 
vember 28,  1818;  Moses,  born  November  30, 
1820,  who  died  May  20,  1893;  and  Mary  V., 
born  June  22,   1824,  who  died  April  15,   1892. 

Moses  Meader,  the  youngest  son  of  this 
family,  was  a  well-known  ami  jnosperous 
farmer,  living  in  the  north-west  ]iart  of  the 
city  of  Dover  —  known  as  Long  Hill.  Until 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  resided  at  Farni- 
ington.  After  attaining  his  majority,  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  and  removed  to  Dover.  He 
might  justly  be  termed  a  model  farmer,  as  he 
took  great  interest  in  everything  pertaining  to 
agriculture.  For  years  he  was  a  prominent 
exhibitor  at  agricultural  fairs,  always  securing 
many  first  prizes  for  sheep,  cattle,  and  fruit. 
At  the  organization  of  the  Rochester  and 
Dover  Union  Farmers'  Club  he  was  elected 
Treasurer,  and  he  held  that  position  during  the 
existence  of  the  club.  He  was  a  man  of  solid 
worth,  possessing  in  an  eminent  degree  those 
traits  that  gained  for  him  the  esteem  of  the 
community  in  which  he  lived;  and  his  life- 
record,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  such  as  to  re- 
flect credit  on  the  towns  of  his  nativity  and 
adoption. 

Caroline  Meader,  the  only  member  of  John 
F.  Meader' s  family  now  living,  has  been  a 
resident  of  the  town  of  Dover  for  more  than 
threescore  years.  She  owns  and  occupies  the 
old  homestead,  an  extensive  and  valuable  farm- 


ing  estate;    and   she    is    known   and   respecleil 
throughout  the  community. 


fs  jOSFS  SARGICNT,  who  has  Ijeeii 
itlcntilied  with  the  hosiery  industry 
in  Helmont  since  its  establish- 
ment, was  born  October  24,  1832,  in  Ames- 
bury,  Mass.,  son  of  Moses  and  Judith  (Hoyt) 
Sargent.  His  grandfather,  Moses  Sargent 
(first),  who  was  a  shiji  car[)enter  by  trade,  in 
early  manhood  met  with  an  accident  of  such 
a  serious  nature  as  to  entirely  incapacitate  him 
from  labor.  The  maiden  name  of  the  wife  of 
Moses  (first)  was  Nancy  Morrill. 

Moses  Sargent  (second),  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Amesbury, 
December  16,  1803.  On  account  of  his 
father's  inability  to  work,  he  was  obliged  to 
assist  in  supporting  his  [larents  at  the  age  of 
nine  years  by  working  in  a  broadcloth  factory 
in  his  native  town,  the  first  establishment  of 
the  kind  erected  in  the  United  States.  In 
December,  1835,  he  moved  to  Lake  X'illage, 
N.  H.,  then  called  Batchelders'  Mills,  and, 
taking  a  lease  of  the  Lake  Company  Mill,  en- 
gaged in  the  production  of  woollen  yarn,  of 
which  he  was  the  pioneer  manufacturer  in  this 
State,  continuing  in  that  business  for  twenty- 
nine  years.  In  the  last  two  years  of  that  pe- 
riod he  manufactured  woollen  hose,  and  filled 
for  the  United  States  government  two  large 
orders  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  pairs.  From  1865  to  1871,  he  was 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton  hosiery 
in  Upper  Gilmanton,  employing  two  hundred 
operatives.  It  was  through  his  efforts  that  the 
name  of  the  town  was  changed  to  Belmont. 
He  finally  sold  his  business  to  A.  Lawrence 
&  Co.,  of  Boston,  who  later  formed  a  stock 
company  antl  presented  him  with  fifty  shares 
as  a  token  of  their  friendship.      Moses  Sargent 


480 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


(second)  passed  his  last  years  in  Lakcport, 
where  he  died  September  I,  1886.  Originally 
a  Whig,  he  later  became  a  Republican.  He 
was  not  only  instrumental  in  developing  the 
industrial  resources  of  Belmont,  but  took  an 
active  part  in  its  affairs,  and  ably  represented 
it  in  the  legislature  during  the  session  of  1873. 
He  was  one  of  the  incori)orators  of  the  Lake 
Village  Savings  Bank,  and  served  as  Vicc- 
I'resident  and  as  a  Director  for  many  years. 
l-'or  forty  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  was  connected  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  for  the  same  period,  and 
at  one  time  held  a  Lieutenant's  commission  in 
the  State  militia.  He  was  three  times  mar- 
ried. His  first  wife,  in  maidenhood  Judith 
Hoyt,  whom  he  wedded  October  27,  1824,  was 
a  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Esther  (Reynolds) 
Hoyt,  and  she  died  July  26,  1849.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1850,  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  (Seavey) 
Huntington,  who  died  December  2,  1854. 
His  third  marriage  was  contracted  with  Sarah 
Thyng,  daughter  of  Gideon  and  Sally  Thyng. 
She  died  February  26,  1897,  aged  eighty-two 
years.  His  first  wife,  Judith  (Hoyt)  Sargent, 
bore  him  six  children,  as  follows:  Mary,  who 
married  H.  O.  Heywood,  and  resides  in  Lake 
Village;  Stephen  H.,  who  lives  in  Salem, 
Mass  ;  Moses,  the  subject  of  this  sketch ; 
John  and  David,  who  are  no  longer  living; 
and  Frank  S.,  who  is  now  an  overseer  in  his 
brother's  factory. 

The  present  Moses  Sargent  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Lakcport  and  at  the  Wolfboro 
Academy.  When  his  studies  were  finished, 
he  became  connected  with  his  father's  busi- 
ness, and  later  with  the  Gilmanton  Hosiery 
Company  at  Belmont,  and  later  was  connected 
with  his  father's  mill  in  the  manufacturing  of 
hosiery  yarns  at  Lake  Village,  and  his  ability 
has  been  the  means  of  securing  for  the  enter- 
prise the  importance  and  success  it  now  enjoys. 


When  he  took  charge  of  the  factory  it  emjiloyed 
twelve  hands,  and  it  now  recpiires  a  force 
of  two  hundred  and  seventy-five.  The  plant, 
which  co\'ers  two  acres  of  ground,  consists  of  a 
knitting-mill,  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  by 
fifty-two  feet,  and  a  large  factory  devoted  to 
the  manufacture  of  yarn.  There  is  also  a 
large  dye-house,  and  buildings  for  storage  and 
other  purposes.  Mr.  Sargent  married  Dora  A. 
Shepard,  a  native  of  Gilmanton,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  Morrill  Shepard,  a  well-known  insurance 
man,  and  has  one  son,  John.  He  is  a  member 
of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  and  of  Union  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  No.   7,  of  Laconia. 


§OSEPH  B.  DURRELL,  formerly  an 
esteemed  resident  and  a  large  land- 
holder  of  Gilmanton,  was  born  in  Gil- 
manton in  the  year  1820,  son  of  Thomas  Dur- 
rell.  His  grandfather  anil  hi.s  grandfather's 
brother  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of 
the  town  of  Gilmanton.  Here  they  felled  the 
trees  of  the  primeval  foiest  and  built  a  log 
cabin  for  their  first  dwelling.  In  later  time, 
when  better  fortunes  came  to  them,  they 
erected  a  frame  house. 

Thomas  Durrell  was  a  native  of  Gilmanton. 
Prior  to  his  removal  to  Laconia,  N.H.,  in  the 
year  1869,  he  had  assiduously  devoted  himself 
to  husbandry  and  was  regarded  as  a  successful 
farmer.  He  took  an  active  and  prominent  part 
in  local  affairs.  Esteemed  by  his  neighbors, 
he  was  called  upon  to  represent  them  in  many 
of  the  public  offices.  He  servetl  on  the  local 
board  of  Selectmen,  and  at  one  time  repre- 
sented the  town  in  the  New  Hampshire  legis- 
lature. He  married  and  became  the  father  of 
Joseph  B. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  of  Ann 
Maria,  who  married  John  Wallace,  of  Sanborn- 
ton,   and  who,   with  her  husband,    is   now  de- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


481 


ceased;  of  Christiana,  who  ilied  young;  of 
Eliza,  who  married  Hiram  Richardson,  of 
Concord,  N.  H.,  and  resides  in  that  place;  of 
Augusta,  who  marrictl  L\'nian  Folsom ;  of 
Lewis,  will)  married,  and  ilied  when  about  fifty 
years  old;  of  Charles,  who  resides  in  Laconia, 
N.H.,  and  of  Franklin,  who  died  in  Cali- 
fornia where  he  was  engaged  as  a  gold  miner. 
Thomas  Durrell  died  at  Laconia  in  the  year 
1.S84,  aged  eighty-four  years. 

Joseph  B.  Durrell  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  in  farming.  His  thorough  knowledge 
of  agriculture,  combined  with  his  sound  judg- 
ment in  business  matters,  enabled  him  to 
build  up  a  large  fortune.  At  the  time  of  his 
decease,  he  was  the  largest  ta.\  payer  in  the 
town  of  Gilmanton  and  one  of  the  most  exten- 
sive landowners  of  his  native  State.  His 
landed  estates  at  one  time  amounted  to  more 
than  sixteen  hundred  acres.  He  had  the  good- 
will and  confidence  of  his  townsmen,  and  the 
esteem  of  the  public  at  large  in  this  section  of 
the  country.  For  a  prolonged  period  he  efifi- 
ciently  discharged  the  duties  of  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  He  represented  his  town  for  two  years 
in  the  New  Hampshire  legislature,  and  he 
otherwise  acceptably  served  the  community  in 
a  number  of  other  offices. 

Mr.  Durrell  was  twice  married.  By  his  first 
wife,  Abigail  (Shannon)  Durrell,  he  became 
the  father  of  five  children  —  Adeline,  Lorrain, 
Fisk,  Martha,  and  Inez.  His  second  marriage 
was  contracted  February  22,  1865,  with 
Frances  S.  Farrar,  a  daughter  of  Pearley  and 
Eliza  (Merrill)  Farrar,  of  Gilmanton.  Pear- 
ley  Farrar,  who  was  a  man  of  education, 
tLuned  his  attention  to  agriculture,  and  ulti- 
mately became  a  prosperous  farmer.  At  one 
time  he  served  the  town  as  Selectman.  He 
married  Eliza  Merrill,  who  belonged  to  an  old 
and  well-known  family.  His  father,  Israel 
Farrar,    who,    with   his    brother,    was   an    early 


settler  of  Gilmanton,  had  ten  children; 
namely,  George  W. ,  Eliza  A.,  Mary  Jane, 
EmalieA.,  F'rances  Susan,  Christiana,  Alfred 
P.,  Arthur  M.,  Addie  L.,  ami  Charles  VV. 
George  \V.  married  l-'anny  Hall,  had  two  chil- 
dren, and,  after  spending  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  in  Gilmanton,  removed  to  Laconia, 
where  he  afterward  died.  h'.li/.a  A  first  mar- 
ried John  Moore,  and  had  by  him  seven  chil- 
dren ;  and  after  his  decease  she  married  Sam- 
uel Hutch  in,  by  whom  she  had  one  child, 
Mary  Jane,  now  deceased,  who  married  George 
Knapp,  and  had  one  child,  who  ilied  in  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  in  1861.  ICmalie  A. 
died  young.  Christiana,  now  a  widow  residing 
at  Andover,  Mass.,  married  Joseph  Odlin,  and 
had  two  sons.  Alfred  P.  also  died  young. 
Arthur  M.,  who  grew  up  and  married,  died  in 
young  manhood.  Addie  L.  married  Henry 
Lamprey,  who  died  soon  after  his  return  from 
the  Civil  War,  and  had  five  children. 
Charles,  who  married  and  has  eight  children, 
now  resides  in  Laconia.  Mr.  Durrell  died 
February  24,  1896.  He  is  still  held  in  re- 
spectful remembrance  by  the  community  in 
whose  midst  he  spent  his  honorable  and  useful 
life. 


^^♦^■»- 


ON.  JOSHUA  B.  SMITH,  a  retired 
farmer  of  the  town  of  Durham,  Straf- 
ford County,  N.H.,  is  now  enjoying 
a  deserved  leisure  after  his  many  years  of  toil, 
living  in  the  house  in  wiiich  his  birth  oc- 
curred July  28,  1823.  He  is  the  son  of  the 
Hon.  Valentine  Smith  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
Ballard.  The  family  is  .said  to  be  descended 
from  one  George  Smith,  of  Willoughby,  Lan- 
cashire, England.  George  Smith,  the  earliest 
known  of  the  family  in  this  country,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  come  from  old  Hough,  Cheshire, 
England,  settling  first  in  the  Isles  of  Shoals, 
then  called  Smith's  Isles,  and  later  in  Kittery 


482 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  Dover.  Tradition  says  that  he  had  grants 
from  the  town  of  Dover,  consisting  of  marsh 
and  meadow  land  on  Oyster  River  and  on  the 
north  shore  of  Great  Hay,  and  it  was  on  Oyster 
River  that  his  son  Joseph  lived.  Captain 
John  Smith,  son  of  Joseph  and  grandson  of 
George,  probably  occupied  the  land  on  Great 
Bay.  From  him  the  line  extends  down  to 
Valentine,  father  of  Jushua  B. ,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  through  Benjamin,  representing 
the  fourth  generation  in  this  country,  and 
Deacon  John  representing  the  fifth. 

The  Hon.  Valentine  Smith,  father  of  Joshua 
B. ,  was  born  in  that  part  of  Durham  known  as 
Lubberland,  May  26,  1774.  His  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  Judge  Millett,  of  Dover.  He  at- 
tended school  winters,  and  was  a  student  at 
Phillips  Exeter  Academy  for  one  year.  Then 
he  began  to  teach,  and  later  he  added  to  teach- 
ing the  duties  of  a  land  surveyor.  He  was 
early  called  to  take  public  office;  and,  from  the 
time  of  his  election  as  Town  Clerk  and  First 
Selectman  in  1802,  he  held  one  or  more  such 
offices  nearly  all  the  time  for  thirty  years. 
He  was  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  fifty  years, 
from  1806  to  1856.  For  six  years  he  was  Rep- 
resentative in  the  legislature.  He  was  Judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  Strafford 
County  for  three  years,  beginning  in  1819,  and 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Sessions  for  the 
county  in  1822,  1823,  and  1824.  Judge  Smith 
was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Mary 
Joy,  daughter  of  Deacon  Samuel  Joy,  of  Dur- 
ham, to  whom  he  was  married  January  4,  1804, 
and  who  died  October  10,  1810.  They  had 
three  children  :  Hamilton;  Ebenezer,  who  died 
in  infancy;  and  Thomas.  Judge  Smith  was 
again  married  September  16,  1819,  to  Eliza- 
beth Ballard,  daughter  of  Joshua  I^allard,  of 
Durham,  by  whom  he  had  five  children  — 
William  B.,  Joshua  B.,  Mary  E.,  John  E., 
and  Lydia.     Judge  Valentine  Smith  was  noted 


for  his  public  spirit.  He  was  greatly  inter- 
ested in  all  that  concerned  the  moral  and  ma- 
terial prosperity  of  the  town.  Although  not  a 
church  member,  he  took  a  great  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  church,  and  for  the  last  fifty 
years  of  his  life  he  was  one  of  the  largest  con- 
tributors to  the  support  of  preaching  in  this 
place.      He  died  March  2,   1869. 

Joshua  B.  Smith,  second  child  of  Judge 
Valentine  Smith's  second  marriage,  has  always 
lived  in  Durham,  the  town  where  he  was  born; 
and  since  reaching  manhood  he  has  been  ac- 
tively identified  with  its  leading  interests, 
serving  faithfully  in  various  positions  of  trust. 
He  was  elected  Town  Clerk  in  185 1,  and 
served  for  five  years.  He  was  chosen  Select- 
man in  1862,  and  since  then  he  has  served 
nineteen  years  in  this  capacity,  being  chair- 
man of  the  board  for  the  larger  part  of  the 
time.  In  1865  and  1866  he  represented  the 
people  of  Durham  in  the  State  legislature,  and 
in  1875  and  1876  he  was  chosen  as  a  State 
Senator.  In  1877  and  1878  he  served  as  a 
member  of  Governor  Prescott's  Council.  He 
cast  his  first  Presidential  vote  for  Henry 
Clay,  and  has  been  a  firm  supirorter  of  the 
Republican  party  ever  since  its  formation. 
Since  1859  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  church.  Mr.  Smith  was  mar- 
ried May  15,  1 88 1,  to  Miss  Ella  P.  Thomp- 
son, a  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Nancy  G. 
Thompson,  of  New  London.  Their  wedded 
life  was  brief.  Mrs.  Smith  died  thirteen 
months  after  their  marriage,  leaving  a  little 
child,  who  followed  its  mother  only  four 
months    later. 


■TEPHEN  L.  TAYLOR,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Bay  View  House,  a 
favorite  summer  resort  in  Belmont, 
was  born  here  in  1822,  son  of  Moses  and 
Susan    (Ladd)    Taylor.      His    paternal    grand- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


483 


father,  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  the  town, 
followcil  the  occupation  of  farmer,  and  had 
five  sons  and  several  daughters.  Moses  Tay- 
lor chose  the  life  of  an  agriculturist,  and 
purchased  a  small  farm  of  sixty  acres,  which 
he  carried  on  for  many  years.  Susan,  his 
wife,  a  native  of  Belmont,  was  a  daughter  of 
John  Ladd,  who  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Meredith  Bridge  (now  Laconia),  built  one 
of  the  first  mills  erected  in  that  town,  and 
died  aged  about  fifty  years.  Moses  and  Susan 
Taylor  had  two  children — Ste[)hen  I,,  and 
Zilpha,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  a  place 
distant  about  two  and  one-half  miles  from 
Stephen's  present  residence. 

Stephen  I..  Taylor  attended  school  here  in 
Belmont,  and  was  also  a  student  of  Northfield 
Seminary  under  Professor  Sanborn.  At  the 
close  of  his  school  days,  he  went  to  work  on 
Grandfather  Ladd's  farm  and  remained  there 
for  some  years.  In  i  S68  he  built  the  Jiay 
View  House,  which  he  has  since  conducted  as 
a  summer  hotel.  The  house,  which  is  sup- 
plied with  furnace  heat  and  has  other  modern 
appliances,  accommodates  forty-five  guests. 
From  twenty-five  to  forty  have  been  turned 
away  in  a  season  for  lack  of  space.  In  the 
spring  of  1842,  Mr.  Ta)ior  married  Almira  B. 
Brown,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Brown,  of  Gil- 
man,  N.H.,  who  is  a  Deacon  in  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  that  town.  The  Brown  fam- 
ily is  traced  in  this  country  to  three  brothers 
who  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Sea- 
brook.  James  Brown,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Taylor,  born  in  Seabrook,  carried  on  an  excel- 
lent farm,  a  portion  of  which  lay  in  Winches- 
ter. He  married  Rhoda  Perkins,  of  Pittsfield, 
N.H.,  who  bore  him  nine  children.  Of  these 
Sewall  Clark  ]5rown  was  graduated  from  Dart- 
mouth College,  became  the  principal  of  Con- 
cord Academy,  and  subsequently  went  to  Bal- 
timore, Md.      Jonathan    Brown  was   formerly  a 


farmer  of  Gilmanton,  where  he  resided  for 
nearly  .seventy  years  in  a  house  that  he  built 
soon  after  he  settled  there.  He  married  Miss 
Clough,  of  Canterbury,  a  daughter  of  I.eavitt 
Clough,  who  was  a  State  legislator.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brown  celebrated  their  fiftieth  wedding 
anniversary  in  iSSj.  Stephen  L.  Taylor  has 
three  children  —  Jennie,  George,  and  lulward. 
Jennie,  who  is  the  widow  of  John  M.  Peabody, 
resides  at  Hyde  Park,  Mass.;  George  lives  at 
home;  and  Kdward  is  in  the  boot  and  shoe 
business  in  l?oston  and  carries  on  a  large  man- 
ufacturing business,  having  a  factory  at  Cam- 
pel  lo,  Mass. 

In  politics  Mr.  Taylor  has  always  been  a 
Democrat.  He  has  served  for  two  years  as 
Selectman  of  Belmont.  He  has  also  l)een  a 
member  of  the  School  Committee,  and  he  is 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  Laconia  Savings 
Bank.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Talyor  are  attend- 
ants of  the  Congregational  church. 


^ATHANIEL  T.  KIMBALL,  the  Gen- 
eral   Station   Agent  of  the   Boston    & 

'^  ^  Maine  and  the  Portland  &  Roches- 

ter Railroads  at  Rochester,  is  a  native  of 
l-'armington,  N.  H.  He  was  born  Seiitember 
12,  1855,  son  of  Josiah  B.  and  Emily  A. 
(Jewett)  Kimball.  The  father,  who  was  a 
native  of  Bradford,  Mass.,  when  a  young  man 
removed  to  Farmington,  where  he  opened  a 
shoe  factory  and  conducted  it  for  several  years. 
He  served  in  the  Civil  War  at  first  in  the  com- 
missary department  of  the  Sixth  .\ew  Hamp- 
shire, which  "was  all  cut  up  in  action."  In 
1862,  after  the  Sixth  was  disbanded,  he  en- 
listed in  the  Fifteenth  New  Hampshire  Regi- 
ment, going  out  as  Sergeant.  On  account  of 
poor  health,  he  returned  home  in  1864,  and 
died  in  1865  of  consumption,  caused  by  the 
exposure  of  army  life.      His  widow,  Emily  A. 


484 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Kimball,  a  native  of   Alton,   N.ll.,    is  now  liv- 
ing in  Rochester. 

When  but  three  years  old,  Nathaniel  T. 
Kimball  was  brought  to  Rochester  by  his  par- 
ents. Upon  his  father's  death,  he  went  to  live 
with  his  grandfather,  being  Judge  Kimball,  a 
resident  of  Rochester,  and  remained  with  him 
and  the  grandmnther  until  their  death.  He 
attended  the  common  school,  Mrs.  Knight's 
private  school,  and  the  Rochester  High 
School.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  began 
learning  telegraphy  at  the  railroad  station 
here.  Subsequently,  he  was  employed  as  flag 
man,  telegraph  operator,  and  baggage  man ; 
and  for  a  year  and  a  half  he  was  in  the  superin- 
tendent's office  at  Portland,  Me.,  as  P.  &  R. 
R.R.  train  dispatcher.  In  December,  1880, 
he  became  baggage  master  at  the  Plastern 
Railroad  Station,  and  two  years  later  was  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  station  agent  at  that 
place.  When  the  Boston  &  Maine  roads  were 
consolidated  in  1885  he  was  retained  in  his 
position.  In  the  following  year,  when  the 
Worcester,  Nashua  &  Portland  Division  was 
leased,  thereby  uniting  the  three  roads  under 
one  management,  Mr.  Kimball  was  appointed 
General  Station  Agent  at  Rochester,  in  which 
capacity  he  has  since  given  general  satisfac- 
tion to  his  employers  and  the  patrons  of  the 
roads. 

On  January  23,  1891,  Mr.  Kimball  mar- 
ried Miss  Lizzie  G.  Trask,  of  Rochester,  and 
now  has  two  children  —  Marian  and  N.  Thurs- 
ton. In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Democrat, 
but  he  is  popular  with  both  parties.  For  two 
years,  despite  his  party  relations,  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  City  Council  from  Ward 
Six,  a  strong  Republican  district.  In  1893 
he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Mayor 
of  the  city,  but  was  defeated  by  a  small  ma- 
jority, Rochester  being  a  Republican  strong- 
hold. 


RS.     PANTHKA     P.      BABCOCK, 
widow   of   the   late   Joshua  M.  Bab- 
cock,  and  one   of   Barnstead's  old- 
est   residents,    was    born    here,     December    8, 
1 81 5,  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Rebecca  (Proc- 
tor)   Bunker,    and    grand-daughter  of   Dodavah 
and  Martha    (Smith)    Bunker.      Dodavah    Bun- 
ker, with  his  brothers,  Joseph  and  P'rank,  emi- 
grated to  this  country  from    England.      Joseph 
settled    in    Barnstead.      Dodavah  took    up    his 
residence     in      Pittsfield,     N.H.,     where     the 
greater  part  of  his   life  was  passed.      He  first 
made  a   small   clearing,  and   thereon   erected  a 
log   house,    to    which   he    brought   his    family. 
He  then  enlarged  the  clearing  so  as  to  raise  a 
barrel  of  potatoes  and  a  few  bushels  of  corn  — 
corn  meal    and    potatoes    being    the    principal 
articles  of  food   in   the  pioneer's  home.      The 
family  were  often  troubled  by  bears,  and  Ind- 
ians were  frequently  seen  and  sometimes  vis- 
ited their  home.      It  is  related  that,  one  night 
when   the  father   was    away    on    a    trip,    bears 
came   into  their  corn-field.      The   mother  tried 
to  drive  them  away  by  setting  the  dog  at  them 
and    by   blowing  the   dinner   horn   outside  the 
door.      While  so  doing,  the  door  was  blown   to 
and  she  was  shut  out  for  half  the  night.'    It  is 
presumed  that  her  plan  saved  the  corn,  for  that 
night  at  least.      After  the   Indian  war,  one  of 
a  number  of   Indians  who   came   that  way  look- 
ing for  food  told  Mrs.  Bunker  that  he  set  out 
once  to  kill   her,  but   that   on   seeing  her  with 
her  baby  he  could  not  do   it.      Suncook  River, 
up  and  down  whose  banks  the   Indians  roamed, 
ran  through  the   Bunker   land.      Dodavah  Bun- 
ker was   born    November  3,   1754,  and   died  at 
Barnstead,  December    12,    1828.      Martha,    his 
wife,  was  born  February  1,   1750,  and   died   in 
June,    1816.      Their    children    were:     Samuel, 
Hannah,  Daniel,  Dodavah,  David,   Lydia,  An- 
drew, Dorothy,  Ebenezer,    Abigail,    and  John. 
All  were  married  and  are  now  deceased. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


ISS 


Atulrew  Ikinkcr,  born  in  Pittsfickl,  Decem- 
ber 2},  17S3,  li\'ecl  tlieie  until  twenty-one 
years  olil,  assisting;  his  father  witii  the  farm 
work.  Me  subsequently  worked  for  a  time  in 
Ilarnstead.  A  short  time  before  his  marriage, 
he  purchased  a  piece  of  land  here,  to  which  he 
afterward  made  additions  until  he  had  one  of 
the  best  farms  in  the  town.  On  April  29, 
181  J,  when  about  twenty-eight  years  old,  he 
was  married  to  Rebecca  Proctor,  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  fanny  (Kimball)  Proctor. 
Andrew  and  Rebecca  Bunker  were  the  parents 
of  two  sons  and  a  daughter;  namely,  Hollis, 
Panthea,  and  Andrew.  Hollis,  who  sjjent  his 
life  here  and  in  the  West,  married  Mary 
Tuttle,  and  had  a  son,  MiloW. ,  who  is  now 
living  with  Mrs.  Babcock.  Antlrew,  who  was 
in  the  sash  and  blind  business  in  Concord, 
N  H.,  was  very  successful.  At  his  death  he 
left  eight  children,  all  living  at  home  and  un- 
married. Of  these,  one  son  is  employed  in 
a  bank;  another  is  in  the  furniture  busi- 
ness; a  third  is  an  engraver;  two  daughters 
are  teachers;  another  has  a  position  in  the 
ibrary ;  the  eldest  daughter  is  employed  at 
home;  and  the  youngest  child,  a  son,  has 
recently  graduated  from  school.  Andrew 
Bunker,  first,  dietl   August    I,    185 1. 

Panthea  Bunker  received  her  education  in 
the  district  and  private  schools.  In  her  six- 
teenth year,  she  taught  one  term  of  school 
at  Durham,  N.H.  In  1835,  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  she  was  married  to  Joshua  M. 
Babcock,  who  was  born  at  Springfield,  \'t., 
in  1 8 12,  son  of  the  Rev.  William  S.  and 
Klizabeth  Babcock.  His  father  was  a  Free 
Baptist  minister,  and  resided  for  many  years 
in  Barrington,  N.H.  Joshua  M.  Babcock 
came  to  Barnstead  when  a  young  man, 
bought  a  clothing-mill,  and  afterward  oper- 
ated it  for  about  si.xty  years.  He  went  to 
Boston  in   1844,  spent  eight  years  as  a  carpen- 


ter and  bridge-builder,  and  returned  to  Barn- 
stead  in  1S52.  The  railroati  bridge  from  l^os- 
ton  to  Charlestown  was  framed  b)-  iiini,  and  he 
superintended  (ither  important  work  of  that 
character.  His  grandfather  JJabcock,  an  old 
sea  captain,  once  owned  the  land  on  which  the 
Tremont  building  stands,  but  sold  the  jirop- 
erty  because  the  noise  of  the  city  disturbed 
him.  Joshua  M.  Babcock  spent  the  later  years 
of  his  life  in  Jiirnstead,  and,  at  his  death,  Oc- 
tober 8,  1 88 1,  was  one  of  the  oldest  residents 
here.  He  was  a  Captain  in  the  old  State 
militia  for  many  years.  Although  he  served 
as  a  Representative  to  the  New  Hampshire 
legislature,  he  seldom  accejjted  jiolitical  nom- 
inations. I"or  thirty  years  or  more  he  was  an 
honored  member  of  the  Congregational  society, 
of  which  his  widow  is  a  communicant. 


AMUEL  W\  WALLINGFORD,  a 
[irominent  citizen  of  Milton,  was 
born  in  this  town,  November  27, 
1837,  son  of  David  and  Mary  Ann  (Tasker) 
Wallingford.  His  grandfather  was  David 
Wallingford,  first,  who  came  from  Rochester  to 
Milton,  and  settled  here  as  a  pioneer. 

David  Wallingford,  second,  was  born  in 
Milton  in  1801,  and  the  active  period  of  his 
life  was  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
owned  and  occupied  the  farm  which  his  son, 
Samuel  W. ,  now  cultivates,  and  he  died  in 
1879.  He  represented  this  town  in  the  legis- 
lature, and  served  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
In  politics  he  supiiorted  the  Republican  jiarty. 
He  wedded  Mary  Ann  Tasker,  a  native  of 
Strafford,  N.  H.  ;  and  of  their  ten  children 
three  are  living:  Samuel  W.,  the  suljject  of 
this  sketch;  David  W. ,  of  Rochester,  N.  H.  ; 
and  Emma  I'.,  who  married  George  Drew,  and 
lives  in  I-'all  River,  Mass. 

Samuel  W.  Wallingford  was  educated  in  the 


486 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ciinini'in  schools  nnd  at  Lebanon,  Me.,  Acad- 
oni)'.  lie  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the 
shoemaker's  trade,  which  lie  followed  in  this 
town  as  a  journeyman  until  icS7o.  He  then 
went  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ,  and  was  instructor  of 
shoemaking  at  the  King's  County  Penitentiary 
for  eight  years.  In  1878  he  returned  to  his 
native  town  and  settled  on  the  homestead, 
which  became  his  property  on  the  death  of  his 
father.  He  owns  one  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  land  situated  on  Plummer's  Ridge,  and  as  a 
general  farmer  he  is  energetic  and  successful. 
Politically,  he  is  a  Republican.  He  served 
as  Ta.\  Collector  eight  years,  was  elected  to 
the  legislature  in  1870  and  again  in  1892,  and 
in  1896  was  chosen  Chairman  of  the  Boaril  of 
Selectmen. 

Mr.  Wallingford  married  Mary  P.  Plummer, 
daughter  of  luioch  W.  Plummer,  of  this  town. 
He  is  connected  with  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
being  a  member  of  Unity  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  Union,  N.H.  The  family  attend  the  Con- 
gregational church. 


ILLIAM  T.  WENTVVORTH,  a 
jirosperous  agriculturist,  owning 
about  two  hundred  acres  of  land  in 
the  town  of  Dover,  Strafford  County,  was  born 
April  II,  1832,  in  Hiram,  O.xford  County, 
Me.,  son  of  Stephan  and  Lois  (Trickey) 
Wcntworth,  thrifty  farming  people  of  that 
locality.  He  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  town,  attending 
in  the  winter  season  when  his  services  were 
not  needed  on  the  farm.  When  but  seventeen 
years  old  he  left  the  parental  roof-tree  to  seek 
his  fortune. 

Making  his  way  to  Dover,  Strafford  County, 
this  energetic  lad  began  working  on  farms  by 
the  month,  and  was  so  employed  for  two  years. 
He   was   then  engaged  in  teaming  for  a  time. 


In  1856  he  invested  his  savings  in  the  pur- 
chase of  a  pair  of  horses  and  a  wagon,  and 
began  teaming  on  his  own  account.  He  as- 
sisted in  building  the  Granite  State  Trotting 
Park  in  1857,  and  in  constructing  the  branch 
of  the  Portsmouth  &  Concord  Railrtjad  between 
Candia  and  Manchester  in  i860.  Next  year 
he  accepted  a  position  in  Po.xborough,  Mass., 
with  Trickey  &  Jewett,  lumbermen,  and  for  the 
following  three  and  a  half  years  he  had  charge 
of  a  gang  of  men  in  the  woods.  Then,  after 
spending  a  short  time  in  Dover,  he  went  South 
to  Maryland,  where  he  remained  five  months, 
having  charge  of  the  building  of  a  portion  of 
the  Dover  &  Delaware  Railroad.  Returning 
to  Dover,  N. H.,  after  this,  he  was  for  the  suc- 
ceeding three  years  engaged  with  James  Little- 
field  in  buying  and  selling  lumber.  He  then 
went  to  Locke  Mills,  Harrington,  where  he 
and  F.  P.  Trickey  ran  a  saw-mill  and  pail 
and  tub  factory  for  four  years.  In  connection 
with  the  lumber  business  he  was  engaged  in 
stone  cjuarrying  for  some  ten  years,  carrying 
on  a  good  business.  He  and  David  Cate,  in 
jiartncrship,  filled  the  contract  for  building 
two  miles  of  the  l^lliot  Bridge  Road  in  1880; 
and  in  the  same  year  he  and  C.  H.  Trickey 
filled  the  contract  for  rebuilding  the  Granite 
State  Trotting  Park.  Having  sold  out  his 
quarry  at  an  advantage,  he  accepted,  in  1881, 
the  position  of  Superintendent  of  the  Strafford 
County  Almshouse,  an  office  which  he  filled 
seven  years.  Mr.  Wentworth  then  bought  his 
present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres. 
This  he  has  since  managed  with  success,  carry- 
ing on  general  farming  and  dairying.  He  is 
also  the  owner  of  about  fifty  acres  of  land,  for 
the  most  part  under  timber. 

On  November  12,  1856,  Mr.  Wentworth 
married  Miss  Lucinda  P.  McDonald,  of  Chat- 
ham, N.H.,  a  daughter  of  P^ederick  Southgate 
and     Susan     (Abbott)     McDonald.      The    only 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


487 


chikl  born  of  the  union  is  Frederick  \V.  Went- 
wortli,  now  an  architect  of  Paterson,  N.J.  In 
])olitics  Mr.  W'entworth  is  an  adherent  of  the 
Republican  party.  In  1868  and  1869  he  rep- 
resented his  town  in  the  State  legislature,  be- 
sides which  he  has  also  been  Selectman  of 
Dover.  He  was  Councilman  for  two  years, 
Alderman  for  the  same  length  of  time;  and  he 
likewise  served  as  special  jiolice  officer  for 
many  years.  He  is  a  member  in  high  stantl- 
ing  of  several  local  organizations.  These  are: 
the  Wecohanet  Lodge  and  Prescott  Encamp- 
ment, I.  O.  O.  F.  ;  the  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men;  the  Golden  Eagle  Lodge;  and  the 
local  Grange.  In  religion  he  is  an  earnest 
believer  in  the  creed  of  the  Universalist 
church. 


§OHN  H.  SMITH,  a  successful  farmer 
of  Laconia,  was  born  in  New  Market, 
N.  H.,  October  11,  1839.  A  son  of 
Charles  and  Betsey  (Jones)  Smith,  he  is  of 
the  fourth  generation  descending  from  one  of 
four  brothers  who  came  over  with  the  early 
settlers.  His  paternal  grandfather  had  five 
children  —  Elliphalet,  Charles  M.,  Mary,  Lou- 
isa, and  Sally.  Mary  successively  married  a 
Mr.  Williams  and  Benjamin  Clement,  and  re- 
sided in  Moultonborongh,  N.H.  ;  Louisa  mar- 
ried Zeblin  Bowley,  of  p;xeter,  N.H.  ;  Sally 
married  Joseph  Cram,  of  Lowell,  Mass.  ;  and 
Eliphalet  married  a  Miss  Leavitt.  Charles 
Smith,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
married  Betsey  Jones,  and  they  moved  to 
Sandwich,  N.H.,  where  he  engaged  in  farming 
for  a  time  and  also  ran  a  boat  on  the  Piscataqua 
River.  His  trade  was  that  of  a  stone-mason. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Republican,  and  always 
voted  with  that  party.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  fifty-two  years  of  age.  He  was 
the  father  of  eleven  children  ;  namely,  Charles 
G.,  John  H.,  Eliza  J.,  Lydia   A.,  Edward   I., 


Susan  M.,  George  W. ,  Benjamin  F. ,  Jo- 
sephine, Georgiana,  and  Adelaide.  lulward, 
Benjamin,  Georgiana,  aTul  ^Xdeiaide  are  un- 
married, and  George  W.  is  deceased.  ]'.]\/.:i 
married  Jacob  G.  Webster;  Lydia  married 
Moses  E.  Hoyt;  Su.san  is  the  wife  of  Wesley 
W.  Ikirnhani  ;  and  Josephine  of  Joseph  !■'.. 
Berley.  George  was  for  some  time  in  the 
paper  collar  business,  but  toward  the  close  of 
of  his  life  was  a  mechanic  and  inventor. 
Charles  and  Benjamin  arc  in  Boston,  Mass.  ; 
where  they  are  prosperously  engaged  in  the 
business  of  driving  artesian  wells. 

John  H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  after 
attending  the  schools  of  Sandwich,  engaged  in 
the  stone  business,  and  later  in  general  farm- 
ing, w-hich  he  continued  up  to  1888.  He  then 
went  to  Boston,  Mass.,  where  he  joined  his 
brothers  in  their  business.  Much  of  his  time 
is  now  spent  in  travelling.  In  1S63  he  mar- 
ried Emelinc  Perkins,  a  daughter  of  Josiah 
and  Lydia  (Johnson)  I'erkins.  John  Perkins 
came  to  America  with  his  wife  Judith  and 
five  children  in  163 1  ;  they  were  fellow  pas- 
sengers of  Roger  Williams.  In  1633  they 
removed  to  Ipswich,  I\Iass.  William  I'er- 
kins,  born  in  pjigland  in  1616,  a  near  rela- 
tive of  John,  came  also  to  this  country,  and 
died  in  New  Market,  N.I  I.,  in  his  one  hun- 
dred and  si.xteenth  year.  He  was  a  direct 
ancestor  of  Mrs.  Smith.  A  descendant  of 
his,  John  Perkins,  born  about  1 700,  was  a 
large  landowner  in  New  Market.  John's  son, 
Richard,  born  in  New  Market  about  1738,  mar- 
ried Molly  Parsons  about  1760.  They  hail 
eight  children  —  Andrew,  Lydia,  Moll\-,  Jo- 
siah, John,  Sally,  Eunice,  and  Abraham.  He 
died  there  in  1779.  His  widow  moved  to 
Meredith  with  her  son,  Josiah. 

Josiah,  born  in  1767,  was  grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Smith.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade 
and  became  a  large   landowner.      He  was  Dca- 


488 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


con  of  the  First  liapti.st  Clnircii  in  Meredith. 
He  had  eleven  children  —  Andrew,  Josiah, 
Sally.  Eliza,  Mary,  David,  John,  Richard, 
Jesse,  Lydia,  and  Abraham,  all  of  whom  grew 
to  maturity  and  raised  families.  Josiah  Per- 
kins (second),  Mrs.  Smith's  father,  was  a  hale 
and  hearty  roan,  fond  of  his  occupation  of 
farming  and  of  all  outdoor  sports,  particularly 
hunting,  fishing,  and  bee-hunting.  He  was 
also  a  great  reader,  especially  of  historical 
works,  and  had  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
Bible.  A  favorite  motto  of  his  was:  "Never 
let  your  work  drive  you,  but  keep  ahead  of 
your  work."  He  had  a  remarkable  memory. 
An  hour  before  his  death,  which  occurred 
August  2  1,  1883,  when  he  was  ninety-one 
years  old,  he  repeated  the  names  of  his  ten 
brothers  and  sisters;  and  just  before  he  e.\- 
pired,  he  inquired  of  a  neighbor,  "Who  were 
the  captors  of  Major  Andre?"  The  neighbor 
not  being  able  to  tell,  he  repeated  their  names. 
He  had  si.\  children,  of  whom  three  died  when 
young.  Those  who  reached  maturity  were: 
John,  Sarah,  and  Emeline.  John  died  years 
ago,  and  Sarah  became  the  wife  of  George 
Hunt,  of  Belmont.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  have 
had  four  children,  namely:  F.lmer  H.,  who 
married  and  at  present  resides  in  Belmont; 
Charles  H.,  who  is  living  at  home,  engaged 
in  farming;  Mabelle  J.,  who  married  Joseph 
L.  Smith,  a  carpenter;  and  Nellie  M.,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  two  years.  Mr.  Smith  is  a 
member  of  Chocorua  Lodge,  No.  51,  I.  O. 
O.  I'".,  at  Lake  Village.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican,  and  always  votes  with  his  party. 


"I'T^pVOSI 


^OSES  NASH,  late  a  worthy  citizen 
of  Laconia,  Belknap  County, 
N.  H.,  was  born  in  Amherst, 
Mass.,  November  29,  1S12,  son  of  John  and 
Sally  (Lewis)    Nash.      When  a  young   man   he 


left  the  place  of  his  birth  and  settletl  in  Bel- 
knap County,  New  Hampshire.  I-'orming  a 
partnership  with  his  brother,  they  carried  on 
a  general  merchandise  store  in  New  Hampton. 
After  a  few  years  he  removed  to  Concord, 
N.H.,  and  entered  the  employ  of  J.  R.  Hill 
&  Co.,  harness-makers,  whose  trade  he  had 
previously  learned.  He  remained  with  them 
for  about  twenty  years,  when  he  retired  from 
active  business.  After  residing  in  Concord 
for  about  three  years  longer,  he  went  to  La- 
conia to  live  with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Ellen 
May  Tilton,  and  died  there  January  17,  1892. 
He  married  Susan  M.  Smith,  daughter  of 
Jacob  and  Louisa  C.  (Robinson)  Smith.  Her 
great  grandfather,  Jeremiah  Smith,  was  an 
early  settler  of  Laconia,  coming  here  from 
I'L.xeter,  when  the  road  was  indicated,  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  way,  only  by  blazed  trees.  He  gave 
the  use  of  the  field  adjoining  his  house  for  a 
training-ground  to  the  company  of  militia 
that  was  wont  to  assemble  there.  John  R. 
Smith,  son  of  Jeremiah,  married  Rhoda  Blais- 
dell,  and  they  had  five  children.  He  lived  to 
be  ninety  years  old.  His  son  Jacob  lived  to 
be  eighty-si.x.  To  Jacob  and  Louisa  C.  Smith 
three  children  were  born  —  Susan  M.,  Ellen 
L. ,  and  Sarah  A.  Sarah  married  John  Gar- 
land. Ellen,  who  taught  school  for  a  while, 
became  the  wife  of  Morrill  B.  Doe,  son  of 
Augustus  Doe.  Susan  M.  became  the  wife  of 
Moses  Nash,  as  above  stated.  She  died  sud- 
denly of  diphtheria,  January  29,  1SS7,  aged 
fifty-five  years,  leaving  one  child,  Ellen  M., 
now  the  wife  of  Arthur  A.  Tilton.  Her  hus- 
band, who  is  a  son  of  Carlos  Tilton,  of  An- 
dover,  N.H.,  was  for  some  time  assistant 
agent  for  the  American  Express  Company  at 
New  Market  and  subsequently  became  agent. 
After  their  marriage  he  came  to  the  Smith 
homestead,  which  was  bequeathed  to  Mrs.  Til- 
ton, and  where   they   now   reside.      She   repre- 


1j 


0  %^ 


EDGAR    A.    WILLAND. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


49' 


sents  tlio  tifth  gcner;itii)n  of  the  family  that 
has  occupicti  it.  Mr.  Tilton  i.s  a  member  of 
the  Uniform  Rank,  Knight.s  of  Pythias,  of 
Laconia.  Mrs.  Tilton  possesses  an  heirloom 
in  the  shape  of  a  cocoaniit  shell,  which  was 
brought  to  Laconia  by  Jeremiah  Smith,  her 
great-great-grandfather.  It  is  a  tradition  in 
the  family  that  it  was  found  useful  for  holding 
West  Iiulia  rum.  She  has  also  a  clock  now 
over  one  hundred  years  old,  which  she  values 
highly. 

HON.  STEPHEN  G.  NASH,  nephew  of 
Moses  Nash,  and  son  of  his  brother  John,  was 
a  well-known  attorney  in  Boston.  He  was 
born  in  New  Hampton,  N.H.,  in  1822.  In 
1842,  when  only  twenty  years  of  age,  he  was 
graduated  from  Dartmouth  College,  after 
which  he  took  up  the  study  of  law,  and  began 
practising  in  Boston  about  three  years  later. 
He  was  an  unusually  brilliant  student,  and 
won  distinction  as  a  lawyer,  being  for  many 
years  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Suffolk 
County.  He  made  two  trips  to  Europe,  visit- 
ing many  interesting  places.  At  his  death  he 
bequeathed  to  his  birthplace,  New  Hampton, 
a  library  completely  furnished,  together  with 
his  own  private  library,  and  also  endowed  the 
institution  with  the  sum  of  forty-five  thousand 
dollars. 


[^DWARD  A.  WILLAND,  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  Strafford  County  Farm 
in  Dover,  was  born  May  i  i,  1846,  in 
Berwick,  Me.,  son  of  Nathaniel  H.  Willand. 
Nathaniel  Willand  was  a  tanner,  which  occu- 
pation, together  with  that  of  farmer,  he  fol- 
lowed for  many  years,  successively  in  Berwick 
and  Rochester,  N.  H.  He  removed  to  the 
latter  town  in  1846.  On  the  breaking  out  of 
the  late  Civil  War  he  promptly  responded  to 
the  call  for   volunteers,  by   enlisting   in    Com- 


pany I,  Fourth  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, for  a  year,  being  mustered  into  service 
at  Concord.  At  the  close  of  his  term  of  en- 
listment his  patriotism  pronijjted  him  to  re-en- 
list for  three  years.  Thereafter  he  served 
until  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  taking  part 
in  many  of  the  important  battles  of  the  cam- 
paign. From  the  time  of  his  discharge  until 
1871  he  was  employed  as  cook  on  a  merchant 
vessel,  running  from  London  to  the  West 
Indies.  Returning  then  to  New  Hampshire, 
he  made  his  home  in  Rochester  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  May  28,  1S76.  He 
married  Hannah  F.  Hubbard,  of  Berwick,  who 
bore  him  four  children,  as  follows:  James  H., 
who  died  in  infancy;  James  H.  (second),  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eight  years;  Edward  A.; 
and  Emma. 

Edward  A.  Willand  was  reared  and  educated 
in  Rochester,  this  State,  attending  the  ])ublic 
schools  until  he  was  thirteen  years  old.  He 
then  attended  the  Biddeford  High  School  for 
two  years.  After  this  he  served  an  appren- 
ticeship of  three  years  with  a  carpenter,  i)e- 
coming  especially  expert  in  making  sashes, 
doors,  and  blinds.  The  following  two  years 
he  worked  at  his  trade  in  Boston  and  Dover. 
Afterward  he  was  engaged  for  fifteen  years  with 
E.  G.  &  E.  Wallace,  tanners  and  shoe  manu- 
facturers of  Rochester.  Locating  then  in 
Dover,  Mr.  Willand  was  elected  the  first 
regular  police  officer  at  Sawyer's  Mills. 
Three  years  later  he  was  elected  Assistant 
Marshal  of  Dover.  This  office  he  resigneil  in 
1893,  to  accept  his  present  resjionsible  posi- 
tion, the  duties  of  which  he  is  discharging  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  Before  com- 
ing to  this  city  he  had  been  Chief  of  Police  in 
Rochester  before  it  became  a  city. 

i\Ir.  Willand  was  married  in  Dover,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1867,  by  the  Rev.  James  Thurston,  to 
Miss  Calista  A.  Cheslev,  daughter  of   Samuel 


492 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  Maria  (Hanson)  Chesley,  of  Harrington. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  VVilland  have  two  children, 
namely:  Ella  M,  a  graduate  of  the  Dover 
High  School,  and  also  of  the  Salem  Normal 
School,  having  been  the  valedictorian  of  her 
class,  and  now  a  teacher  in  the  Hale  School ; 
and  Blanche  E.,  the  wife  of  Frank  E.  Varney. 
Politically,  Mr.  Willand  has  been  identified 
with  the  Republican  party  since  coming  of 
age,  and  is  one  of  the  most  zealous  supporters 
of  its  principles.  He  is  a  Mason  of  high 
standing,  belonging  to  Humane  Lodge,  No. 
2  1,  of  Rochester;  to  Temple  Chapter,  No.  20, 
of  Rochester;  to  the  Dover  Lodge  of  Perfec- 
tion; and  having  taken  the  degree  of  Scottish 
Rite.  He  is  likewise  a  member  of  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men,  Wanalancet  Tribe; 
and  of  Dover  Senate,  K.  A.  E.  O. 


SCAR  I-'OSS  of  Barnstead,  one  of  the 
most  wideawake  and  prosperous  busi- 
ness men  of  Belknap  County,  was  born 
in  Barnstead,  November  17,  1845,  a  son  of 
Eli   H.  and  Mary   A.   (Furber)   Foss. 

Jonathan  Foss,  his  grandfather,  was  a  native 
of  Strafford,  N.H.  He  first  married  Miss 
Margaret  Bean,  of  Strafford,  who  died  in  the 
following  year.  Subsequently,  he  came  to  Barn- 
stead, married  Miss  Alice  Nutter,  and  settled  on 
a  farm,  distant  about  a  half  mile  from  Centre 
Barnstead,  where  he  carried  on  farming  until  his 
death  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  By  this  mar- 
riage he  had  seven  children,  namely:  Eli  H., 
James  L.,  Jonathan,  Nancy,  Margaret,  Dorothy 
and  Mary  Ann.  James  L.,  now  living  in  Barn- 
stead, married  Eliza  Blake ;  Nancy  married 
Nathan  Aiken ;  Margaret  married  Samuel  G. 
Shackford  ;  Dorothy  married  Levi  C.  Scruton  ; 
Mary  Ann  married  Jeremiah  Hackett. 

Eli  H.  Foss,  who  was  born  July  16,  i8ig, 
married    in    1843    Mary   A.    Furber.  of    Alton. 


She  was  a  daughter  of  Edmond  Furber,  a  well- 
known  business  man  and  a  leader  in  church 
work,  who  lived  to  be  ninety-five  years  old.  At 
the  time  of  her  death  she  was  seventy-four 
years  of  age.  Eli  H.  Foss,  now  living  in  Barn- 
stead, learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  of  Asa 
Garland,  of  North  Barnstead,  and  followed  that 
business  in  Barnstead  for  fifty  years.  He 
moved  to  Barnstead  Centre  in  1844,  and  re- 
mained there  until  1852,  when  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  spent  five  years  in  mining.  In 
the  fall  of  1864  he  enlisted  in  the  Eighteenth 
New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  and  served  in  the 
Civil  War  until  its  close.  He  has  always  been 
a  Republican,  and  for  several  years  was  Town 
Treasurer.  His  children  are  :  Oscar,  Mary  Ann, 
Nellie  D.,  and  Estie.  Mary  Ann  married  John 
Chesley  ;  Nellie  D.  is  the  wife  of  Reuben  G. 
York  ;  and  Estie  is  married  to  Emery  Tuttle. 

Oscar  Foss  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  and  at  Pittsfield  Academy. 
He  attended  the  latter  institution  in  the  winter 
season,  spending  the  remainder  of  the  year  in 
his  father's  blacksmith  shop,  learning  the  trade. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  purchased  a  half- 
interest  in  a  mill  business  with  Nathaniel  Blais- 
dell.  At  the  end  of  a  year  he  bought  out  his 
partner,  and  has  since  carried  on  the  business 
alone,  receiving  the  greater  part  of  the  trade 
from  the  locality.  Not  confining  his  attention 
to  this  particular  mill,  however,  he  has  been 
quite  extensively  engaged  in  buying  lots,  putting 
up  temporary  mills,  and  preparing  the  lumber 
and  shipping  it  to  different  large  cities.  His 
first  trial  in  this  direction  was  the  purchase  of  a 
timber  lot  in  Northwood.  Since  then  the  busi- 
ness has  greatly  increased.  In  1895  and  1896 
he  had  five  mills  in  operation.  He  handles  large 
amounts  of  cord  wood  and  lumber,  has  now  in 
one  place  twelve  thousand  cords,  and  he  owns 
standing  timber  estimated  at  four  million  feet. 
When  he  started  in  the  mill  business,  he  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


493 


obliged  to  go  into  debt  for  the  most  of  his  con- 
tracts and  real  estate  jiurchases.  At  the  time 
the  Harnstead  shoe  shop  was  built,  he  was  one 
of  the  leading  promoters  of  the  enterprise  ;  and 
lie  is  now  the  owner  of  the  plant.  Whenever 
the  question  of  bringing  new  business  into  town 
arises,  he  is  the  one  chosen  to  confer  with  and 
to  influence  desirable  parties  to  locate  here.  He 
was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  getting  the 
railroad  and  telephone.  As  an  individual  he 
has  done  much  for  the  welfare  of  the  town. 
Mr.  Foss  has  from  the  first  been  a  stanch  Re- 
publican and  a  very  active  worker  for  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  party.  When  he  became  a  voter, 
the  vote  of  the  town  showed  ninety-nine  Re- 
publicans to  three  hundred  and  one  Democrats. 
For  the  first  time  since  then  the  Republicans 
had  a  majority  in  1896.  He  has  been  Town 
Treasurer,  and  in  1896  he  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  Supervisor. 

On  November  5,  1871,  Mr.  Foss  was  joined 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Sarah  U.  Young,  a 
daughter  of  Oliver  H.  Young,  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  Jonathan  Young,  who  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  in  Barnstead.  Oliver,  who 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  was  born  on  Beauty 
Hill,  but  afterward  removed  to  Barnstead 
Centre.  He  enlisted  in  the  Twelfth  New 
Ham])shire  Regiment,  and  served  three  years 
in  the  Civil  War.  As  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
he  writes  deeds  and  does  other  legal  duties. 


-pNENJAMIN  PARKER  PEIRCE,  of 
I  ''^A  Dover,  the  agent  of  the  Bellamy 
Mills  Company,  was  born  Septem- 
ber 9,  1825,  on  Silver  Street,  Dover.  He  is 
a  son  of  the  late  Andrew  Peirce,  who  was  a 
long-time  resident  of  this  city  and  its  first 
Mayor.  His  mother,  Abigail  (Osborne) 
Peirce,  had  thirteen  children;  namely,  Re- 
becca, Abigail,  Clarissa,  Mary,  Lydia,  Joseph, 


John,  Elizabeth,  Benjamin  P.,  Jacob  K., 
Mary,  Olive,  and  Harriett. 

After  availing  himself  of  the  advantages 
afforded  him  by  the  schools  of  his  native  city, 
he  completed  his  education  at  tiie  I'"ranklin 
Academy.  On  leaving  school,  he  entered  the 
jewelry  store  of  William  Kno.x,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  learning  the  watchmaker's  trade;  but, 
as  his  health  failed  after  two  years  of  this 
work,  he  was  obliged  to  give  it  up.  Going 
then  to  Boston,  he  was  employed  for  a  time  in 
the  piano  manufactory  of  Parkhurst  &  Town- 
send.  Here,  too,  his  health  again  failed  ;  and  he 
was  forced  to  seek  employment  that  would  keep 
him  in  the  open  air.  This  he  found  in  selling 
[lianos  for  the  firm,  at  which  he  continued  for  a 
year.  Afterward  he  was  engaged  for  three  years 
as  travelling  salesman  for  Thomas  H.  Dodge, 
a  manufacturer  of  agricultural  implements  at 
Worcester,  Mass.  Then  he  travelled  for  two 
years  in  the  interests  of  FAias.  Thomas,  a 
wholesale  dealer  in  groceries.  He  subse- 
quently sold  groceries  on  the  road  for  ten  years 
for  the  firm  of  Charles  McLaughlin  &  Co.,  of 
Portland,  Me.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Mr. 
Peirce  accepted  his  present  position,  that  of 
agent  for  the  Bellamy  Mills  Comjjany.  In 
this  capacity  he  has  entire  charge  of  the 
firm's  extensive  business.  This  comprises 
the  grinding  of  grain  and  feed  of  all  kinds 
and  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  Their  estab- 
lishments include  a  well-equipped  saw-mill. 
Understanding  his  business  thoroughly,  and 
being  a  prompt  and  agreeable  man,  and  fair 
and  upright  in  all  his  dealings,  Mr.  Peirce 
has  built  up  a  fine  business  in  this  local- 
ity. He  also  finds  time  to  carry  on  gen- 
eral farming  with  profit  on  his  snug  farm  of 
forty  acres. 

Mr.  Peirce  was  marrieu  May  23,  1847,  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Twombly,  who  was  born 
May  23,   1828,  at  Dover,  daughter  of   the   late 


494 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


William  and  Mary  (Ricker)  Twombly.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Peirce  have  had  four  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Mary  J.,  now  deceased;  William  H., 
living  in  Dover,  a  painter  for  Sawyer's 
Woollen  Mills;  Frederick  P.,  deceased;  Edith 
A.,  who  married  Edward  E.  Vinal,  and  lives  in 
Melrose,  Mass.  Mr.  Vinal  has  charge  of  the 
Wade  Read  Company's  wholesale  grain  busi- 
ness. Mr.  Peirce  has  always  been  an  active 
worker  in  the  Republican  ranks.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  State  legislature  in  the  years 
1861-62  and  1895-96,  and  he  was  again 
elected  in  1896  for  the  years  1896  and  1897. 
He  also  represented  Ward  Four  in  the  City 
Council  for  four  years,  being  President  of  the 
Board  for  half  of  that  time;  and  for  four 
years  he  was  Justice  of  the  Peace.  Mr.  Peirce 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  belonging 
to  Strafford  Lodge,  Belknap  Chapter,  and  to 
Orphans'  Council.  He  is  likewise  connected 
with  Dover  Grange,  and  Eastern  New  Hamp- 
shire Pomona,  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 


<^  »  ^> 


IVORY  H.  KELLEY,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  the  town  of  Madbury,  has  been 
a  lifelong  resident  of  the  homestead 
which  he  now  owns  and  occupies.  He  was 
born  there,  March  17,  1838,  son  of  William 
and  Farmelia  (Demeritt)  Kelley.  The  father, 
who  was  born  and  bred  in  Dover,  when  a  lad 
of  si.xteen  years,  shipped  as  a  sailor  on  a  mer- 
chant vessel,  and  thereafter  was  engaged  in 
seafaring  for  fourteen  years,  visiting  many 
foreign  ports.  He  subsequently  bought  the 
farm  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son  Ivory 
H.,  and  was  occupied  in  tilling  the  soil  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  March  12,  1870,  in 
the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  His  wife, 
Parmelia,  died  in  1877,  aged  eighty -eight 
years.  They  had  seven  children,  one  of  whom 
died  in  infancy.     The  others  were:  Sarah  F.  ; 


John;  Julia;  Abbie;  Ivory  H.  ;  and  George 
W.,  who  died  in  August,    1885. 

Ivory  H.  Kelley  received  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  his  native  town.  In  his 
boyhood  he  was  trained  to  the  business  of 
farming,  in  which  he  became  so  capable  that, 
as  soon  as  he  came  of  age,  his  father  kept  him 
at  home  to  assist  in  the  management  of  the 
place.  Mr.  Kelley  now  owns  the  entire  home- 
stead farm.  Since  he  came  into  possession  he 
has  enlarged  it  from  eighty  acres  to  two  hun- 
dred. He  has  managed  in  a  painstaking  man- 
ner, expending  all  of  his  energies  upon  its 
improvement,  so  that  it  is  now  one  of  the 
finest  estates  of  its  size  in  this  section  of  the 
county.  His  success  as  a  general  farmer  is 
recognized  by  all. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Kelley  with  Miss 
Martha  Pendexter,  daughter  of  Edward  and 
Martha  C.  (Stickney)  Pendexter,  of  Madbury, 
was  contracted  December  6,  1876.  Their 
three  children  are:  I'lorence,  Martha  S.,  and 
William  E.  Mr.  Kelley  is  quite  active  in 
the  political  field,  voting  with  and  supporting 
the  Republican  party;  and,  although  not  an 
aspirant  for  official  honors,  he  was  Town 
Treasurer  for  one  year  and  Town  Clerk  for 
three  years.  He  is  a  member  of  Mount 
Pleasant  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  V.,  of  Dover. 


ISRAEL  H.  LOCKE,  an  extensive  and 
thriving  agriculturist  of  Madbury,  Straf- 
ford County,  and  a  capable  business  man, 
was  born  March  9,  1829,  in  Barrington,  son 
of  Eben  Locke.  Mr.  Locke  is  of  pioneer  an- 
tecedents, being  a  direct  descendant  of  John 
Locke,  who  was  prominently  identified  with 
the  early  history  of  this  section  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  who  fell  a  victim  to  the  Indian's 
tomahawk  at  Rye  Beach,.  To  Eben  Locke 
and    his   wife,     Susan    Ham,    nine    sons    were 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


495 


born,  five  of  whom  attained  maturity;  iiamcl)-, 
Samuel,  Cliarles  D.,  Israel  II.,  Ira  W. ,  and 
William  It.  Of  these  sons,  only  Israel  II. 
and  Ira  W.  are  living. 

The  boyhood  of  Israel  11.  Locke,  until  he 
was  .seventeen  years  of  age,  was  largely  spent 
in  farm  work.  Since  then  he  has  had  h  varied 
experience  in  business,  resulting,  however,  in 
his  acc|uirement  of  a  fair  share  of  the  world's 
goods.  On  leaving  the  parental  roof,  he  went 
first  to  Ro.xbury,  Mass.  Later,  following  the 
advice  of  Horace  Greeley,  he  went  West. 
There  he  was  engaged  in  several  enterjjrises, 
at  one  time  being  manager  of  a  large  hotel  in 
Chicago.  He  afterward  became  interested  in 
stock-raising,  and  for  eleven  years  handled 
fast  horses,  several  of  which  made  good  records 
while  under  his  management.  In  1883 
Mr.  Locke  bought  his  present  farm  of  two 
hundred  acres.  On  this  property  he  has  since 
been  profitably  engaged  in  general  husbandry, 
being  successful  in  every  branch. 

Mr.  Locke  was  married  June  28,  1874,  to 
Miss  Annie  McCharles,  of  Middle  River. 
Two  children  were  born  of  the  union,  namely: 
Eben,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  and 
eight  months;  and  Annie  Locke.  Mrs. 
Locke  passed  away  April  25,  1883.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Locke  is  an  earnest  adherent  of  the 
Republican  party,  sustaining  the  principles  of 
that  organization  by  voice  and  vote. 


1p)T0SEA    FRANCIS    HAWKINS,    one 
\^\       of  Meredith's  successful  farmers,  was 

J-^  ^ born    in    this    town,    November    25, 

1833,  SO"  of  Francis  and  Polly  (Sturtevant) 
Hawkins.  His  grandfather,  Jnhn  Hawkins, 
was  born  in  Barnstead,  presumably  on  April 
7,  1744,  and  resided  for  many  years  in 
Barnstead,  N.H.  John  married  Lydia  Bunker, 
who   was   born    May    i,    1745,    and    with    her 


reared  eleven  children;  namely,  Stephen, 
Clement,  ICIijah,  Levey,  Hannah,  Kbenezer, 
Sally,  Comfort,  John,  William,  and  Francis. 
He  died  December  30,  1820;  and  his  wife 
died  in  November,    18 17. 

Francis  Hawkins,  born  in  Barnstead,  Janu- 
ary 8,  17S6,  became  widely  known  as  a  franier 
of  buildings;  and  he  did  a  great  deal  of  custom 
sawing  in  a  saw-mill  erected  by  himself. 
When  a  young  man  he  convertetl  a  tract  of 
wild  land  into  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  son. 
He  was  a  successful  business  man  and  farmer. 
Possessing  an  unusually  strong  constitution, 
he  framed  and  superintended  the  raising  of  a 
large  barn  in  New  Hampton  when  he  was 
eighty  years  old.  He  died  December  22, 
1879.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  His 
wife,  Polly,  whom  he  married  in  April,  1809, 
was  a  daughter  of  Hosea  Sturtevant,  of  Moul- 
tonboro,  N.H.  Hosea  Sturtevant,  born  F'eb- 
ruary  14,  1762,  was  one  of  the  eight  children 
of  his  parents'  family,  which  moved  from  Hali- 
fax, Mass.,  to  Squam  Neck,  now  Centre  Harbor 
Neck,  when  there  was  but  a  saw  and  grist 
mill  upon  the  site  of  Meredith  Village. 
Hosea  Sturtevant  served  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  during  which  he  was  for 
some  time  a  prisoner  in  New  York.  After 
his  discharge  from  the  service  he  returneil  to 
New  Hampshire,  and  engaged  in  clearing  land 
for  agricultural  purjioses.  By  his  energy 
and  perseverance  he  accumulated  considerable 
property.  He  died  April  20,  1850,  aged 
eighty-eight  years,  two  months,  and  six  days. 
In  early  life  he  united  with  the  P'ree  Baptist 
church,  but  later  he  became  a  Methodist;  and 
preachers  were  always  welcome  at  his  home. 
Mrs.  P'rancis  Hawkins  became  the  mother  of 
eight  children,  five  of  whom  grew  to  maturity. 
These  were:  Mahala  R.,  Laura  R.,  John  S., 
Sarah  S.,  and  Hosea  I*".  Mahala  R.  married 
Salmon   P^arrar;    and  John   S.    married   Eliza- 


49(5 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


beth  Lane,  and  died  in  Salem,  Ore.  The 
parents  were  members  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church. 

Hosea  Francis  Hawkins  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Meredith  and  at  the  New 
Hampton  Institute.  He  has  always  resided 
at  the  homestead.  The  estate  contains  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  land,  of  which 
thirty-five  acres  arc  under  cultivation.  He 
pays  especial  attention  to  the  raising  of  small 
fruits,  particularly  strawberries;  and  he  acts 
as  local  agent  for  Lamprey  &  Dickey,  marble 
workers  of  Laconia,  N.H. 

On  January  30,  1855,  Mr.  Hawkins  mar- 
ried for  his  first  wife  Sarah  A.  K.  Mudgett, 
daughter  of  William  Mudgett,  of  Bristol, 
N.H.  Mr.  Mudgett,  born  November  29, 
1786,  was  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Bristol,  and 
acted  as  a  Deacon  of  the  Free  Baptist  church 
for  many  years.  On  March  9,  181 5,  he  mar- 
ried Eunice  Huckins,  and  had  a  family  of 
seven  children;  namely,  Mary  M.  S.,  Hannah 
H.,  John  P.,  Calvin  H.,  Orinda  M.,  Laura 
L. ,  and  Sarah  A.  B.  The  first  Mrs.  Hawkins 
died  September  13,  1874,  having  been  the 
mother  of  five  children.  These  were :  Laura 
Ella,  now  the  wife  of  Fred  Rollins,  of  East 
Concord,  N.H.;  Arthur  Stanley,  who  died 
December  t6,  1880;  F"rank  Alliston,  now  of 
Lisbon,  N.H.  ;  Amy  Eunice,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  years;  and  Herman  Curtis. 
Mr.  Hawkins's  second  marriage  was  contracted 
with  Mary  Evinia  Homan,  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Charles  Homan,  a  Methodist  preacher. 
His  children  by  this  union  were:  Charles  H., 
a  resident  of  Boston;  and  Lyman  Smiley,  who 
died  October  27,  1879.  The  second  wife  died 
September  6,  1890;  and  on  August  22,  1891, 
Mr.  Hawkins  was  again  married  to  Elvira  J. 
Bemis,  daughter  of  Isaac  Bemis,  of  Littleton, 
N.H. 

In  politics  Mr.  Hawkins   is  a   Republican. 


He  is  connected  with  Winnepesaukee  Grange, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry.  On  uniting  with  the 
Free  Baptist  church  in  1856,  he  was  immedi- 
ately chosen  clerk  and  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school.  The  latter  position  he  ably 
filled  for  several  years.  He  is  now  acting  as 
Deacon  and  clerk  of  the  church  and  society. 


/STiToRGE  WASHINGTON  BURN- 
V  1^  I  HAM,  one  of  the  oldest  farmers  of 
Durham,  living  on  a  farm  that  has 
been  his  home  since  he  was  four  years  old, 
was  born  in  this  town,  May  4,  1822,  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Lydia  (Hodgson)  Burnham.  The 
Burnham  family  are  of  English  origin.  John 
Burnham,  the  father  of  Joseph,  was  born  on 
this  farm  about  the  year  1750.  Joseph,  on 
September  14,  1789,  was  also  born  there. 
Lydia  (Hodgson)  Burnham,  his  wife,  was  a 
native  of  Madbury,  born  in  1788.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Lavinia,  born  April  9,  18 16; 
John  L.  (deceased),  born  P'ebruary  6,  18 19, 
who  served  in  the  Union  army  during  the 
Rebellion;  George  W.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch ;  and  Sarah  A.,  whose  birth  occurred 
November  20,  1830.  Both  daughters  attend 
the  Congregational  church.  For  his  services 
as  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  the  father  took 
land  scrip,  which  he  sold  to  Dr.  Pray,  of 
Dover.  He  died  December  4,  1S67,  seventy- 
eight  years  of  age,  after  a  life  profitably 
spent  in  farming.  His  wife  died  in  1866, 
and  both  are  resting  in  the  family  cemetery. 

George  Washington  Burnham,  the  only  sur- 
viving son  of  his  parents,  came  to  this  farm 
with  the  family  when  he  was  four  years  old. 
Since  then  he  has  known  no  other  home.  He 
here  owns  about  eighty-five  acres  of  land.  Be- 
sides conducting  the  farm,  he  has  worked  at 
the  trade  of  carpenter  as  the  opportunity 
offered.        He    was    educated    in    the    common 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


497 


schools.  In  politicnl  views  he  has  always 
been  a  Republican.  The  first  man  drafted  in 
this  town  for  the  Civil  War,  lie  t)btaine(l  a  sub- 
stitute in  the  person  of  a  man  who  hatl  seen 
service,  by  a  paying  a  bounty  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  in  addition  to  two  hundred 
dollars  paid  by  the  government. 


EORGE  P.  DEMERITT,  a  farmer  of 
Durham,  Strafford  County,  N.H., 
was  born  in  Durham  village,  Sep- 
tember 15,  1842,  son  of  William  and  Frances 
(Wilson)  Demeritt.  His  parents  had  five 
other  children;  namely,  Wilson,  Morton, 
Fanny  E. ,  David  A.,  and  Frances  L. ,  all  of 
whom  have  passed  away.  William  Demeritt 
followed  farming.  He  was  also  for  a  good 
many  years  a  Baptist  preacher,  and  took  much 
interest  in  educational  matters,  the  building 
of  the  old  Durham  Academy  having  been 
largely  through  his  influence.  He  died  in 
1842,  at  fifty-four  years  of  age.  Frances 
Wilson  Demeritt  was  the  daughter  of  Elder 
Wilson,  of  Barnstead,  N.H.  She  died  May 
3,  1888. 

Owing  to  the  death  of  his  father  George  P. 
Demeritt  took  charge  of  the  home  farm  when 
quite  young.  He  received  a  good  district 
school  education.  Soon  after  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  War  he  enlisted,  on  August  22, 
1861,  in  Company  K  of  the  lileventh  New 
Hampshire  Regiment,  and  was  mustered  in  as 
a  [irivate  at  Concord  for  three  years.  The 
first  engagement  in  which  he  participated  was 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  Later  he  was  at 
Vicksburg,  Jackson,  Kno.wille,  the  battle  of 
the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  and  Cold  Har- 
bor, also  at  the  siege  of  Petersburg.  On  July 
25.  1863,  he  received  a  commission  as  Lieu- 
tenant. The  last  year  and  a  half  of  the  war 
he  served  with   General   Robert   B.    Potter   at 


Second  Division  Headquarters,  Ninth  Army 
Corjis. 

After  his  honorable  discharge,  June  5,  1865, 
at  Concord,  he  came  home,  remaining  until 
the  fall  of  that  year,  when  he  went  to  Dover; 
and  in  the  ensuing  spring  he  went  West, 
where  he  stayed  a  short  time.  Returning  to 
Dover,  he  was  employed  as  clerk  in  a  grocery 
for  five  years;  and  then  he  went  into  the  gro- 
cery business  for  himself,  continuing  in  trade 
for  si.\  years.  Directly  following  that  time, 
he  was  for  si.x  years  Ta.\  Collector  for  the  city 
of  Dover,  then  County  Commissioner  four 
years,  then  again  Ta.x  Collector.  He  has 
since  engaged  in  farming,  being  the  owner  of 
a  place  of  one  hundred  acres.  He  is  often 
employed  to  settle  estates. 

hi  political  views  and  affiliation  Mr.  De- 
meritt is  a  Republican.  For  thirty  years  he 
has  been  a  member  of  Strafford  Masonic  ]5hie 
Lodge.  He  also  belongs  to  Belknap  Chapter, 
R.  A.  M.,  and  St.  Paul's  Commandery,  K.  T. 

Mr.  Demeritt  has  been  twice  married,  first 
to  Miss  Augusta  Hersey,  second  to  Miss 
Frances  E.  Jasper,  by  whom  he  had  two  chil- 
dren —  Eugene  A.  and  Edith  A. 


~CJlIAS     C.    VARNEY,    a    well-to-do    and 
Jpl  progressive    agriculturist   of  Dover, 

was  born  in  Rochester,  N.  H.,  May 
28,  1835,  a  son  of  George  W.  Varnoy.  His 
grandfather,  Elias  Varney,  was  also  a  native 
of  this  county.  George  W.  Varney,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  the  town  of  Harrington, 
N.H.,  subsequently  settled  on  a  farm  in  the 
neighboring  town  of  Rochester,  and  was  there 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death 
in  1884.  By  the  first  of  his  two  marriages  he 
was  united  with  Sarah  A.  Hanson,  a  native 
of  Rochester.  She  bore  him  two  children, 
namely:    John    H.,    whose    death   occurred    in 


498 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


1890  in  California;  and  Elias  C,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  His  second  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Marion  Hodgon,  had  seven 
children  —  Daniel  W. ,  Sarah,  Christiana, 
Leonora,  Susan,  Mary  A.,  and  Emma. 

Elias  C.  Varney  received  a  common-school 
education.  When  a  lad  of  ten  years,  he  began 
working  for  the  neighboring  farmers  during 
the  spring  and  summer  sesasons  for  two  dollars 
a  month.  He  stayed  at  home  winters,  assisting 
in  the  chores  about  the  place,  and  attending 
the  district  school.  As  he  grew  in  years  and 
strength,  his  wages  were  increased,  and  his 
work  took  him  farther  from  home.  He  spent 
one  season  in  Orono,  Me.  The  year  after  at- 
taining his  majority,  having  by  prudence  and 
thrift  saved  a  large  part  of  his  earnings,  Mr. 
Varney  bought  a  farm  in  Somersworth,  this 
county,  which  he  managed  successfully  for  five 
years.  Going  then  to  Ro.xbury,  Mass.,  he  was 
employed  as  a  teamster  for  two  years.  After 
this  he  spent  two  years  on  his  farm  in  Somers- 
worth, and  then  returned  to  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  employed  as  a  teamster  for  an- 
other two  years.  He  now  purchased  horses 
and  other  equipments,  and  engaged  in  teaming 
in  Brighton  for  fifteen  years,  having  a  contract 
with  the  city  of  Boston.  In  1S78  he  pur- 
chased the  farm  where  he  now  lives,  and  at 
once  moved  his  family  here,  though  he  contin- 
ued his  work  in  Boston  until  18S4.  Since 
that  time  Mr.  Varney  has  given  his  entire 
time  to  the  care  of  his  home  interests,  and  has 
been  very  successful.  Besides  his  home  farm 
in  Dover,  which  contains  one  hundred  acres, 
he  owns  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres 
in  Somersworth  ;  a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres 
in  Ossipee;  three  houses  of  five  tenements 
each,  ta.xcd  for  over  eight  thousand  dollars,  in 
the  village  of  Somersworth;  a  house  in  Roch- 
ester valued  at  one  thousand  dollars;  and  a 
house  in  Beverly  valued  at  three  thousand  dol- 


lars. He  pays  especial  attention  to  his  dairy, 
keeping  a  fine  lot  of  cows,  and  raises  the 
cereals  and  vegetables  common  to  this  section 
of  New  England. 

In  January,  1857,  Mr.  Varney  married  Miss 
Sarah  E.  Moody,  of  Tamworth,  N.H.,  a 
daughter  of  Atcherson  and  Dolly  (Nickerson) 
Moody.  They  have  had  six  children,  namely: 
George  W.,  who  lives  in  Rochester;  Lizzie 
M.  ;  John  \V.  ;  Frank;  Elias;  and  Ellen,  who 
died  in  infancy.  In  politics  Mr.  Varney  is 
a  firm  supporter  of  the  principles  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party.  In  the  campaign  of  1896  he 
was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  office  of 
County  Commissioner.  A  man  of  resolute 
character,  industrious  and  energetic,  he  is 
much  respected  in  the  city. 


fs^AMES  RYAN,  Jr.,  Postmaster  of 
Dover,  Strafford  County,  N.H.,  and  a 
rising  young  lawyer,  was  born  and  bred 
in  this  city,  the  date  of  his  birth  being  April 
13,  i860.  His  father,  James  Ryan,  Sr. ,  was 
born  in  Kilkenny,  County  Kilkenny,  Ire- 
land, where  he  lived  until  twelve  years  old, 
when  he  came  with  his  jiarents  to  this  countr)'. 
Locating  in  Dover,  he  has  since  resided  here, 
being  now  a  hale  and  hearty  man  of  threescore 
and  ten  years.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Mary  Phelan,  was  also  born  in  Kilkenny, 
Ireland.  She  came  to  America  with  her  par- 
ents when  an  infant,  and  she  is  still  a  resi- 
dent of  Dover. 

James  Ryan,  Jr.,  acquired  his  general  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Dover  and  at 
the  Berwick  Academy,  where  he  made  excel- 
lent progress  in  his  studies.  Having  decided 
to  fit  himself  for  a  professional  career,  he  ap- 
plied himself  diligently  to  his  books,  and  in 
course  of  time  began  reading  law  in  the  ofifice 
of  John  Kivel,  of  this  place.      In  1S90  he  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


499 


admitted  t(i  the  Now  llaniiishirc  bar,  and, 
oiJCiiinj;  an  uffice  in  Dover,  at  once  entereil 
upon  his  professional  duties,  fie  met  with 
signal  success  from  the  start,  and  has  built  up 
practice  not  surpassed  by  that  of  any  other 
lawyer  of  his  age  in  the  same  length  of  time. 
In  his  political  views  Mr.  I-iyan  is  an  uncom- 
promising Democrat,  active  and  influential  in 
his  party.  On  April  30,  1894,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Postmaster  of  Dover,  in  which  posi- 
tion he  has  given  general  satisfaction.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Ryan  was  united  in  marriage  Septem- 
ber I,  1S91,  with  Miss  Jennie  M.  Goodwin, 
a  native  of  Dover,  and  a  daughter  of  Kdward 
and  Catherine  (Printy)  Goodwin.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ryan  are  the  parents  of  three  children  — 
Mary,  Daniel,  and  James. 


LBERT  GARLAND,  D.D.S.,  who  has 

a  large  dental  practice  in  Farmington, 
Strafford  County,  N.H.,  was  born 
August  I,  1851,  in  Barnstead  of  this  State,  a 
son  of  Isaac  Garland,  a  native  of  the  same 
place.  On  both  sides  he  is  of  English  ances- 
try, the  first  progenitor  of  whom  he  has  knowl- 
edge being  John  Garland,  an  early  settler  of 
Barrington,  Strafford  County.  The  next  in 
line  of  descent  was  John  Garland,  the  second, 
whose  son  Isaac,  born  in  Barrington,  was  the 
Doctor's  grandfather. 

Isaac  Garland,  born  October  19,  1802, 
father  of  Albert,  learned  the  trade  of  a  wool 
carder  in  his  early  days,  and  for  many  years 
worked  at  that  in  summers,  while  in  the 
winter  seasons  he  taught  school,  and  was 
a  teacher  of  some  note.  He  subsequently 
bought  a  farm  in  Barnstead,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  December  i,  18S4,  at  the  ven- 
erable age  of  eighty-two  years.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  intelligence  and  influence,  active 


in  local  matters,  and  one  of  the  leatlers  in  tiie 
Democratic  party.  lie  served  wisely  and  well 
as  Selectman  for  a  number  of  years,  and  for 
three  terms  represented  his  town  in  the  State 
legislature  at  Concord.  He  married  Mary  A. 
Rollins,  of  Barnstead, who  was  born  November 
2y,  1812,  and  died  August  24,  i<S95.  They 
had  one  child,  Albert,  the  special  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Dr.  Garland  also  counts  among  his  ancestors 
one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  his  great- 
great-grandfather,  Timothy  lunerson,  having 
been  Captain  of  a  company  of  men  during  that 
war.  The  father  of  Timothy,  still  another 
generation  removed,  held  the  following  com- 
mission from  the  captain-general  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  Hampshire:  — 

Samuel  Shute  Esq.  ;  Captain  General  and  Gov- 
ernour  in  chief,  in  and  over  His  Majesty's 
Province  of  New  Hampshire  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  Vice  Admiral  of  the  same. 

To  Captain  Samuel  Emerson     Greeting. 

By  Virtue  of  the  Power  and  Authority,  in 
and  by  His  Majesty's  Royal  Commission  to 
Me  Granted,  to  be  Captain  General,  &c. ,  over 
this  His  Majesty's  Province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire aforesaid.  I  do  (by  these  Presents,)  Re- 
poseing  especial  trust  and  confidence,  in  your 
Loyalty,  Courage  and  good  Conduct,  Consti- 
tute and  Appoint  you  the  said  Sam'  Emerson 
to  be  Capt.  of  a  foot  Company  of  the  north 
side  of  Oyster  river  in  Dover  in  y  rcgment 
whereof  Rich"'  Waldron  Esq  is  Colonel. 
You  are  therefore  carefully  and  diligently,  to 
discharge  the  Duty  of  a  Captain  in  Leading 
and  Ordering  and  Exercising,  said  Company 
in  Arms,  both  Inferior  Officers  and  Soldiers, 
and  to  keep  them  in  good  Order  and  Disci- 
pline, hereby  commanding  them  to  Obey  you, 
as  their  Captain  and  yourself  to  observe  and 
follow  such  Orders  and  Instructions,  as  you 
shall  from  time  to  time  receive  from  Me,  or 
the  Commander  in  Chief  for  the  time  being, 
or  other  your  Superior  Officers,  for  His  Maj- 
esty's   Service,    according    to    Military    Rules 


500 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  Discipline;   Pursuant  to  the  Trust  reposed 
in  you 

Given  under  my  Hand  and  Seal  at  Ports- 
mouth the  twelfth  day  of  I\lay  in  the  fourth 
Year  of  His  Majesty  King  George  His  Reign. 

Annoque  Domini  1718 
By  His  Excellency's 

Command  Sam^   Shute. 

Rich"  Walpkon,  Clercon. 

William  Babb,  another  great-great-grand- 
father of  Dr.  Garland,  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  as  Lieutenant  of  a  company  of 
men  from  Barrington,  N.  H.  His  son,  Richard 
Babb,  was  impressed  into  his  majesty's  ser- 
vice; but  he  refused  to  act,  claiming  exemption 
on  the  grounds  of  his  rights  as  an  American 
citizen,  and  was  confined  in  Dartmoor  Prison, 
England.  He  succeeded  in  proving  his  claim, 
and  was  liberated,  but  died  on  the  very  day  on 
which  he  was  to  have  sailed  for  America. 

Albert  Garland  received  his  early  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  Barnstead  and  the 
Austin  Academy  of  Strafford.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  began  working  at  the  shoemaker's 
trade,  but  a  year  later  gave  that  up,  and,  going 
to  Lawrence,  Mass.,  was  engaged  in  the  cloth- 
ing business  for  a  year.  He  then  turned  his 
attention  to  the  study  of  dentistr}-,  for  which 
he  had  a  natural  taste,  and  entered  the  office 
of  Dr.  D.  T.  Porter,  of  that  city.  He  con- 
tinued with  him  three  years,  obtaining  a 
practical  knowledge  and  experience  of  his  pro- 
fession. Soon  afterward  he  opened  an  office 
at  South  Berwick,  Me.,  where  he  remained 
a  year;  and  he  was  subsequently  settled  in 
Rochester  for  four  years.  In  1 879  Dr.  Gar- 
land located  in  Farmington,  where  he  has  built 
up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  and 
obtained  a  fine  reputation  for  professional  skill 
as  a  dentist. 

Dr.  Garland  married,  September  15,  1875, 
Mrs.    Sarah    E.    Cortland,   of    Rochester,    who 


lived  but  a  short  time  after  marriage.  On 
December  6,  1878,  he  married  Miss  Laura  E. 
Gates,  of  Rochester,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren, namel)' :  Eva  Maud,  born  October  6, 
1880;  Effie  Mary,  born  March  20,  1882;  and 
Albert  Raymond,  born  March  16,   1884. 

Since  coming  to  Farmington  Dr.  Garland  has 
been  actively  identified  with  the  best  interests 
of  the  town.  For  two  years  he  filled  the  office 
of  Selectman,  and  for  the  past  four  years  he 
has  been  a  member  and  is  now  Chairman  of 
the  Board  of  F]ducation.  He  is  also  one  of 
the  Directors  of  the  Public  Library.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  New  Hampshire  National 
Guards  for  three  years,  serving  as  Lieutenant 
in  Company  F,  Second  Regiment.  He  be- 
longs to  the  New  Hampshire  Dental  Society 
and  to  the  North-eastern  Dental  Society  of 
New  England. 

He  is  a  member  of  Humane  Lodge,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.,  and  of  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter;  also 
of  F'raternal  Chapter,  Flastern  Star;  of  the 
Chocorua  Tribe  of  Red  Men  of  Farmington, 
in  which  he  has  held  all  the  chairs;  and  of 
the  Lodge  of  the  Daughters  of  Pocahontas. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  Society 
of  Farmington,  and  attends  that  church  regu- 
larly with  his  family. 


♦^•^» 


EV.    ELISHA     HARRIS    WRIGHT, 


pastor    of    the    Christian    churches   at 
^^  Hill    Village  and    Hill   Centre,  and 

now  residing  in  Sanbornton,  was  born  in  Fos- 
ter, R.I.,  October  22,  1835,  son  of  Benjamin, 
Jr.,  and  Lucy  (Wells)  Wright.  He  is  a 
lineal  descendant  of  one  of  the  earliest  Colo- 
nial settlers  of  New  England.  Henry  Wright, 
the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  this  country,  came 
to  Dorchester,  Mass.,  about  1634,  where  he 
settled  and  became  a  member  of  the  First 
Church.      In    1643    he    moved    to    Providence, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


SOI 


K.I.,  obtaining  one  of  the  original  home  h>l.s 
by  purchase  from  John  Throkniorton.  lie 
probably  lost  his  life  in  King  Philip's  War. 
He  was  a  sturdy  man  of  strong  religious  prin- 
ciples anil  a  follower  of  Roger  Williams, 
whose  nearest  neighbor  he  was  in  Providence 
from  1643  to  1676.  Ilis  son  Samuel,  born  in 
Dorchester,  February  14,  1637,  died  in  Provi- 
dence, R.I.,  February  26,  1716.  l^enjamin 
Wright,  son  of  Samuel,  died  at  Smithficld, 
K.I.,  April  22,  1754.  The  Christian  name  of 
his  wife  was  Lydia.  Their  son,  Zephaniah, 
born  in  Providence,  K.I.,  September  6,  1727, 
married  October  20,  1754,  and  died  October 
13,  1788.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  followed  his 
occupation  at  different  times  in  Western 
Rhode  Island  and  in  Connecticut.  The  next 
in  line  of  descent  was  Benjamin,  grandfather 
of  the  Rev.  P21isha  H.  Wright,  who  was  born 
in  Scituate,  R.  I.,  April  6,  1770,  and  died 
October  22,  1858.  He  was  a  farmer,  and 
lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Foster, 
R.I.  He  married  Deborah  Tripp,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Tripp,  of  Foster,  September  29, 
1799,  and  they  had  twelve  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Laton,  William  W.,  Esther,  Sarah, 
Benjamin,  Clara,  Elisha,  Gardner,  Seth, 
Albin,  Olive,  and  James. 

Benjamin  Wright,  Jr.,  was  born  January  4, 
r8o7,  at  Foster,  R.I.  He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools,  and  after  his  marriage 
bought  a  farm  in  that  town,  where  he  lived 
during  the  rest  of  his  life.  For  many  years  he 
had  charge  of  a  saw-mill,  and  gave  n)0St  of  his 
time  to  its  management.  In  his  early  days 
he  was  a  Democrat,  but  about  the  time  of  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  he  joined  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  was  very  prominent  in  the 
section  of  the  country  around  P'oster,  and  was 
held  in  universal  esteem.  By  his  wife,  Lucy 
Wells  Wright,  he  had  the  following  named 
children  :  James   M.  ;  Elisha   Harris,  the  sub- 


ject of  this  sketcli  ;  Albert  Henry;  the  Rev. 
Otis  O. ,  an  ]{piscopal  clergyman  of  Sandy 
Hook,  Conn.;  Wheaton ;  Allen;  and  Asahel 
J.,  of  Hartford. 

The  Rev.  Elisha  II.  W'l  ight  received  his 
early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  l-'ostcr 
and  in  Smithville  .Seminary,  Nortii  Scituate, 
R.I.  Later  he  jnirsucd  a  course  of  study  in 
language  with  a  private  instructor.  In  1 S60, 
at  Liberty  Hill,  in  the  town  (jf  Lebanon, 
Conn.,  he  was  ordained  as  jiastor  of  the 
Christian  church  in  that  place,  and  preached 
there  for  three  years.  P'roni  there  he  went  to 
Bristol,  R.I.  ;  but  in  little  more  than  a  year  he 
was  obliged  to  leave  on  account  of  the  ill 
health  of  his  wife.  He  was  then  in  Hampton 
and  in  Windham,  Conn.,  and  later  returned  to 
his  first  charge  at  Liberty  Hill.  In  1S70  Mr. 
Wright  came  to  Hill,  N.  H.  After  preaching 
for  two  and  one-half  years,  he  removed  to 
Manchester,  where  he  remained  for  four  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Hill, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  about  two  years, 
when  he  was  supplying  pulpits  in  other  places, 
he  has  been  there  since.  He  has  made  his 
home  in  .Sanbornton  since  1S76.  In  politics 
Mr.  Wright  is  a  Republican.  He  is  greatly 
interestetl  in  the  temperance  movement.  He 
holds  a  prominent  place  in  the  various  agri- 
cultural societies,  is  a  charter  member  of  the 
Pemguesset  Grange,  and  was  its  first  Master. 
He  has  been  chaplain  of  the  State  Grange,  and 
is  P.  C.  T.  of  Hill  Lodge,  No.  51,  of  (iood 
Templars. 

Mr.  Wright  married  for  his  first  wife  Aniie 
J.,  daughter  of  Daniel  Weaver,  of  Coventry, 
R.I.  ;  and  three  children  were  born  to  them  — 
Lydia  A.,  Daniel  R.,  and  Alfred  C.  His  sec- 
ond wife  was  Miss  Ambrosia  R.  Morrcl, 
daughter  of  Folsom  Morrel,  who  married  Rn- 
silla,  daughter  of  Bradbury  Morrison,  and  his 
wife,  y\nnice  Sanborn.      Mr.  Morrcl  was  one  of 


S02 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  citizens  in 
his  town,  and  did  an  extensive  business  in 
lumber.  His  father  was  Nathaniel,  who 
served  when  quite  young  in  the  Revolutionary 
War.  Nathaniel  was  the  earliest  settler  of 
the  family  in  Sanbornton.  He  located  in  the 
western  part  of  the  town  on  the  banks  of  the 
Peniigewasset,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Folsom,  where  Mrs.  Wright  was  born  and  the 
family  now  reside.  By  his  second  marriage 
Mr.  Wright  has  one  son,  Robert  M.,  who 
graduated  from  the  Franklin  High  School  in 
1896,  and  is  now  studying  at  the  New  Hamp- 
shire State  College  at  Durham.  Mrs.  Wright 
is  a  graduate  of  New  Hampton  Institution, 
and  is  an  able  assistant  in  her  husband's  work. 
Mr.  Wright  has  served  for  seven  years  on  the 
School  Board,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in 
Ijringing  about  the  change  in  the  management 
from  the  old  district-school  system  to  the  town 
system,  as  now  required  by  law. 

Mr.  Wright's  oldest  brother,  James  M. 
Wright,  is  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island.  He  has  represented 
his  town  in  the  State  legislature  for  eight  or 
ten  years,  and  has  been  State  Senator  for  sev- 
eral terms.  He  was  the  messenger  who  car- 
ried the  electoral  vote  of  Rhode  Island  to 
Washington  when  Garfield  was  elected.  He 
has  had  unusual  success  in  raising  campaign 
funds,  and  is  recognized  by  both  political 
parties  as  a  thoroughly  incorruptible  man. 
He  is  one  of  the  Commissioners  on  Shell 
Fisheries  for  Rhode  Island.  Another  brother 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright,  Asahel  J.  Wright,  of 
Hartford,  was  for  some  years  a  school  teacher. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  temperance  work, 
and  this  brought  him  in  contact  with  politics. 
His  friends  in  Killingly  nominated  him  for 
Representative  to  the  Connecticut  legislature, 
and  he  was  elected  without  any  personal  effort 
on  Ills  part.      Shortly  after  his  term   of  office 


expired,  he  was  chosen  Clerk  of  the  State 
Board  of  Education,  a  position  he  now  holds. 
One  of  his  first  acts  was  the  compilation  of  the 
school  laws  of  the  State.  He  is  recognized  as 
most  efficient  in  his  department,  and  is  one  uf 
the  prominent  educators  of  the  country. 


YgTiRAM   H.   BARKER,  a  keen,  progres- 
r=T|       si\'e,  and  enterprising  business  man  of 

J-^  V. ^  Farmington,  Strafford  County,  N.H., 

was  born  in  this  town,  December  2,  1S51,  a  son 
of  Hiram  and  Maria  (Hayes)  Barker.  He  is 
of  English  ancestry,  and  his  progenitors  settled 
in  New  Hampshire  at  an  early  day.  His  grand- 
father, John  Barker,  was  born  July  28,  1762, 
and  died  in  New  Durham,  July  9,  1830. 

Hiram  Barker  was  born  December  21,  1S15, 
in  Alton,  Belknap  County,  this  State,  but  soon 
after  reaching  manhood  came  to  Farmington, 
where  he  resided  until  his  demise,  March  26, 
18S7,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years,  three 
months,  and  five  days.  He  worked  on  the 
home  farm  until  he  was  si.xteen  years  old.  Al- 
though his  educational  advantages  were  limited, 
yet  the  indomitable  energy  that  characterized 
him  through  life,  and  laid  the  foundations  for 
his  successful  business  career,  enabled  him  to 
obtain  a  thoroughly  practical  education.  From 
1 83 1  to  1834  he  was  engaged  in  clerking  and 
peddling.  From  1836  until  1880  he  was  in 
trade  in  Farmington,  and  was  also  extensively 
occupied  by  a  real  estate  and  lumber  business, 
owning  large  tracts  of  land  in  Nebraska,  and 
having  real  estate  interests  in  Iowa,  Kansas, 
and  Minnesota,  and  in  the  city  of  Chicago.  He 
was  the  President  of  the  Farmington  State 
Bank  during  the  fifteen  years  of  its  existence. 
He  was  a  zealous  supporter  of  the  principles  of 
the  Democratic  party  and  a  leader  in  the  man- 
agement of  local  affairs,  having  held  nearly  all 
the  offices  within  the  gift  of  his  fellow-townsmen. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


503 


He  was  at  different  times  Moderator,  Town 
Clerk,  Selectman,  Assessor,  and  Treasurer. 
He  ser\eil  as  Representative  to  the  State  legis- 
lature for  two  terms,  having  been  a  member  of 
that  body  at  the  time  of  the  memorable  railway 
accident  at  Laconia,  N.H.  ;  and  he  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  in 
1850-51,  serving  on  the  Judiciary  Committee. 
He  married  Miss  Maria  Hayes,  of  New  Durham  ; 
and  of  their  se\'en  children  four  died  in  infanc)', 
and  one  daughter,  Martha  C,  in  1S58.  The 
others  are  :  Clara,  wife  of  Charles  H.  Berry,  of 
Farmington  ;  and  Hiram  II.,  the  subject  of  this 
biographical  sketch.  The  record  of  Hiram 
Barker  is  one  of  prosperity  and  great  financial 
success.  His  integrity  of  character,  sagacity, 
and  ability  enabled  him  to  overcome  the  adverse 
circumstances  of  his  early  life.  He  began  a 
poor  boy,  but  died  a  millionaire. 

Hiram  H.  Barker  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Farmington  and  at  the  academy 
at  Wolfboro.  On  attaining  his  majority  he 
established  himself  in  business  in  company  with 
J.  F.  Hall,  becoming  senior  member  of  the  firm 
of  Barker  &  Hall,  dealers  in  groceries  and  cloth- 
ing. Three  years  later  his  father  purchased  the 
store,  and  Mr.  Barker  continued  its  management 
until  1880.  In  that  year  he  entered  his  father's 
office  as  a  clerk,  and  since  his  father's  death  has 
succeeded  to  the  entire  business,  making  a 
specialty  of  dealing  in  Western  real  estate,  in 
which  he  has  many  large  transactions. 

Mr.  Barker  was  married  October  12,  1872,  to 
Miss  EWa.  M.  Peavey,  daughter  of  Robert  K.  and 
Mary  A.  (Beals)  Peavey,  of  this  town,  and  they 
have  become  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
namely:  Charles  B.,  born  March  23,  1874; 
Willie  I'".,  born  November  16,  1877  ;  Hiram 
K.,  born  December  7,  1878;  Maria  H.,  born 
October  4,  1881,  and  died  November  24,  1882  ; 
Ella  May,  born  June  5,  1884;  Louis  H.,  born 
October  29,    1886;  and  Eda  I-".,  born  March  5, 


1890.  Mr,  Barker  is  a  .strong  Democrat  in 
politics,  and  in  the  years  1889  and  1S90  he  was 
a  Representative  to  the  legislature  in  Concord. 
In  1892  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic 
Convention  in  Chicago.  In  1896  lie  deprecated 
the  nomination  of  Bryan,  and  the  aimouncement 
of  the  free  silver  platform  so  strongly  that  he 
voted  for  McKinley.  He  is  liberal  in  his  re- 
ligious views  and  a  generous  contributor  toward 
the  sujiport  of  the  Congregational  church,  which 
he  and  his  famil)-  attend. 


f^OHN  HOWE  BERRY,  an  extensive 
dairy  farmer  of  New  Ham])ton,  and 
Chairman  of  the  ]5oard  of  Selectmen 
of  this  town,  was  born  in  Ilolderncss,  N.H., 
May  10,  1836,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Nanc)' 
(Howe)  Berry.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Dor- 
chester, N.H.,  born  Jmie  22,  1792.  Jonathan 
Berry  was  reared  upon  the  home  farm,  where 
he  remained  until  he  was  eighteen  years  old. 
F"or  the  succeeding  four  or  five  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  various  occujiations  in  Boston.  After 
his  marriage  he  bought  a  farm  in  Holderne.ss, 
where  the  rest  of  his  life  was  passed.  He  died 
October  25,  1867.  In  early  life  he  was  a 
Democrat,  but  later  joined  the  Republican 
party.  His  wife,  Nancy  Howe  Berry,  was 
born  August  6,  1797,  a  daughter  of  Ivbenezcr 
Howe,  of  New  HamiHon,  in  which  town  her 
marriage  ceremony  took  place.  Her  father  had 
a  great  local  reputation  for  his  physical  strenglli 
and  agility.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jonathan  Berrjf  were 
the  parents  of  fifteen  children,  namely  :  De.xter  ; 
Mary  Jane  ;  Lavinia  ;  Parker  ;  George  ;  Electa  ; 
Persis  P.;  Melissa;  Saj-ah  :  Asa;  Horace  W.  ; 
John  H.,  the  subject  <if  this  sketch  ;  Jeanette  ; 
Charles  H.  ;  and  Napoleon  B.  All  arc  now  liv- 
ing except  four,  namely  :  De.xter  ;  Lavinia,  who 
was  the  wife  of  Reuben  Grant  of  Boston  ; 
George;  and  Asa.     Mary  Jane  married  James 


504 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Gardner,  of  Methuen,  Mass.  ;  Electa  became 
Mrs.  Robinson,  and  resides  in  Baltimore  ;  I'ersis 
r.  resides  in  Lawrence,  Mass.;  Melissa  married 
Horace  P.  Dudley,  of  Laconia  ;  Sarah  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  Jackson,  of  Methuen,  Mass. ;  Horace 
W.  resides  in  Boston  ;  Jeanette  is  the  wife  of 
Simeon  D.  Rollins,  and  resides  in  Minneapolis, 
Minn.;  Charles  H.  is  a  resident  of  North  Adams, 
Mass.  ;  and  Napoleon  B.  lives  in  New  York  City. 
Mrs.  Jonathan  Berry  was  a  member  of  the  Free 
Baptist  church,     She  died  December  17,  1856. 

John  Howe  Berry  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools,  and  resided  at  home  until  his  seven- 
teenth year.  He  then  went  to  Boston,  where 
he  obtained  employment  in  a  restaurant  on 
School  Street.  He  was  later  engaged  in  other 
occupations,  and  remained  in  the  New  England 
metropolis  about  ten  years.  Returning  to  the 
homestead,  he  assisted  in  its  management  until 
1 868,  when  he  bought  a  farm  near  Little  Squam 
Lake,  where  he  resided  four  and  a  half  years. 
Subsequently  selling  that  property,  he  purchased 
his  present  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  and  has 
since  devoted  his  attention  to  general  farming 
and  dairying.  He  raises  an  average  of  nine 
hundred  bushels  of  corn  annually,  keeps  twenty- 
five  head  of  cattle,  a  large  flock  of  hens,  and  has 
the  finest  hennery  in  this  vicinity.  He  ships 
large  quantities  of  eggs  to  Lowell,  Mass.  ;  and 
his  annual  product  of  two  tons  of  butter  finds 
ready  sale  in  Lakeport  and  Laconia. 

On  May  10,  1861,  Mr.  Berry  was  joined  in 
marriage  with  Clara  Buzzell,  daughter  of  Jonas 
Buzzell,  of  Meredith.  Of  the  ten  children  born 
of  this  union  si.\  grew  to  maturity,  namely : 
Arvia  Leslie,  who  is  no  longer  living ;  Dora 
Lorraine;  Edward  H.  ;  Ada  J.  ;  John  Garfield  ; 
and  Clara  Louise. 

In  politics  Mr.  Berry  is  a  Republican.  He  is 
now  serving  his  fourth  year  as  Selectman,  being 
Chairman  of  the  Board.  He  and  Mrs.  Berry  are 
members  of  the  Free  Baptist  church. 


(sTTLBERT  DEMERITT,  a  prominent, 
f^  popular,  and  progressive  business  man 
/»ls\^  ^  of  Strafford  County,  was  born  Au- 
gust 26,  185  I,  in  the  town  of  Durham,  on  the 
farm  where  he  now  resides,  this  estate  having 
been  likewise  the  birthplace  of  his  father, 
Stephen  Demeritt,  and  of  his  grandfather, 
Israel  Demeritt.  He  has  a  distinguished  pio- 
neer ancestry,  tracing  his  descent  in  a  direct 
line  from  Major  John  Demeritt,  whose  son 
Samuel,  born  in  Madbury,  was  the  first  of  the 
name  to  claim  ownership  of  the  present  home- 
stead. He  settled  here  when  the  country  was 
in  its  original  wildness,  and,  clearing  a  space 
in  the  timber,  erected  a  log  cabin,  in  which 
he  lived  for  a  time.  The  present  house,  the 
fourth  that  has  been  erected  on  this  site,  was 
built  many  years  afterward,  in  1808,  by  Israel 
Demeritt,  who  succeeded  his  father  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  farm. 

Stephen  Demeritt,  youngest  child  of  Israel 
and  the  next  to  inherit  the  ancestral  acres,  was 
here  engaged  in  general  farming  during  his 
life,  dying  on  the  homestead,  January  27, 
1867.  For  many  years  he  occupied  a  fore- 
most position  among  the  influential  citizens 
of  Durham,  faithfully  performing  his  official 
duties  as  Selectman  and  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  also  twice  representing  the  town  in 
the  lower  branch  of  the  legislature,  and  twice 
serving  as  Senator,  having  been  elected  on 
the  Democratic  ticket.  He  married  Nancy, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Chesley,  of  Durham,  and 
they  became  the  parents  of  six  children, 
namely:  Martha  J.,  now  the  wife  of  Edwin  V. 
Gage,  of  Bradford,  Mass.  ;  Charles  J.,  who 
died  August  23,  1881;  Edwin,  a  proprietor 
and  principal  of  the  Chauncy  Hall  School,  Bos- 
ton, Mass. ;  Frank,  who  died  in  South  Amer- 
ica, while  in  charge  of  a  mining  expedition ; 
Albert,  the  special  subject  of  this  biographi- 
cal    sketch;    and    Grace    A.,    wife    of    John 


AMOS    L.    ROLLINS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


507 


Dcmlea,  an  attorney-at-law  in  Haverhill, 
Mass.  Tiie  mother  ilicd  August  23,  1894,  her 
remains  being  de|)()sited  beside  her  husbanil's 
in  the  family  cemetery  on  the  farm. 

Although  but  fifteen  years  oUl  at  the  time 
of  his  father's  death,  Albert  Demeritt  at  once 
assumed  the  management  of  the  home  farm, 
which  he  is  still  carrying  on.  It  contains  two 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land.  The  extent 
of  his  agricultural  operations  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  he  harvested  in  the  year 
1896,  among  his  other  abundant  crops,  one 
thousand  barrels  of  apples  and  one  hundred 
tons  of  hay.  Mr.  Demeritt,  however,  does  not 
confine  himself  to  a  single  sphere  of  activity. 
Besides  being  a  practical  farmer  he  is  a  senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Demeritt  &  Burnham, 
extensive  dealers  in  lumber,  widely  and  favor- 
ably known. 

Mr.  Demeritt  was  married  June  2,  1886,  to 
Miss  l-;iizabeth  P.,  daughter  of  Deacon  John 
E.  Thompson,  of  Durham.  Their  household 
has  been  enlivened  by  the  birth  of  three 
children;  namely,  Katharine,  Margaret,  and 
Stephen. 

Mr.  Demeritt  is  held  in  high  estimation  by 
his  fellow-townsmen  as  one  whose  judgments 
are  sound,  decisions  just,  and  his  integrity 
unquestioned.  He  has  served  wisely  and  to 
the  satisfaction  of  his  constituents  in  various 
public  capacities,  having  been  Prudential 
School  Committee;  Moderator,  irrespective 
of  party,  eleven  times;  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Education  from  1885  until  1895;  of 
the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  nine  years; 
one  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  New 
Hampshire  College  from  1892  until  1895,  a 
member  of  the  Finance  and  the  Real  Instate 
Committee  of  said  Board,  and  with  Lucien 
Thompson,  of  Durham,  and  Joseph  Kidder,  of 
Manchester,  a  special  committee  to  revise  the 
by-laws    of    the    college.      He   was  elected    to 


the  Constitutional  Convention  iiekl  in  Con- 
conl  a  few  ye;irs  ago,  having  a  unanimous  elec- 
tion, a  personal  compliment  of  which  he  may 
well  be  proud,  as  the  district  is  strongly  Re- 
publican, while  Mr.  Demeritt  affiliates  with 
the  Democratic  party. 

Mr.  Demeritt  has  also  been  a  Trustee  of  the 
Durham  Library  Association  and  of  the  Pub- 
lic Library  since  their  organization.  He  has 
also  been  a  Trustee  of  Durham  Congregational 
Society,  and  member  of  the  grange  for  a  num- 
ber of  years. 


ON.  AMOS  L.  ROLLINS,  one  <.f 
he  most  inHuential  citizens  of 
Alton,  Belknap  County,  N.H.,  for 
many  years  extremely  active  in  i)ublic  affairs, 
and  now  serving  as  County  Commissioner  and 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  was  born  in  this  town, 
December  11,  1826,  the  only  son  of  Ichabod 
and  -Sally  (Walker)  Rollins.  His  grandfather 
on  the  palertial  side  was  Ichabod  Rollins,  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Alton.  Coming  here 
from  Newington,  he  secured  a  tract  of  fifty 
acres  of  woodland,  and  at  once  went  to  work 
felling  the  trees,  and  then  burning  the  brush 
and  stum])s  to  prepare  the  ground  for  |)lough- 
ing  and  planting.  In  the  absence  of  roads 
he  and  his  neighbors  travelled  from  place  to 
place  by  marked  trees.  His  first  house  was  a 
log  cabin,  but  he  later  built  a  frame  dwelling. 
U])on  the  site  of  this  old  residence  the  resi- 
dence of  Amos  L.  Rollins  now  stands.  Icha- 
bod Rollins  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  his 
wife,  formerly  Sally  Leighton,  living  to  be 
eighty-five  years  of  age.  They  had  six  chil- 
dren—  Joshua,  Stephen,  Ichabod,  Jr.,  Charles, 
Amos,  and  Sally. 

Joshua  resided  in  Alton  f(jr  many  years,  and 
finally  settled  in  firantliam,  where  he  made 
his  home  throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life. 


SoS 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


He  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade.  Stephen  Rol- 
lins died  at  Alton,  leaving  a  large  family. 
Amos  died  young.  Charles,  after  a  few  years 
spent  in  Boston,  returned  to  his  native  place, 
and  became  active  in  politics.  He  was  Se- 
lectman, County  Treasurer,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  Democrats  in  town. 

Ichabod  Rollins,  Jr.,  remained  on  the 
homestead,  and  cared  for  his  parents.  He 
enlarged  the  farm  resources,  and  made  great 
improvements  on  the  premises.  His  health 
began  to  fail  in  early  middl.e  life,  and  he  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-five.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  Free  Baptist  church.  His 
wife,  Sally,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Susan 
Walker,  survived  him,  living  to  be  si.xty-two 
years  of  age.  Their  two  children  were  Amos 
h.  and  Emily  A.  The  latter  married  Seth  R. 
Emerson. 

Amos  L.  was  but  nineteen  years  of  age 
when  his  father  died,  yet  it  seemed  to  devolve 
upon  him  to  take  up  the  duties  of  home  and 
farm.  His  education  had  been  that  of  the 
common  schools  of  the  place.  Inheriting 
from  his  father  and  grandfather  a  taste  for 
agricultural  pursuits,  he  took  up  the  work 
with  a  determination  to  succeed.  Finding  it 
necessary  to  have  more  tools  for  farming,  he 
travelled  to  Dover  with  his  o.\  team,  a  three 
days'  journey.  His  perseverance  and  pluck 
were  rewarded.  By  severe  toil  he  was  able  to 
keep  the  homestead  and  place  the  farm  on  a 
paying  basis. 

He  was  destined,  however,  for  a  public 
career.  In  1854  he  was  elected  Town  Clerk, 
and  since  that  time  he  has  held  all  the  offices 
in  the  gift  of  the  town.  He  was  Selectman  for 
twenty-nine  years,  and  was  Chairman  of  the 
Board  in  war  time  and  for  a  few  years  after, 
working  incessantly  to  bring  about  the  pay- 
ment of  the  town's  war  debt  of  si.xty-two  thou- 
sand dollars.     When   he   left    the  Board,    the 


debt  had  been  paid,  and  the  town  treasury  con- 
tained twelve  hundred  dollars.  He  was  Mod- 
erator of  town  meetings  for  twenty-eight 
years  in  succession ;  Town  Treasurer  seven- 
teen years ;  for  twenty  years  Treasurer  of 
Alton's  Five  Cent  Savings  Bank;  County 
Commissioner  three  years;  Representative  in 
the  State  legislature  four  years,  serving  on 
many  different  committees,  such  as  the  Bank- 
ing Committee,  Redistricting,  and  on  Unfin- 
ished Business.  He  was  in  the  State  Senate, 
and  served  while  there  on  v^arious  committees. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  in  1876.  For  many  years  Mr. 
Rollins  has  been  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and 
in  this  capacity  his  legal  duties  have  been 
many  and  arduous.  In  1880  and  1890  he  was 
appointed  Census  Enumerator  for  Alton;  and 
in  1893  he  was  chosen  Police  Judge,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  until  after  his  election  to 
the  Senate  in  1894.  He  has  been  one  of  the 
most  prominent  Directors  of  the  Lake  Shore 
Railroad.  Though  early  in  life  Amos  Rol- 
lins was  a  Democrat,  the  last  Democratic 
Presidential  candidate  that  he  voted  for  was 
Stephen  A.  Douglas. 

December  25,  1851,  he  married  Sarah  E., 
daughter  of  Nehemiah  Kimball,  of  Alton. 
They  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  Mr. 
Rollins  has  had  his  full  share  of  the  sorrows 
of  this  world.  Within  two  weeks'  time  in  the 
spring  of  1867  he  lost  his  mother  and  two 
sons,  in  1871  his  wife  died,  and  in  1875  his 
son  Clarence.  The  daughter  Grace  married 
Mr.  F"red  Taber,  and  by  him  had  two  children. 
She  survived  him,  and  married,  second,  Ben- 
jamin Berry.  The  eldest  daughter,  Emily, 
married  Edwin  W.  Francis,  of  Manchester. 
Mr.  Rollins  remarried  January  14,  1S72,  his 
second  wife  being  Permelia  A.  Pendergast, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Pendergast,  of  Barnstead, 
N.H. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


509 


Though  liis  public  thitics  have  often  called 
him  away,  Mr.  Rollins  has  always  ke])t  up  the 
old  home  of  his  forefathers.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  an<.l  also  of  W'ini- 
piseogee  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  which  he  has 
held  the  office  of  Secretary.  He  delivered 
the  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  new  town 
hall  of  Alton,  May  3,  1894.  A  man  re- 
spected for  his  foresight  and  keen  judgment 
in  legal  matters,  Mr.  Rollins  is  possessed  of  a 
disposition  that  has  made  for  him  many 
friends.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church,  and  has  been  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday-school  for  several  years. 


/^TeORGE  W.  EMERSON,  D.D.S., 
\  f5F  who  after  a  most  successful  profes- 
sional career  is  spending  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days  in  quiet  enjoyment  in 
Barnstead,  is  a  native  of  this  town,  born  Octo- 
ber 25,  1823,  and  a  son  of  Solomon  and  Abi- 
gail (Young)  F^merson.  Captain  Jonathan 
Emerson,  his  grandfather,  who  is  believed  to 
have  been  the  first  of  his  ancestors  to  come  to 
Barnstead,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Solomon  Emerson,  who  was  born  in  l^arn- 
stead  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  son, 
George  W. ,  took  up  farming  at  an  early  age, 
and  afterward  was  extensively  and  profitably 
engaged  in  that  occupation.  His  life  was 
spent  in  Barnstead,  where  he  died  in  1868,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  When  the  tem- 
perance movement  was  started  in  this  section, 
he  was  one  of  the  first  to  give  it  his  support 
and  to  sign  the  pledge.  Plis  marriage  with 
Abigail  Young  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of 
eleven  children,  seven  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters; namely,  Thomas,  Abigail,  Sarah,  Solo- 
mon, Deborah,  I'aul,  Jefferson  and  George 
Washington  (twins),  Nancy,  James,  and  Jack- 
son.     Thomas,    the   first-born,    who    lived   and 


died  in  Barnstead.  left  a  widow  and  two  chil- 
tlren.  Abigail  antl  Solomon  died  young. 
Sarah  nuirried  Jeremiah  IClkins,  of  Laconia, 
and  tlied  in  1858.  Her  husiiand  died  soon 
alter,  leaving  two  children.  Deborah  mar- 
ried, and  died  in  the  year  following,  leaving 
an  only  child,  who  lived  until  1892.  I'aul, 
now  deceased,  never  married.  Jefferson,  now 
living  in  Barnstead,  married  Vienna  Cilley, 
who  died  leaving  him  with  four  children. 
Nancy  and  her  husbantl,  Henry  Ward,  have 
both  passed  away.  James,  who  died  about  the 
year  1891,  left  a  small  family.  Jackson,  now 
deceased,  married  Laura  Hoyt,  who  survives 
him.  Their  two  daughters  died  previous  to 
his  death. 

In  many  respects  the  life  of  George  Wash- 
ington Emerson  has  been  a  notable  one.  The 
will  power,  energy,  and  perseverance  that 
have  characterized  it  are  most  worthy  of  emu- 
lation;  and  his  success  is  an  encouraging  ex- 
ample to  the  aspiring.  When  quite  young  he 
left  liome  to  take  uji  the  study  of  dentistry. 
He  first  pursued  it  in  Washington,  D. C., 
under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Robert  Arthur  for 
two  years.  Later  he  was  under  other  instruc- 
tors, and  he  attended  a  course  of  medical  lect- 
ures in  that  city.  In  1852  he  entered  the 
College  of  Dental  Surgery  in  Philadelphia, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  following 
year.  While  at  the  dental  college  his  finances 
were  so  limited  that  he  lived  in  a  dingy 
garret  on  corn  meal  gruel,  bought  and  prepared 
by  himself.  Though  so  pinched  by  want  and 
with  the  odds  all  seemingly  against  him,  he 
persevered,  and  at  the  comjiletion  of  his  course 
bore  off  the  first  honors  of  his  class.  He  at 
once  set  up  in  practice  in  Glassboro,  N.J., 
where  he  remained  eighteen  months.  Then 
he  went  to  Griffin,  Ga.,  practising  there  with 
good  success  until  1S59,  when  he  located  in 
Macon,    Ga.       He    had    been    in    business    at 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Macon  until  1S73,  a  period  of  fourteen  years, 
when  on  account  of  failing  health  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  town,  which  has  since 
been  his  home.  Very  skilful  in  his  profes- 
sion, he  has  made  a  reputation  that  is  seldom 
equalled.  At  Macon  he  erected  a  building, 
devoted  to  dental  purposes  anil  planned  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  own  ideas,  that  stands  to-day 
as  a  monument  to  his  superior  taste  and  far- 
seeing  judgment.  In  the  opinion  of  many, 
among  them  Dr.  Perine,  of  New  York,  this 
building  is  one  of  the  finest  and  most  conven- 
iently appointed  in  the  United  States.  Before 
his  retirement,  Dr.  Emerson  had  acquired  suffi- 
cient means  to  enable  him  to  spend  the  remain- 
der of  his  life  in  comfortable  leisure.  Outside 
his  profession  he  has  been  a  Director  of  the 
Suncook  Valley  Railroad  for  twenty  years. 

Since  his  return  to  his  New  Hampshire 
home  he  has  taken  much  interest  in  town  mat- 
ters, contributing  liberally  toward  whatever 
would  benefit  the  town.  The  citizens  of  Barn- 
stead  have  shown  their  appreciation  by  elect- 
ing him  on  a  Democratic  nomination  to  the 
State  legislature,  President  of  the  Agricult- 
ural Society,  also  as  Town  Treasurer,  where 
he  served  on  the  Committee  on  County  Farms. 
He  was  also  elected  Town  Treasurer  and  the 
President  of  the  Agricultural  Society.  His 
home  is  the  old  P^merson  farm,  the  care  of 
which  he  leaves  principally  to  those  hired  for 
the  purpose.  His  time  is  largely  given  to 
medical  study  and  research.  F"or  the  past 
ten  years  he  has  been  occupied  in  ascertaining 
the  "Part  played  by  Pllth  in  the  Causation  of 
Disease,"  upon  which  he  has  collected  facts 
from  the  most  reliable  works,  covering  the  in- 
terval between  the  time  of  Moses  and  the  pres- 
ent day.  "The  p-Qod  and  Products  of  Patho- 
genic Bacteria"  are  also  being  investigated  by 
him.  In  his  researches  he  is  much  aided  by 
his  library  of  valuable  works. 


KALPH     HOUGH,    an    es 
dent  of   Dover,  who  now 
_^  from   the  active    cares 


esteemed  resi- 
now  lives  retired 
;s  of  business, 
enjoying  a  well-earned  leisure  after  many  years 
of  busy  labor,  was  born  August  15,  1824, 
in  Manchester,  England,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Catherine  (Keniston)  Hough.  His  parents 
emigrated  with  their  family  to  this  country  in 
1826,  crossing  the  ocean  in  a  sailing-vessel, 
and  making  the  voyage  in  nine  weeks.  They 
located  in  Dover,  where  the  father  secured 
work  in  the  Cocheco  Print  Works,  and  after- 
ward died.  The  children  of  the  family  com- 
prised eight  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Ralph  Hough  received  a  common-school  ed- 
ucation. At  the  early  age  of  fourteen  he 
began  a  five  years'  apprenticeship  in  the 
Cocheco  Print  Works.  He  was  paid  at  the 
rate  of  fifty  cents  a  day  during  the  first  year, 
si.xty-two  cents  during  the  ne.xt  two  years,  and 
a  further  increase  during  the  succeeding  two 
years.  He  subsequently  worked  as  a  journey- 
man for  eighteen  years,  becoming  fully  ac- 
quainted with  the  details  of  the  entire  busi- 
ness, and  receiving  the  appointment  of  fore- 
man of  the  print  room.  This  last  position  he 
afterward  held  for  twenty-two  years,  perform- 
ing the  duties  with  noteworthy  fidelity,  and 
winning  the  confidence  and  good  will  both  of 
his  employers  and  of  those  under  his  super- 
vision. His  record  of  forty-five  consecutive 
years  of  service  with  this  company  is  assuredly 
an  incident  of  his  life  of  which  he  may  be 
justifiably  proud.  He  has  been  a  Director  of 
the  Cocheco  National  Bank  for  the  past  twelve 
years. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Hough  is  a  stanch 
Republican,  and  has  served  his  constituents  in 
various  important  offices.  In  1884  he  was  a 
member  of  the  State  legislature;  in  18S5  and 
1886  he  served  as  County  Commissioner, 
being  Chairman  of  the  Board ;  and  he  was  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S" 


member  of  the  Common  Council  of  Dover 
from  i.*^59  iinlil  1866,  representing  Ward 
Two,  which  is  now  called  Ward  One.  For 
several  years  l\Ir.  Hough  was  a  Lieutenant  in 
the  Strafford  Zouaves,  a  popular  military 
organization.  He  is  a  member  of  Blue  Lodge, 
F.  &  A.  M.;  and  of  Wechohamet  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.   F.,  of  Dover. 

Mr.  Hough  was  united  in  marriage,  F"ebru- 
ary  4,  1849,  with  Miss  Sarah  Delany,  a  fair 
English  girl,  whose  birthplace  was  but  a  few 
miles  distant  from  his  own.  She  came  to  this 
country  in  1825  with  her  parents,  John  and 
Margaret  (Farrell)  Delany,  who  settled  in 
Dover.  Four  children  have  blessed  the  union 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hough,  namely:  Helle,  who 
married  Otis  E.  Waitt,  and  lives  in  Maiden, 
Mass. ;  Harry,  who  is  the  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  of  the  Cocheco  Savings  Hank; 
Alice;  and  Harrison.  Religiously,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hough  are  members  of  the  Episcopal 
church. 


M 


WIGHT  E.  EDGERLY,  an  enter- 
jnising  and  prominent  business  man 
of  Farmington,  Strafford  County, 
N.  H.,  was  born  December  24,  1S53,  in  Gil- 
nianton,  Belknap  County,  which  was  also  the 
birthplace  of  his  father,  Owen  J.  Edgerly,  and 
of  his  grandfather,  Daniel  Edgerly. 

Owen  J.  Edgerly  was  a  tanner  and  currier 
for  twelve  or  fifteen  years  in  the  earlier  part 
of  his  life,  but  devoted  himself  later  entirely 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  was  the  owner  of 
a  farm  in  Gilmanton.  He  was  one  of  the  ac- 
tive citizens  of  the  place,  and,  as  a  member  of 
the  School  Board  for  several  years,  rendered 
valuable  aid  to  the  town.  In  politics  he  was 
a  straightforward  Democrat.  He  married 
Miss  Mary  E.  Robinson,  of  Meredith,  N.H., 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  children, 
namely:      Dvvight     E.,    the     subject     of     this 


sketch;    and    l-'red,    who   died    at    tiie    age    of 
twenty-nine  years. 

Dwight  K.  Edgerly  received  a  practical 
common-school  education,  remaining  an  in- 
mate of  the  parental  household  until  1872, 
when  he  came  to  Farmington  as  a  clerk  in  the 
store  of  C.  W.  Wingate,  for  whom  lie  worked 
about  five  years.  Having  then  acquired  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  business,  he  bought 
out  his  employer,  and  from  that  time  until  he 
was  burned  out  in  the  disastrous  conflagration 
of  January,  1892,  carried  on  a  flourishing  busi- 
ness as  a  grocer.  The  following  year  he  es- 
tablished himself  as  a  dry-goods  merchant, 
opening  a  well-stocked  store,  which  he  con- 
ducted successfully  three  and  one-half  years, 
building  up  a  large  and  lucrative  trade.  In 
July,  1896,  receiving  an  advantageous  offer, 
he  sold  out  his  entire  business,  and  has  not 
embarked  in  any  other.  In  1895  Mr.  b'.dgerly 
erected  the  Edgerly  Block  on  the  site  of  his 
store  that  was  burned,  the  present  handsome 
building  being  twenty-seven  feet  by  seventy 
feet,  three  stories  in  height,  with  the  first  floor 
devoted  to  dry  goods  and  the  second  to  fur- 
niture. He  is  a  man  of  good  financial  and 
executive  ability,  keen  and  far-sighted,  and 
possesses  in  a  marked  degree  that  stability  of 
purpose  that  is  bound  to  bring  success.  He  is 
a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  leader  in  his 
party,  taking  an  active  part  in  local  affairs. 
For  two  years  he  was  engineer  of  the  fire  ile- 
partment,  in  1885  and  18S6  he  was  a  Repre- 
sentative to  the  Cieneral  Court  at  Concord,  he 
was  County  Commissioner  from  18S8  till 
1892,  in  1893  he  was  Chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Selectmen,  and  in  1894  he  served  as  Town 
Treasurer. 

On  Septemer  15,  1877,  Mr.  Edgerly  married 
Miss  Myra  L.  Price,  of  Gilmanton,  daughter 
of  .Xmos  R.  and  Sarah  Price.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of   Woodbine    Lodge,  I.  0-  O.    !•". ,  and  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Mad  River  Encampment ;  belongs  to  Harmony 
Lodge,  K.  of  P.  ;  and  to  Security  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Honor.  He  and  his  wife  attend 
the  Congregational  church,  toward  the  support 
of  which  they  contribute. 


J"^ANIEL  CHESLEY,  a  typical  repre- 
=^  sentative  of  the  enterprising  busi- 
^  ness  men  of  Strafford  County,  is 
engaged  in  contracting,  quarrying,  and  farm- 
intf  in   the   town   of    Durham.      He   was    born 

O 

October  ii,  1859,  in  Madbury,  where  his 
father,  also  named  Daniel,  was  then  living. 
He  is  a  representative  of  the  sixth  generation 
in  this  country,  the  line  having  been  traced 
from  Philip  Chesley,  who  came  here  from 
Jersey  Island,  England,  as  follows:  Colonel 
Samuel  Chesley,  born  17 18,  died  1800;  Philip, 
born  I7S4,  died  1S25;  Paul,  born  1782,  died 
1838;  Daniel,  born  181 2,  died  1886;  and 
Daniel,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Philip, 
the  emigrant  ancestor,  was  one  of  three 
brothers  who  came  together  to  this  country; 
and  all  settled  in  this  vicinity. 

Daniel  Chesley,  Sr.,  father  of  the  present 
Daniel,  removed  with  his  family  from  Mad- 
bury to  Durham  in  1861,  and  located  on  the 
old  Chesley  homestead  on  which  Philip,  first 
of  the  family  in  America,  had  settled  in  the 
early  days.  To  him  and  his  wife,  Margery  S. 
(Woodman),  ten  children  were  born,  four  sons 
and  six  daughters. 

Daniel  Chesley  has  passed  most  of  his  life 
on  the  old  ancestral  farm,  having  been  but  two 
years  of  age  when  his  parents  came  here. 
After  completing  his  studies  at  the  district 
school,  he  attended  the  Franklin  Academy  of 
Dover,  and  from  that  time  until  attaining  his 
majority  worked  on  the  farm  with  his  father, 
becoming  familiar  with  agricultural  pursuits. 
Conceiving  then  the  idea  of  making  a  practical 


use  of  the  large  amount  of  granite  on  the 
estate,  he  established  quarries  on  the  farm, 
and  in  their  development  has  met  with  a  suc- 
cess far  exceeding  his  expectations.  He  is 
likewise  engaged  in  taking  contracts  for  and 
building  bridges  in  different  sections  of  the 
county,  his  work  in  this  direction  being  most 
satisfactory  and  durable. 

Mr.  Chesley  is  a  man  of  energy  and  ability, 
public-spirited  and  progressive,  ever  ready  to 
aid  all  projects  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the 
town  or  county.  He  has  ably  served  in  many 
responsible  positions,  having  been  elected  to 
nearly  all  of  the  town  offices.  He  served  one 
term  of  three  years  as  Selectman,  being  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  the  last  year,  and  is  now 
holding  that  important  office  for  the  second 
time.  In  1896  he  was  elected  as  a  Represent- 
ative to  the  State  legislature  on  the  Republi- 
can ticket,  with  which  he  has  uniformly  voted 
since  attaining  the  right  to  cast  a  ballot.  He 
is  a  member  of  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge, 
I.  O.   O.  F.,'of  Dover,  and  of  the  local  grange 


EREMIAH  WOODMAN,  formerly  a 
stirring  business  man  of  Alton, 
Belknap  County,  was  born  in  this 
town  in  18 14,  son  of  Samuel  and  Betsey 
(Lougee)  Woodman.  His  grandfather,  Jere- 
miah Woodman,  who  was  of  English  descent, 
came  to  Alton  among  the  early  settlers,  and 
acquired  a  tract  of  wild  land  situated  three 
miles  north-west  of  the  village.  He  cleared 
a  farm,  and  resided  here  for  the  rest  of  his 
life.  He  wedded  Mary  Buzzell,  who  lived  to 
the  advanced  age  of  ninety-nine  years.  She 
was  the  mother  of  several  children,  among 
whom  were:  Hannah,  Sally,  Samuel,  and 
Levi.  Hannah  married  Nathan  Brown;  Sally 
married  a  Mr.  Jeremiah  Veasey,  of  New  Hamp- 
ton,   and    lived     in     Lakeport,     N.H.:    Levi 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


5'3 


married,  and  was  engaged  in  1, inning  in  Alton 
at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Samuel  Woodman,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  succeeded  to  the  farm  adjoining 
the  homestead,  which  was  the  property  of  his 
brother  Levi;  and  the  active  period  of  his  life 
was  spent  in  tilling  the  soil.  He  was  also 
engaged  in  operating  a  mill,  and  was  energetic 
and  prosperous.  He  died  April  8,  1864,  aged 
sixty-nine  years.  His  wife,  Betsey  Lougee 
Wooilman,  who  was  a  native  of  Barnstead, 
N.II.,  became  the  mother  of  nine  children, 
namely:  Jeremiah,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Mary;  Ann;  Louise;  Lafayette;  Adeline; 
Luella;  Simeon;  and  Fanny.  Mary  wedded 
Robert  Corning,  of  Concord,  N.  H.  ;  Ann 
married  Charles  Lougee,  of  Alton;  Louise  be- 
came Mrs.  Ira  Philbrick;  Adeline  married 
John  Grace;  Luella  became  the  wife  of  An- 
drew Varney,  of  this  town;  Simeon  is  living  in 
Dakota;  Fanny  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years.  Mrs.  Samuel  Woodman  died  March 
28,   1 88 1,  aged  eighty-one  years. 

Jeremiah  Woodman  acquired  a  common- 
school  education,  and  was  for  a  time  employed 
in  his  father's  mill.  For  three  years  he  was 
associated  with  his  brother  Lafayette  in  oper- 
ating mills,  and  after  this  partnership  was  dis- 
solved he  carried  on  business  alone.  He  was 
an  able  and  enterprising  man,  and  was  largely 
instrumental  in  developing  the  industries  of 
this  section.  He  was  an  active  supporter  of 
the  Democratic  party.  He  was  connected 
witii  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  in  his  relig- 
ious views  was  an  Adventist.  His  death 
occurred  August  6,  1S88,  when  he  was  seventy- 
four  years  old;  and  his  loss  was  a  severe  blow 
to  the  business  interests  of  this  locality. 

He  married  Mary  P.  Clough,  who  was  born 
in  Gilmanton,  N.H.,  February  26,  1818.  She 
has  been  the  mother  of  nine  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Mary   Frances,    Ellen   A.,    Charles   O., 


Lizzie  S.  (first),  Lizzie  S.,  (second),  Georgi- 
anna,  James  B..  Ida  J  ,  and  Hattie  B.  l-ilien 
married  Albert  J.  Canney,  by  whom  she  had  two 
chiKlren:  Hattie,  who  died  in  infancy;  and 
Anna  B.,  who  lived  to  maturity,  married  Fred 
Flagg,  of  Boston,  and  now  resides  in  New 
York  State.  Mrs.  Canney  died  while  still  a 
young  woman.  Lizzie  (first),  Ida,  and  Hattie, 
all  died  in  infancy.  Lizzie  (second)  is  the 
wife  of  Wesley  J.  Dodge.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Mrs.  Mabel  W.  Fo.x,  who  resides  in 
Raymond,  and  a  grandchild,  Helen  Pauline 
Fo.x.  Mary  F.  married  William  If.  Bailey, 
of  Manchester,  N.H.,  and  resides  in  Raymond. 
Charles  O.  married  Laura  Stockbridge,  of 
Alton,  and  lives  in  Iowa.  They  have  four 
children  — Hattie  M.,  Mabel,  Harry  J.,  and 
Winfield  S.,  of  whom  the  three  elder  ones 
were  born  in  Alton.  Georgianna  married  Al- 
bert Mills,  and  lives  in  Raymond.  James 
Woodman  is  now  managing  the  farm,  and  is 
also  engaged  in  operating  mills  to  some  ex- 
tent. He  makes  a  specialty  of  dairy  farming, 
and  sells  a  large  quantity  of  milk.  He  mar- 
ried Ellen  Heath,  daughter  of  Samuel  Heath, 
of  Raymond,  and  has  one  daughter,  Grace. 
Mrs.  Jeremiah  Woodman  still  survives,  and  is 
resitling  at  the  homestead.  She  is  remarkably 
well  [^reserved,  and  possesses  the  vigor  and 
activity  of  a  much  younger  person. 


'c^YONATHAN  G.  DOW,  who  was  for 
years  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Laconia, 
born  December  4,  181S,  in  that  part  of 
the  town  then  included  in  Meredith,  was  a  son 
of  Ezekiel  and  Sally  (Hill)  Dow.  Jabez 
Dow,  the  father  of  Ezekiel.  removed  from 
Kensington  to  Decrfield,  N.H.,  and  there 
lived  until  his  death  in  1808,  when  over  sixty 
years  ukl.  ICnlisting  from  New  Hampshire, 
he    served    in    the    Revolutionary    War    three 


S»4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


years,  during  which  he  endured  much  priva- 
tion. Mis  widow  subsequently  received  a 
pension  from  the  government.  He  had  three 
children  —  Lydia,  Sally,  and  Ezekiel.  Sally 
married  Sewall  Dearborn,  and  lived  in  Deer- 
ficUl.  Lydia,  who  was  born  in  1777,  died  in 
icS70,  over  ninety  years  of  age. 

Ezekiel,  born  in  Kensington,  removed  with 
his  parents  to  Deerfiekl.  He  subsequently 
settled  in  Meredith,  taking  up  his  residence 
in  that  portion  of  the  town  now  known  as 
Laconia.  His  chief  occupations  were  farming 
and  surveying.  He  attended  the  Congrega- 
tional church,  of  which  his  wife  was  a  member; 
and  he  died  in  1849,  '"'g^cl  sixty -four  years. 
Mrs.  Ezekiel  Dow,  who  was  a  native  of  North- 
wood,  N.H.,  bore  him  two  sons  —  Lorenzo  W. 
and  Jonathan.  The  former  married  Susan 
Morrison,  of  Sanbornton,  N.H.,  and  is  now 
living  in  Somerville,  Mass.,  where  he  is  profit- 
ably engaged  in  the  twofold  occupation  of  a 
farmer  and  real  estate  dealer,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  North  Cambridge  Baptist  Church.  Of 
the  five  children  born  to  him  four  are  living; 
namely,  F"annie  S.,  Henry  W. ,  Emma  S. ,  and 
Walter  A.  Willie  M.,  the  twin  brother  of 
Walter  A,,  died  when  five  years  of  age;  Henry 
W.  married  Lizzie  Nichols,  and  is  engaged  in 
farming  in  Somerville,  Mass.  ;  Emma  S.  is  the 
wife  of  Winnie  S.  Snow,  a  hardware  dealer  in 
West  Somerville;  Walter  A.  married  Stella 
Griffin,  of  Cambridge,  and  is  now  in  the  hard- 
ware business;  Fannie  S.  has  always  lived  at 
home. 

Jonathan  G.  Dow  by  industry  and  good 
management  acquired  a  competence  at  farm- 
ing. He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  repre- 
sented this  town  for  a  period  in  the  New 
Hampshire  legislature,  and  served  acceptably 
as  Selectman  for  a  number  of  years.  His 
death  occurred  July  9,  1895.  On  August  20, 
1854,  he  and  Mary  M.  Tilton  were  united   in 


marriage.  She  was  born  in  Dcerfield,  N.H., 
a  daughter  of  Elbridge  and  Melinda  (Dear- 
born) Tilton,  and  grand-daughter  of  Ebenezer 
Tilton.  The  latter  followed  the  trade  of 
house  carpenter.  Her  maternal  grandparents, 
Sewall  and  Sally  Dearborn,  had  five  children, 
namely:  Melinda,  born  in  1S02;  Samuel; 
Joseph;  Mary;  and  Edward.  Mary,  who 
died  aged  nineteen  years,  and  Edward,  who 
died  in  childhood,  vvere  buried  in  one  grave; 
Samuel,  who  married  Lucy  Currier,  carried  on 
the  homestead  farm;  Joseph  J.  followed  the 
hardware  business  in  liJangor,  Me.,  until 
his  health  failed,  and  then  returned  to  the 
shoe  business  in  Deerfiekl,  where  he  died. 
He  was  Republican  State  Senator  from  Deer- 
fiekl for  two  years.  He  married  Sally  Jen- 
ness,  daughter  of  a  farmer,  and  a  sister  of  John 
Jenness,  a  railroad  man.  Elbridge  Tilton 
served  two  years  in  the  New  Hampshire  legis- 
lature, to  which  he  was  elected  on  the  Demo- 
cratic nomination.  Elbridge  and  Melinda 
Tilton  had  four  children  —  Sevvell  D.,  Eben 
W. ,  Mary  M.,  and  Sally  A.  Sewell  D.,  who 
died  in  1891  at  Raymond,  N.H.,  served  in  the 
Civil  War  as  Captain  of  Company  B,  Eleventh 
New  Hampshire  Regiment,  under  Colonel  W. 
Harriman.  He  was  County  Commissioner  for 
a  time,  and  also  served  as  Selectman.  Eben 
VV.,  who  resides  on  the  homestead  in  Deer- 
fiekl, is  now  a  widower,  and  has  one  son, 
Frank.  He  was  successively  married  to  Bet- 
sey French  and  Jane  Hall.  Sally  A.  married 
Moses  R.  Currier,  of  Manchester,  N.H. 
Mary  M.,  now  the  widow  of  the  late  Jonathan 
G.  Dow,  completed  her  education  at  a  private 
academy  for  young  ladies  in  Bangor,  Me.,  after 
which  she  taught  in  Deerfiekl  for  three  years. 
Her  daughter,  Myra  E.,  who  was  an  invalid 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  died  in  1893,  also 
taught  school  for  some  time.  Her  son, 
Charles  E.,    lived    but    two    years    and    three 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


S'S 


months.  ^Attor  the  death  of  Mr.  Dow  she 
moved  from  the  homestead,  and  has  since  re- 
sided in  Laconia. 


OliN  F.  HALL,  a  leading  merchant  of 
I'armington,  Strafford  County,  N.ll., 
was  born  November  27,  1851,  in  Harn- 
stead  of  this  State,  which  was  also  the  birth- 
place of  his  father,  George  Hall,  and  of  his 
grandfather,  Solomon  Hall.  The  family  is  of 
English  descent. 

George  Hall,  the  father  of  John  1'".,  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  Barnstead  for  the  greater 
part  of  his  life,  which  ended  September,  1S80, 
in  the  sevent}'-fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a 
man  of  solid  worth,  greatly  respected  by  all  who 
knew  him  for  his  upright  and  manly  character. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  but  took  no 
active  part  in  local  affairs.  He  and  his  wife, 
Sally  Drew  Hall,  of  Alton,  N.H.,  reared  three 
children,  namely :  George  L.,  of  Barnstead  ; 
Lottie,  wife  of  Samuel  Chapman  ;  and  John  F., 
the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch. 

John  F.  Hall  acquired  his  early  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  Barnstead,  afterward  com- 
pleting his  studies  in  the  Pittsfield  Academy, 
which  he  left  when  about  seventeen  years  old. 
He  then  began  his  mercantile  career  as  a  clerk 
in  the  grocery  store  of  a  Rochester  merchant, 
remaining  there  a  few  months.  Coming  to 
Farmington  in  1868,  he  worked  for  Barker  & 
Cook  about  si.x  years,  when  on  account  of  ill 
health  he  was  forced  to  resign  his  jiosition  and 
return  to  his  old  home  to  recuperate  on  the 
farm.  In  1876  he  established  himself  in  busi- 
ness in  Farmington. 

After  two  years  he  received  into  partnership 
Mr.  John  Canney,  to  whom  he  sold  out  his  inter- 
est two  years  later.  In  1882  Mr.  Hall  bought 
out  the  firm  of  Nute  Brothers  ;  and  he  has  since 
carried  on  a  very  successful  mercantile  business. 


having  a  large  trade  in  the  town  and  tlie  sur- 
rounding country.  In  1896  he  purchased  tlie 
Pearl  building  on  Main  Street ;  and,  having  en- 
tirely remodelled  it,  he  has  now  one  of  tiie  finest 
and  best  stocked  stores  in  this  locality. 

In  politics  Mr.  Hall  is  a  steadfast  Democrat. 
He  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  local  affairs, 
serving  in  various  township  offices,  including 
that  of  Supervisor,  which  he  filled  two  years  ; 
Selectman,  an  office  to  which  he  was  elected  in 
18S2  and  18S3,  and  again  in  1892  and  1S93, 
having  been  Chairman  of  the  Board  for  the  last 
term  ;  as  Treasurer ;  and  as  Moderator  of  the 
town  meeting,  a  position  in  which  he  has  served 
several  years,  and  to  whicli  he  was  elected  for 
the  years  1896  and  1897. 

At  this  election  of  1896  the  town  gave  a  Re- 
publican majority  for  President  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  votes.  Yet  Mr.  Hall  was  personally  so 
po]nilar  that,  though  a  Democrat,  he  was  elected 
Moderator  by  a  majority  of  about  twenty-five 
votes  over  his  opponent.  Mr.  Hall  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature  for  1885-87.  Twice  he 
has  accepted  the  nomination  for  State  Senator. 
Both  times  he  had  a  i>lurality  vote  ;  but  the 
third  ticket,  though  it  received  few  votes,  was 
sufficient  to  prevent  him  from  reaching  a  de- 
cided majority.  A  recount  before  the  Secretary 
of  State  showeil  that  he  hatl  received,  in  fact,  a 
majority  of  votes  cast  ;  but  the  contested  election 
was  brought  before  a  Republican  House,  and  he 
was  not  allowed  to  take  his  seat. 

Mr.  Hall  is  connected  with  several  of  the 
secret  organizations  of  ]*"armington,  being  a 
member  of  Fraternal  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M., 
Columbian  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  of  Mad 
River  Encampment ;  of  Woodbine  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  Rcbekah  Lodge ;  and  of 
Harmony  Lodge,  K.  of  P.  He  is  broad  and 
liberal  in  his  religious  beliefs  and  a  regular 
attendant  of  the  Congregational  church,  toward 
the  support  oi  which  he  gives  willing  assistance. 


S«6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


IIJ.IAM  V.  JONKS,  who  holds  an 
honiirctl  position  among  the  agri- 
culturists of  Strafford  County,  New 
Hampshire,  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  native- 
born  citizens  of  the  town  of  Durham,  and  now 
occupies  the  homestead  where  his  birth  oc- 
curred June  3,  1818.  He  is  of  distinguished 
Welsh  ancestry  and  the  representative  of  an 
early  pioneer  family  of  this  town,  his  great- 
great-grandfather,  Stephen  Jones,  having  emi- 
grated from  Wales  to  America  in  1633,  at 
once  settling  on  this  farm.  The  next  in  line 
of  descent  was  Major  Stephen  Jones,  second, 
who  carried  on  farming  throughout  his  entire 
life,  doing  much  of  the  pioneer  labor  of  clear- 
ing a  homestead  from  the  dense  wilderness. 
Like  his  neighbors  he  suffered  from  the  depre- 
dations of  the  Indians.  He  fought  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  bearing  a  Major's 
commission.  The  silver  lace  on  his  coats  and 
his  silver  knee  buckles  were  made  into  tea- 
spoons, one  of  which  is  still  owned  by  a  niece 
of  Mr.  William  F.  Jones. 

Thomas  Jones,  father  of  William  F.,  was 
also  born  and  reared  on  this  farm,  where  he 
spent  all  his  life,  each  year  clearing  and  plac- 
ing in  a  state  of  cultivation  more  of  the  land, 
and  otherwise  improving  the  property.  He 
died  March  26,  1849.  He  married  Miss  Eliz- 
abeth Chesley,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Ches- 
ley,  who  was  a  Captain  in  the  Revolutionary 
army.  They  had  seven  children  —  Mary, 
Comfort,  Elizabeth,  Susan,  William  F., 
Alice,  and  Lydia.  Mary  was  born  May  16, 
1805,  and  died  May  22,  1854.  Comfort  was 
born  February  18,  1807,  and  died  September 
5,  1894.  Elizabeth  was  born  February  20, 
1812,  married  Nathaniel  G.  Davis,  June  10, 
1836,  and  died  in  January,  1869,  leaving  the 
following  children  —  Mamie  A.,  Rhoda  J., 
Susan  F".,  and  Thomas  Jones.  Thomas,  the 
only  son,  was  born  October  22,  1849,  and   be- 


came a  prominent  lawyer  of  Duluth,  Minn. 
He  married  Ella  Bennett,  of  New  Market,  by 
whom  he  had  one  son,  David  Da\is,  born  in 
November,  1881.  After  the  death  of  his  first 
wife  he  married  Martha  Mills,  of  Hillsdale, 
Mich.,  by  whom  he  has  one  child  now  living. 
This  child  was  born  August  10,  1896,  and  in 
him  an  old  family  name,  Millet,  is  revived. 
Susan  Jones,  the  fourth  child  of  Thomas  ant) 
Elizabeth  (Chesley)  Jones,  was  born  on  Octo- 
ber g,  1S14.  She  is  now  living  in  Exeter,  the 
widow  of  Andrew  15.  Peters,  by  whom  she  had 
two  children  —  Lydia  A.  and  Charles  1-". 
William  F.,  the  fifth  child  of  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Alice 
A.  was  born  June  19,  1820,  married  Samuel 
Smart,  of  New  Market,  June  i,  1853.  Mr. 
Smart  died  May  15,  1865;  and  on  February 
1 7'  ^^73i  she  married  George  J.  Wiggin,  of 
Durham,  who  died  September  2,  1891. 
Lydia,  the  seventh  child,  was  born  November 
23,  1823,  and  died  June  iS,  1S89.  William 
F.  Jones  received  good  educational  advantages 
for  his  day  and  generation,  attending  the  pub- 
lic schools,  the  Durham  Academy,  and  private 
schools  in  Dover.  He  was  interested  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  from  his  childhood  up,  and 
continued  his  residence  on  the  home  farm, 
assisting  his  father  in  his  labors  there  until 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  when  he  assumed 
the  entire  control  of  the  estate.  He  owns  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land,  which  he  has 
devoted  to  general  farming  purposes,  carrying 
it  on  with  most  satisfactory  results,  both  in 
regard  to  improvements  and  finances.  Mr. 
Jones  has  always  taken  an  active  and  intelli- 
gent interest  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
public  welfare,  and  in  1862  and  1864  was  a 
Representative  to  the  State  legislature.  He 
has  also  held  minor  offices.  In  earlier  years 
he  served  as  Overseer  of  the  Poor.  In  politics 
he  is  a  strong  Republican. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


5'7 


Mr.  Jones  was  married  January  8,  1862,  to 
Mrs.  Laura  Chase,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  IV  (Brown)  Chase,  and  to  them  two  chil- 
dren have  been  horn,  namely:  MaryC,  who 
marrietl  Dana  H.  Cutter,  end  resides  in  Ports- 
mouth, N.H.;  anil  Elizabeth,  who  is  a  suc- 
cessful teacher,  and  has  taught  in  the  public 
schools  of  Durham,  New  Market,  and   Dover. 


^AUL  A.  STACKPOLE,  M.D.,  of 
Dover,  now   practically  retired   from 

L>^  the  practice  of  his  profession,  holds 
an  honored  position  in  the  medical  fraternity 
of  this  section  of  New  Hampshire,  antl  has  the 
sincere  esteem  of  the  community  in  which  he 
has  so  long  resided.  He  was  born  February 
12,  1 8 14,  in  Rochester,  this  county,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Rosanna  (Nute)  Stackpole.  The 
father,  who  came  of  pioneer  ancestry,  was  born 
in  Dover.  He  became  a  farmer  from  choice, 
and  settled  on  land  near  the  town  of  Roches- 
ter, where  he  was  engaged  in  his  independent 
occupation  until  enfeebled  by  old  age.  Then 
he  came  to  this  city,  where  he  spent  his  de- 
clining years,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
fourscore  years.  In  politics  he  was  a  sound 
Democrat.  His  wife,  who  had  borne  him  nine 
children,  attained  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty- 
six  years. 

Paul  A.  Stackpole  attended  the  common 
schools  until  eighteen  years  old.  Then  he 
entered  the  Phillips  Academy  at  Andover, 
Mass.,  where  he  was  fitted  for  college,  and 
afterward  was  a  student  at  Dartmouth  for  a 
time.  He  subsequently  read  medicine  with 
Dr.  Joseph  H.  Smith,  of  this  city,  for  a  year, 
finishing  his  medical  course  at  a  private  school 
in  l^oston,  where  he  had  for  instructors  the 
eminent  physicians.  Dr.  Henry  I.  Bowditch 
and  Dr.  Perry.  Resuming  his  studies  at 
Dartmouth    College,    he    was  graduated    from 


there  in  1S43,  receiving  his  diploma  from  the 
medical  department.  Tlie  Doctor  immediately 
est.ihlished  himself  in  Dover,  where  he  prac- 
tiseil  until  his  retirement  from  active  work  in 
1891.  In  the  course  of  liis  professional 
career,  besides  acquiring  an  extensive  and 
lucrative  practice,  he  won  a  wide  reputation  as 
an  able  physician.  In  his  political  affiliations 
Dr.  Stackpole  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  very 
active  and  influential  in  party  ranks.  He  has 
steadily  refused  official  favors,  although  often 
importuned  to  accept  positions  of  trust.  In 
1852  Dr.  Martin,  with  whom  he  had  read  med- 
icine, then  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire, 
urged  him  to  accept  the  Postmastership  of 
Dover;  but  he  declined.  He  has  always  been 
deeply  interested  in  educational  matters,  and 
was  persuaded  at  one  time  to  serve  on  the 
School  Board.  In  1864  and  1868  he  was  dele- 
gate to  the  National  Democratic  Convention; 
and  at  the  solicitation  of  friends  and  party, 
having  previously  accejitetl  nomination  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  State  Convention,  he  was 
afterward  unanimously  elected  to  that  office 
each  year.  While  editing  for  four  years  the 
State  Pnss,  an  organ  of  the  Democratic  party, 
he  showed  himself  to  be  an  able  and  forcible 
writer.  The  demands  of  his  profession  obliged 
him  to  sell  out  his  interest  in  the  paper.  The 
Doctor  is  a  Mason  and  an  Odd  l""ellow,  belong- 
ing to  Strafford  Lodge  of  Dover  and  to  the 
Wechohamet  Lodge  of  this  city. 

July  9,  1845,  Dr.  Stackpole  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  G.  Hills,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.,  who 
passed  away  June  13,  1853.  She  left  three 
children,  of  whom  the  following  is  the  record: 
Charlotte  E.,  born  April  22,  1847,  died  No- 
vember 6,  1851;  Charles  H.,  born  July  22, 
1850,  is  a  merchant  and  manager  of  a  hotel, 
in  business  in  Worcester,  Mass.;  and  Harry 
H.,  born  August  30,  1S52,  who  was  gradu- 
ated from  Dartmouth  Medical  College,  is  now 


S'8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


engaged   in  the  iiractice  of  his  profession  in 
Dover. 


lIIAklJCS  E.  PULSIFER,  one  of  the 
stirring  farmers  and  best  known  resi- 
Icnts  of  Belmont,  Jielknap  County, 
was  born  in  Gilmanton,  N.H.,  July  15,  1830, 
son  of  Joshua  B.  and  Sarah  (Bean)  Pulsifer. 
His  paternal  great-grandfather,  who  was  a 
shoemaker  by  trade  and  a  pioneer  farmer  of 
Brentwood,  N.H.,  reared  two  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Benjamin  Pulsifer,  grandfather  of 
Charles  E. ,  moved  from  Brentwood  to  Gilman- 
ton, N.  H.,  in  March,  1795.  He  wedded 
Mary  Bean,  and  had  a  family  of  ten  children; 
namely,  Jonathan,  Stephen,  Joshua,  Daniel, 
Hannah,  Eydia,  Susan,  Elizabeth,  Sophronia, 
and  Cynthia.  Daniel  married  Hannah  Moul- 
ton,  of  Gilmanton,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Moulton,  and  had  six  children,  one  of  whom 
died  in  infancy.  The  others  were  named  : 
Henry,  Sarah,  John,  Mary  Ann,  and  Hannah. 
Henry  became  a  successful  merchant,  and  died 
en  route  for  New  Orleans,  La.  Sarah  had  two 
children  by  her  first  husband,  Samuel  Taylor; 
and  by  Calvin  Taylor,  her  second  husband,  she 
had  one  child.  John  was  a  farmer  through  the 
active  period  of  his  life,  and  died  at  the  home- 
stead in  1882.  Mary  Ann,  who  attended  Gil- 
manton Academy,  married  Levi  C.  Davis  in 
1881.  Hannah  also  attended  the  academy, 
and  became  the  wife  of  Enoch  Thompson. 
Mary  Ann  and  Hannah  are  now  residing  with 
their  cousin,  Charles  E.  Pulsifer,  and  own  a 
part  of  the  farm  which  was  left  to  them  and 
Mr.  Pulsifer  by  their  father. 

Joshua  B.  Pulsifer,  Charles  E.  Pulsifer's 
father,  was  born  in  Brentwood  in  178S.  He 
moved  with  his  parents  to  Gilmanton;  and 
after  the  death  of  his  father  he  inherited  the 
farm,  which  he  enlarged  considerably  during 
his  lifetime.      He  was  a  prominent  man  in  his 


day,  having  acted  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
and  represented  Gilmanton  in  the  legislature 
for  two  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist church.  His  death  occurred  in  1873, 
aged  eighty-four  years  and  eight  months.  PI  is 
wife,  Sarah  Bean,  was  a  daughter  of  John 
Bean,  of  Gilmanton,  and  a  descendant  of  a 
John  Bean  who  emigrated  to  this  country  from 
Scotland  in  1660.  This  John  Bean  married  a 
daughter  of  a  fellow-passenger  on  the  voyage, 
and  reared  a  family  of  seven  children.  His 
son  John,  who  was  born  in  1662,  settled  in 
New  Market,  N.  H.  Joshua  Ikvan,  the  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Sarah  (Bean)  Pulsifer,  born  in 
1 71 3,  moved  to  Brentwood,  and  afterward 
settled  in  Gilmanton,  where  he  died  in  1787. 
He  was  twice  married,  on  the  second  occasion 
to  Lydia  Brown,  and  was  the  father  of  twenty- 
one  children,  eleven  by  his  first  and  ten  by  his 
second  marriage.  On  December  26,  1761,  his 
eldest  daughter,  Hannah,  wedded  Benjamin 
Mudgett.  On  that  day  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mudgett 
started  on  foot  from  Epsom  to  Gilmanton,  a 
distance  of  twelve  miles;  and  Mrs.  Mudgett 
was  the  first  white  woman  to  step  within  the 
limits  of  the  last  named  town.  They  arrived 
at  the  spot  where  they  were  to  settle  on  the 
following  day,  and  Mrs.  Mudgett  resided  in 
Gilmanton  until  the  town  could  boast  of  a  pop- 
ulation of  over  five  thousand  souls.  She  was 
the  mother  of  Samuel  Mudgett,  the  first  white 
male  child  born  in  this  town;  and  his  birth 
took  place  February  15,  1764.  Mrs.  Mudgett 
died  in  Meredith,  N.H.,  July  9,  1834,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-five  years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joshua  B.  Pulsifer  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  as  follows:  Hannah 
Jane,  who  died  at  the  age  of  two  and  a  half 
years;  Lyman  B.  ;  Nehemiah ;  Mary  Jane; 
John  B.  ;  and  Charles  E. ,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Lyman  B. ,  who  taught  school  in 
early    manhood,     and     later    engaged    in     the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S'9 


liosioiy  l)iisincss  at  Lacoiii.i,  wlicre  he  died  in 
January,  18S4,  niairiod  Sarah  Sawyer.  His 
son,  Charles  L.  I'ulsifer,  formerly  the  master 
of  the  Lakeport  High  School,  was  for  six 
years  a  Selectman  in  Gilford,  before  that  town 
was  divided  and  a  part  incorjiorated  within  the 
present  city  of  Laconia.  He  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Laconia  City  Council,  is  Vice-Pres- 
ident of  the  Lakeport  National  Bank,  and  has 
recently  been  elected  Mayor  of  Laconia.  Ne- 
heniiah  Pulsifer,  who  is  a  farmer  and  resides 
at  the  homestead  in  Gilmanton,  married  Lu- 
cinda  Sanborn.  Mary  Jane,  now  the  widow  of 
Stillman  Arnokl  and  residing  in  Lakeport,  has 
had  three  children—  Ella  J.,  Ansel  G.,  and 
Sydney.  John  15.  Pulsifer,  who  was  in  early 
life  a  school  teacher,  and  later  became  a  pat- 
tern-maker, has  been  three  times  married. 
These  marriages  were  successively  contracted 
with  Lucy  Craig,  Harriet  Moody,  and  Lucy  J. 
Pike.  His  daughter,  Hattie  Pulsifer,  is  a 
public  singer  of  wide  reputation. 

Charles  E.  Pulsifer  acquired  a  common- 
school  education  and  was  reared  to  farm  life. 
The  farm  in  Belmont  he  now  cultivates  was 
left  by  his  uncle,  Daniel  Pulsifer,  as  before 
noted.  This  jiroperty,  which  originally  con- 
tained but  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  now 
amounts  to  three  hundred  acres.  He  and  his 
cousins  also  own  some  valuable  woodland. 
Mr.  Pulsifer  votes  with  the  Democratic  party, 
but  has  no  political  aspirations. 


M 


ANIEL  W.  KIMBALL,  a  well- 
known  and  active  business  man  of 
Earmington,  Strafford  Count)',  was 
born  April  15,  1834,  in  Bradford,  Mass.,  son 
of  Samuel  A.  Kimball.  His  grandfather, 
Samuel  Kimball,  was  for  many  years  one  of 
the  leading  residents  of  Goffstown,  this  State, 
where  he  reared  his  family. 


Samuel  A.  Kimliall  left  (inffstown  when  a 
young  man,  going  to  Bradford,  Mass.,  where 
he  worked  at  the  shoemaker's  trade  for  a  time. 
Removing  then  to  I-'armington,  he  followed  the 
same  business  here  for  about  twenty  years, 
after  which  he  went  to  Milton.  While  a  resi- 
dent of  that  town,  he  enlisted  in  Company  D, 
Eifth  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infantry,  as 
a  bugler  in  the  regimental  band,  and  served 
for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  jieriod  he 
was  honorably  discharged  on  account  of  ill 
health.  Returning  then  to  Milton,  he  made  a 
short  stay,  and  then  came  to  Earmington,  and 
there  resided  until  his  death  in  May,  1894. 
A  man  of  much  intelligence  and  strict  in- 
tegrity, he  was  held  in  high  regard  by  his  fel- 
low-townsmen, who  have  most  [ileasant  recol- 
lections of  him  as  a  neighbor  and  friend.  He 
married  Miss  Ann  M.  Griffin,  of  Groveland, 
Mass.,  who  bore  him  seven  chiUlren.  Of 
these,  four  are  living;  namely,  Daniel  W., 
Gardner  G.,  James  M.,  and  Anna  M.  l-illen 
F..,  the  third-born,  who  became  the  wife  of 
John  E.  Cloutman,  died  March  i,  1897;  and 
Erank  P.  died  in  infancy.  Walter  also  is  de- 
ceased. Gardner  G.  and  James  M.  leside  in 
Bradford,  Mass.  ;  and  Anna  M.  is  the  widow  of 
the  late  John  Smith,  of  Winchester,  Mass. 

Daniel  W.  Kimball  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Bradford  and  b'armington,  afterward 
completing  his  studies  at  the  academy  in  Wolf- 
boro,  N.  H.  Under  the  instructions  of  his 
father  he  subsequently  learned  the  details  of 
the  shoe  business,  with  which  he  has  since 
been  prominently  identified  in  Earmington. 
He  is  an  enterprising,  clear-headed,  and  jiracti- 
cal  business  man,  and  takes  much  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  his  town.  He  is  now  serving  it 
as  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  a  po- 
sition to  which  he  was  elected  in  1894.  He 
is  an  unswerving  Republican  in  politics,  and 
by  his  voice  as  well  as  his  vote  supports  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


principles  of  that  party.  lie  occupies  an 
honored  position  in  many  ol  the  secret  organ- 
izations of  Farmington,  belonging  to  Frater- 
nal Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  which  he  has  been 
Treasurer  for  twenty-seven  consecutive  years ; 
to  Columbian  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.  ;  to  Wood- 
bine Lodge,  L  O.  O.  F.  ;  and  to  the  lodge  of 
the  Knights  of  Honor,  of  which  he  has  been 
Master  for  the  past  ten  years. 

Mr.  Kimball  married  August  14,  1S55, 
Miss  Mary  Wingate,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and 
Lavinia  (Davis)  Wingate,  of  this  town. 

They  have  an  interesting  family  of  five 
children,  born  as  follows:  Clara  E.,  June  17, 
1858;  Annie,  August  3,  i860;  M.  B.  Frank, 
July  7,  1863;  Mary  E. ,  November  11,  1876; 
and  Ernest  E.,  December  27,  1879.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kimball  are  active  members  of 
the  Congregational  church.  They  sang  in  the 
church  choir  for  forty  years,  and  one  of  their 
daughters  is  now  the  organist  of  the  church. 


I  ■  ■  ■  > 


/  ^TeORGE  HUNT  WADLEIGH,  a 
V  ^5  I  leading  agriculturist  of  Tilton,  Bel- 
knap County,  and  an  ex-member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  legislature,  was  born  in 
Sanbornton,  November  17,  1850,  son  of  Joseph 
D.  and  Sarah  S.  (Hunt)  Wadleigh.  His  par- 
ents are  both  natives  of  Sanbornton  ;  and  on 
the  paternal  side  he  is  a  descendant  of  Joseph 
Wadleigh,  the  first  known  ancestor  of  the  fam- 
ily in  America.  James  Wadleigh,  son  of  Jo- 
seph, was  a  carpenter  and  millwright  by  trade, 
and  resided  in  Epping,  N.H.  He  married  a 
Miss  Dearborn,  a  sister  of  Miriam  Dearborn, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Jeremiah  Sanborn,  the 
first  settler  in  Franklin  F'alls. 

James  Wadleigh,  second,  great-grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Ep- 
ping. For  many  years  he  was  a  teamster  in 
the  employ  of  Lovejoy  &  Co.,  of  Boston.      He 


subsequently  cleared  a  farm  in  Sanbornton, 
where  he  resided  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He 
served  as  a  soldier   in    the    Revolutionary  War. 

Joseph  Wadleigh,  grandfather  of  George  H., 
was  born  in  Sanbornton,  January  11,  1784. 
He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  a  noted  horse 
breeder  of  his  day.  F'or  fifty  years  he  was 
Deacon  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  was  highly 
regarded  in  that  denomination.  He  married 
rhcebe  Dustin,  who  was  born  in  Sanbornton, 
April  5,  1782,  daughter  of  David  and  Lydia 
(Kenniston)  Dustin.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
one  of  the  sons  of  Mrs.  Hannah  Dustin,  who 
acquired  local  fame  in  the  early  Indian  wars, 
and  is  known  as  the  heroine  of  1697.  David 
Dustin  was  probably  born  in  Raymond,  N.  H., 
and  came  from  Exeter  or  Amesbury,  Mass., 
to  Sanbornton  in  1766.  He  is  said  to  have 
built  the  first  grist-mill  in  Sanbornton;  and, 
although  he  began  without  capital,  he  became 
the  wealthiest  man  in  that  town.  He  died 
August  15,  1803.  His  first  wife  was  Lovie 
Haman.  He  married  Lydia  Kenniston, 
Phcebe's  mother,  on  March  27,  1774. 

Joseph  D.  Wadleigh  was  born  upon  the 
farm  in  Sanbornton  where  he  now  resides,  May 
II,  1823.  He  has  always  remained  at  the 
homestead,  which  he  inherited,  and  as  a  gen- 
eral farmer  is  energetic  and  successful.  In 
politics  he  acts  with  the  Republican  party. 
His  wife,  Sarah  S.  Hunt,  whom  he  married 
May  28,  1848,  is  a  daughter  of  Abraham  P. 
Hunt,  of  Sanbornton.  She  is  the  mother  of 
two  children:  George  Hunt,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  and  Claribel,  born  January  12, 
1853.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  D.  Wadleigh  are 
members  of  the  First  Bajstist  Church  in  San- 
bornton. 

George  Hunt  Wadleigh  was  educated  in  the 
district  schools,  and  grew  to  manhood  as  a 
farmer.  After  his  marriage  he  removed  to 
Tilton,  entering  into  a   partnership   with    his 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


521 


fntlicr-iivlau-  in  tlic  cultivation  of  a  large  ami 
]iiii(liK-ti\'c  farm  (im.-  mile  fnim  the  village,  on 
which  corn,  hay,  and  fruit  are  the  chief  jiroil- 
iicts.  lie  has  since  ailded  one  hundred  acres 
of  lanil,  including  a  fine  sugar  orchard  of  six 
hundred  trees.  He  produces  a  superior  grade 
of  sugar  and  syrup  by  the  use  of  an  evaporator 
of  his  own  invention,  which  enables  him  to 
manufacture  t\vent)'-five  gallons  of  syruji  a  day. 
He  has  also  become  cjuite  noted  as  a  breeder  of 
thoroughbred  cattle,  making  a  specialty  of  a 
breed  known  as  Red  Polls,  of  which  there  are 
but  two  other  herds  in  New  England,  and 
keeping  an  average  of  twenty-seven  head.  He 
is  largely  interested  in  poultry,  and  has  a  flock 
of  about  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  hens, 
which  includes  white  and  brown  Leghorn, 
Wyandotte,  and  Plymouth  Rock  breeds.  He 
owns  some  of  the  heaviest  white  Leghorns  in 
New  England.  Politically,  he  is  a  Republi- 
can, and  as  Representative  from  this  town  in 
the  legislature  in  1893  he  served  with  ability 
as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Labor.  In 
1897  the  citizens  of  Tilton  elected  him  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  and  he  re- 
ceived every  vote  cast. 

Mr.  Wadleigh  married  Lilla  M.  Cass, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  F.  and  Mary  S.  (Smith) 
Cass,  of  Tilton,  December  13,  18S1,  and  has 
one  son  living,   Lewis  Joseph. 

Mr.  Wadleigh  is  a  charter  member  and  a 
Past  Master  of  Harmony  Grange,  Patrons  of 
Husbandry,  of  Sanbornton.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Grange  State 
Fair  in  Tilton,  and  has  filled  successively  the 
positions  of  Superintendent  of  Poultry,  Super- 
intendent of  Cattle,  Treasurer,  and  Secretary, 
which  last  office  he  now  holds. 

Mr.  Wadleigh  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  of  which  he  acts  as  Treas- 
urer, Trustee,  and  Steward,  and  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday-school. 


ll.\RLi;S  W  .\l,l.i;\,  an  enterpri.sing, 
intiuenlial,  ;uid  popular  citizen  of  Roch- 
ester, was  born  Ma)-  5,  1853,  on  a 
tarni  located  but  a  short  distance  from  the  one 
he  now  occupies.  His  father,  Amasa  Allen, 
was  also  born  on  the  same  farm,  .son  of  William 
Allen,  who  spent  his  entire  life  in  this  town. 
The  Allen  family  was  first  represented  in  this 
countr)'  by  the  great  -  great  -  grandfather  of 
Charles  W.,  who  came  to  Rochester  in  the  earl)- 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  bringing  with 
him  his  famil)-,  which  included  William  Allen, 
the  next  in  line  of  descent.  Joshua  Allen  was  a 
Colonel  in  the  War  of  1812  ;  Samuel  Allen  was 
a  Major  in  the  same  war  ;  and  William,  his  son, 
father  of   Amasa,  was  a  Quartermaster. 

Amasa  Allen  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade 
when  a  young  man,  and  for  several  years 
followed  this  occupation.  He  afterward  settled 
on  the  farm  where  he  now  resides,  turning  his 
attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  by 
his  energetic  industry  and  excellent  management 
has  met  with  signal  success.  He  is  a  prominent 
Republican  in  politics,  although  he  has  never 
held  public  office.  He  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
A.  l^laisdell,  of  Lebanon,  Me.,  who  has  borne 
him  four  children,  name!)-  :  Charles  \\'.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  ;  Clara  May,  who  married 
Charles  II,  Seavey,  of  this  town,  and  died  Ajiril 
19,  1894  ;  Martha  E.,  the  wife  of  James  .Andiew 
Jackson,  of  Rochester ;  and  John  A.,  who 
resides  with  his  jjarents  on   the  old  homestead. 

Charles  W.  Allen  comjileted  his  education  at 
the  Austin  Acadeni)-,  which  he  left  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years.  In  the  following  season 
he  taught  school  in  Berwick,  Me.  Returning 
then  to  his 'home,  he  entered  into  the  lumber 
business  in  company  with  his  brother.  In  this 
profitable  industry  he  has  since  continued,  buy- 
ing tracts  of  standing  timber,  and  converting  it 
into  hunljer,  which  finds  a  leady  niarket.  Mr. 
Allen   is  also  prosperously  engaged  in  general 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


farming  and  dairying,  keeping  thirteen  cows. 
The  land  owned  by  him  in  different  localities 
makes  in  all  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  Be- 
fore the  incorporation  of  the  city  of  Rochester 
he  served  the  comnumity  in  various  offices.  He 
represented  Ward  One  in  the  Common  Council 
for  four  years,  beginning  in  1890;  and  in  1895 
and  1896  he  was  a  representative  to  the  State 
legislature  from  Rochester.  He  was  also  Sur- 
ve)(ir  for  several  j'ears. 

On  December  23,  1882,  Mr.  Allen  married 
Miss  Isabel  T.  Jones,  of  Lunenburg,  Mass.,  a 
daughter  of  William  H.  Jones.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Allen  are  members  of  the  Walnut  Grove  F'ree 
Baptist  Church,  and  contribute  generously 
toward  its  support. 


(sTfOSEPH  O.  HAYES,  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  East  Rochester,  N.H.,  is  pro- 
]nietor  of  a  livery  and  feed  stable,  and 
also  carries  on  a  substantial  business  as  a 
dealer  in  coal,  wood,  and  hay.  He  was  born 
November  13,  1847,  in  the  town  of  Rochester, 
N.  H.  His  father  was  Joseph  Hayes;  and  his 
paternal  grandfather  was  Benjamin  Hayes,  an 
early  settler  of  Strafford  County. 

Joseph  Hayes  was  a  farmer,  and  spent  his 
entire  life  in  that  section  of  I-iochester  known 
as  Gonic.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics 
and  an  active  worker  in  his  party,  though  not 
an  office-seeker.'  He  married  Miss  Armina 
Garland,  of  Bartlett,  N.H.,  who  bore  him 
four  children,  namely:  Benjamin  F.  ;  Lydia, 
deceased;  Joseph  O.  ;  and  Jennie,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Dr.  Newell,  of  farmington,  this 
county.  Joseph  Hayes,  the  father,  died  in 
1850.  The  mother,  Mrs.  Armina  G.  Hayes, 
is  still  living  on  the  home  place. 

Joseph  O.  Hayes  lived  on  the  parental 
homestead,  attending  the  district  school  a  few 
months  in  the  year  and  the   rest  of  the  time 


assisting  in  the  manual  labors  of  the  farm, 
until  eighteen  years  old.  He  was  afterward 
employed  for  eight  years  as  clerk  in  a  hard- 
ware store,  being  then  obliged  to  gi\'e  uj)  his 
position  on  account  of  his  health.  In  1878 
Mr.  Hayes  embarked  in  his  present  business, 
beginning  on  a  small  scale;  but  he  has  grad- 
ually enlarged  his  operations  and  is  now  carry- 
ing on  an  e.xtensive  and  lucrative  business,  his 
honorable  and  upright  methods  winning  for 
him  the  confidence  of  the  public  and  securing 
him  a  large  patronage.  He  is  very  active  and 
influential  in  political  circles,  being  identified 
with  the  Republican  party,  and  has  ably  filled 
various  oiifices  of  trust  and  responsibility.'  In 
1883  he  was  elected  to  the  State  legislature, 
in  which  he  served  as  Representative  two 
years;  in  1878  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen  ;  and  he  was  for  a  number 
of  terms  one  of  the  members  of  the  Board  of 
Health.  Fraternally,  he  belongs  to  Moto- 
linier  Lodge,  No.  18,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of 
Rochester;  Rindge  Lodge,  K.  of  P.,  of  East 
Rochester;  and  to  the  K.    A.    E.   O. 

Mr.  Joseph  O.  Hayes  and  Miss  Cora  B. 
Tibbetts,  daughter  of  John  W.  Tibbetts,  pro- 
prietor of  the  Glendon  House  of  East  Roches- 
ter, N.  H.,  were  married  January  4,  18S2. 
They  have  one  child,  a  son,  Flarry  T.  Hayes, 
who  was  born  September  19,  1893.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hayes  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  of  which  Mrs.  Hayes  was  for  some 
years  the  organist. 


|AJOR  EDMUND  TETLEY,  a  vet- 
eran of  the  Civil  War,  now  en- 
gaged as  a  paper-box  manufacturer 
in  Laconia,  N.H.,  is  a  native  of  Bradford, 
Yorkshire,  England.  He  was  born  October 
26,  1842,  son  of  William  and  Mary  Ann 
(Brayshaw)  Tetley,  both  of  whom  were  natives 


EDMUND    TETLEY. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


5*5 


of  England.  His  grandfather  Tctlcy  was  em- 
ployed in  a  woollen-inill ;  and  being  capable 
and  elficient,  as  well  as  a  good  weaver,  for 
some  time  he  was  an  overseer  of  a  weaving- 
room.  He  dietl  at  seventy  years  of  age. 
William  Tetley,  born  in  Bradford,  ICngland, 
also  followed  the  occupation  of  a  weaver.  He 
first  came  to  this  country  in  1S51.  Three 
years  later  he  returned  to  Kngland  for  his  wife 
and  child,  with  whom  he  settled  in  Lawrence, 
Mass.,  whence  he  subsequently  went  to  Harnet, 
Vt.,  and  from  there  afterward  removed  to 
Amesbury,  Mass.  A  year  later  he  returned 
to  Vermont,  settling  in  Gaysville,  finally  com- 
ing to  Laconia  to  spend  his  last  days  near  his 
son.      He  died  in  1896,  aged  eighty-one  years. 

Edmund  Tetley  was  twelve  years  old  when 
he  came  to  America,  so  that  his  education  was 
obtained  principally  in  England.  At  fifteen 
years  of  age,  when  his  parents  were  residing 
in  Gaysville,  he  left  home  to  make  a  living  for 
himself.  He  first  went  to  Amesbury,  Mass., 
where  he  had  acquaintances;  but,  after  spend- 
ing there  the  winters  of  i860  and  i86i,  at 
nineteen  years  of  age,  he  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  Marine  Corps  at  Portsmouth, 
N.H.  He  was  at  the  attack  on  Forts  Jackson 
and  St.  I'hilip  at  the  cajiture  of  New  Orleans 
by  Admiral  Farragut,  being  on  board  the 
United  States  sloop  of  war  "Portsmouth,"  a 
sailing-vessel,  which  was  subsequently  sta- 
tioned at  New  Orleans  for  nearly  four  years. 
From  his  enlistment  until  his  discharge  in 
1865  at  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  he  had  no  furlough. 
He  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Sergeant. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Ames- 
bury. Later  he  went  to  Appleton,  Wis. 
From  Appleton  he  went  to  Utica,  N.Y., 
thence  to  Olncyville,  R.I.,  from  there  to 
Amesbury,  and  then  to  Lowell,  where  he 
entered  the  [)ai)er-bo.\  business.  On  leaving 
Lowell    he   obtained  a  situation  in  a  paper-box 


factory  in  Methuen,  after  which  he  went  to 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  whence  in  1S73  he  came 
to  Laconia  to  work  for  !•".  P.  llult  in  the 
paper-bo.x  business.  l-'ive  years  later  he  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Holt,  and  lias  since  carried  on  a 
successful  business  on  his  own  account.  He 
has  two  factories,  one  at  10  Arch  Street, 
Laconia,  and  the  other  at  156  Gold  Street, 
Lakeport.  He  .sells  only  to  the  local  trade. 
Some  time  after  the  war  Mr.  Tetley  joined 
Company  K,  Third  Regiment,  N.  IL  N.  G., 
and  in  1878  was  made  Lieutenant.  A  year 
later  he  was  made  Captain,  and  served  as  such 
until  his  resignation  in  1883.  Previous  to 
1892  old  Conijiany  K  was  disbanded ;  anil  he 
organized  a  new  company  in  the  same  regiment 
at  Laconia,  and  was  chosen  Captain.  On  May 
8,  1894,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major, 
and  he  continues  to  hold  this  position. 

Three  years  after  his  return  from  the  war,  in 
1868,  Major  Tetley  was  married  to  I-;ila  1-". 
Merrill,  of  Lowell.  They  have  had  seven 
children,  of  whom  two  have  passed  away. 
The  five  living  are:  Edward  B.,  who  is  study- 
ing at  Bates  College  for  the  ministry;  Guy 
M.,  superintendent  of  his  father's  factory  at 
Lakeport;  L.  Gertrude  living  in  Lowell; 
Blanche  and  Charles,  at  home  and  attending 
the  Laconia  iniblic  schools. 

Major  Tetley  is  a  Republican.  He  has 
served  one  year  as  Selectman  in  Laconia,  two 
years  as  High  Sheriff  of  Belknap  County, 
i888-go,  and  was  a  member  of  the  first  La- 
conia City  Council,  representing  Ward  I'our 
two  years.  Elected  to  the  State  legislature  in 
1894,  he  served  as  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Military  Affairs,  also  as  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  the  Soldiers'  Home.  He  is 
very  popular  in  fraternal  circles,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  following  organizations:  John 
L.  Perky  Post,  No.  ^7,  G.  A.  R.  (in  Lowell 
he  belonged  to  the  B.  F.  Butler  Post,  No.  42); 


526 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


Mount  Ix-banon  Lodge,  No.  32,  F.  &  A.  M.; 
Union  Chapter,  No.  7,  R.  A.  M. ;  Pythagorean 
Council,  No.  6,  R.  &  S.  M. ;  Pilgrim  Com- 
inandery,  K.  T.  ;  the  Mdward  A.  Raymond 
Consistory  at  Nashua;  Aleppo  Temple,  An- 
cient Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine,  of  Boston  :  Winnepesaukee  Lodge,  No. 
7,  L  O.  O.  F.,  of  Lakejjort;  Laconia  Encamp- 
ment, No.  9;  and  Canton  Osgood,  Laconia. 
He  is  Colonel  in  the  First  Regiment,  P.  M. ; 
Pontahum  Tribe,  No.  18,  I.  O.  R.  M.;  and 
Mount  Belknap  Lodge,  No.  20,  K.  of  P. 


<^»^> 


TT^APTAIN  PENUEL  C.  HAM,  a  vet- 
I    jp       eran  of  the   Civil  War,  who  cultivates 

Xfc^.^^  a  farm  in  New  Durham,  .Strafford 
County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  this  town,  April 
13,  1823,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Clarissa 
(Chamberlin)  Ham.  His  grandfather,  Shad- 
rach  Ham,  was  a  farmer  and  lifelong  resident 
of  Durham,  N.  H. 

Nathaniel  Ham  was  born  in  Durham,  and 
his  boyhood  and  youth  were  spent  upon  his 
father's  farm.  He  did  garrison  duty  at  Ports- 
mouth during  the  War  of  181 2,  and  some  time 
later  settled  on  a  farm  in  New  Durham,  where 
he  resided  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  died  in 
1879,  aged  eighty-eight  years.  His  wife, 
Clarissa  Chamberlin,  was  a  native  of  New 
Durham.  They  had  fourteen  children,  of 
whom  eight  are  living,  namely:  Tamson,  who 
is  now  Mrs.  Boody ;  Penuel  C. ,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Hannah;  Betsey;  Martha;  El- 
niira;  Abigail;  and  Jacob  H. 

Penuel  C.  Ham  in  his  boyhood  acquired  a 
common-school  education  in  his  native  town; 
and  when  a  young  man  he  went  to  Holliston, 
where  he  remained  some  time,  afterward  being 
employed  in  other  places.  Returning  at 
length  to  New  Durham,  he  kept  a  country  store 
in  this  town  for  three  years.      Then  came  the 


outbreak  of  the  Southern  rebellion  and  the 
call  for  troops  to  defend  the  Union,  a  call  to 
which  he  was  not  slow  to  respond.  In  1861, 
the  opening  year,  he  enlisted  in  the  Seventh 
Regiment,  New  HamiJshire  Infantry,  and  was 
appointed  P^irst  Lieutenant  of  Company  G. 
At  Morris  Island  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Captain,  succeeding  Henry  Leavitt  in  the 
command  of  the  company.  At  the  siege  of 
Fort  Wagner  he  was  wounded  in  the  left  hip, 
which  disabled  him  for  a  while,  and  after  his 
recovery  returned  to  his  command.  He  took 
part  in  the  Florida  campaign,  during  which 
he  saw  considerable  fighting;  and  he  was  dis- 
charged in  December,  1864,  having  served 
thirty-eight  months.  In  January,  1865,  he 
returned  home;  and  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  has  since  been  devoted  to  agricultural 
pursuits. 

Captain  Ham  and  his  wife,  Sarah  Durgin, 
a  native  of  New  Durham,  have  had  three  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Nat  I"".,  deceased;  Charles 
G.,  a  schoolmaster  in  Watertown,  Mass.  ;  and 
Sarah,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years. 

Politically,  Captain  Ham  is  an  active  sup- 
porter of  the  Republican  party,  and  has  been 
a  delegate  to  every  county  convention  for 
the  past  twenty  years.  He  served  with  ability 
as  a  Selectman  in  1S69,  was  Ta.x  Collector 
two  years,  and  a  member  of  the  School  Board 
nine  years  in  succession.  F"or  the  last  four 
years  he  served  as  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  and 
for  some  years  has  acted  as  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Lodge  in  Alton,  N.H.,  and  a  Past  Commander 
of  Post  49,  G.  A.  R. 


HARLES    H.    TUTTLE,  an  excellent 


representative  of  the  self-made  men  of 
StrafTord   County,    New    Hampshire, 
has,  by  his  sturdy  industry,  prudent  economy. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


5^7 


:iml  tlirift,  accjuircd  a  comfortable  property, 
and  is  now  the  owner  of  a  well-imisroved  farm 
in  the  Durham  township.  He  was  born  De- 
cember I,  1836,  in  Durham,  a  son  of  John 
Tuttle,  who  removeil  here  from  Newfield,  Me., 
his  native  town,  and  settled  on  a  farm.  John 
Tuttle  married  Elizabeth  Wormwood,  who  was 
born  and  reared  in  Lakefield.  They  were  the 
parents  of  a  large  family  of  cliildren,  nearly 
all  of  whom  grew  to  mature  years;  namely, 
Henrietta,  John,  George,  Charles  H.,  Hayes 
M.,  James  II.,  I'reeman  H.,  Mary  E. ,  Eveline 
F. ,  and  Georgia.  Of  these  but  three  are  now 
living,  these  being:  Charles  H.,  the  special 
subject  of  this  brief  biography;  Freeman  H. 
and  Mary  E.,  both  now  residents  of  New 
:\Iarket,  N.H. 

Charles  H.  Tuttle  had  but  meagre  opportu- 
nities for  obtaining  an  education,  compared 
with  the  advantages  of  children  of  the  present 
generation,  only  a  few  terms  at  the  district 
school  being  granted  him.  As  his  parents 
had  a  large  family  of  little  ones  to  look 
after,  each  one  was  expected  to  add  his  mite 
toward  the  support  of  the  household  as  soon  as 
old  enough.  Accordingly,  Charles  H.  began 
at  the  age  of  twelve  years  to  earn  his  own  liv- 
ing; and  from  that  time  until  1856  he  worked 
as  a  farm  laborer  by  the  month  or  year.  E.x- 
pcrience  is  often  a  hard  master,  ami  so  he 
found  it;  but  he  labored  with  faithful  dili- 
gence until  the  time  came  when  he  had  saved 
a  sufficient  sum  to  establish  a  home  of  his 
own.  In  the  year  above  mentioned  he  pur- 
chased the  farm  on  which  he  now  lives,  imme- 
diately establishing  himself  here;  and  he  has 
since  been  busily  and  prosperously  engaged  in 
mixed  husbandry.  He  has  forty  acres  of  land,  ! 
on  which  he  has  made  valuable  improvements, 
until  his  homestead  property  compares  favor- 
ably in  all  its  appointments  with  any  farm  of 
its  size  in  this  section  of  the  county. 


Mr.  Tuttle  was  married  April  17,  1856,  to 
Miss  Sarah  Long,  who  was  born  in  Durham,  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mercy  M.  Long.  Six 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Tuttle,  as  follows:  George  \V.,  who  died 
March  3,  1890;  Charles  IL,  who  died  August 
7,  18S3;  Herbert  S.,  who  lives  on  the  home 
farm;  Fred,  who  died  ALay  11,  1889;  Will; 
and  Eva  F. ,  who  died  August  15,  i8(')4.  In 
politics  Mr.  Tuttle  is  a  strong  adherent  of  the 
Democratic  party. 


/§> 


EORGE  F.  KELLEV,  an  extensive 
\J5|  dairy  farmer  of  Gilmanton  and  a 
member  of  the  New  Hamjjshire  legis- 
lature, was  born  July  6,  185  i,  in  the  hou.se  he 
now  occupies,  son  of  Charles  G.  and  Abigail 
(Sherburn)  Kelley.  His  great-grandfather, 
Samuel  Kelley,  who  was  of  Scotch  descent, 
served  as  Cajitain  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

Benjamin  Kelley,  great-grandfather  of 
George  F.,  was  born  in  Salem,  N.H.,  April 
29,  1763.  In  his  youth  he  accomjjanied  liis 
father  as  waiter  while  the  latter  was  in  the 
Revolutionary  army.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
he  began  to  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Ha/.letine, 
of  Haverhill,  Mass.  When  cpialified  for  prac- 
tice, he  located  in  Northwood,  N.  IL,  where 
he  remained  eleven  years.  Then,  in  1801, 
after  residing  for  some  time  in  Loudon,  N.IL, 
he  came  to  Gilmanton,  being  one  of  the  first 
medical  practitioners  to  settle  in  the  town, 
and  remained  here  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  In 
those  early  days  physicians  were  subject  to 
great  hardships  and  no  little  danger.  They 
made  their  visits  on  horseback,  and  not  infre- 
quently were  attacked  by  wolves  while  pass- 
ing through  the  woods  on  their  night  visits  to 
the  sick.  Dr.  Benjamin  Kelley  erected,  in 
1 80 1,  the  hcnise  now  occupied  by  his  grandson 
and  for  many  years  kept  a  tavern  for  the  enter- 


528 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


tainnient  of  travellers.  He  was  an  able  doc- 
tor and  one  of  the  most  prominent  residents 
of  Gilmanton  in  liis  day.  He  was  instru- 
mental in  forming  the  Baptist  Society  in  1818, 
and  acted  as  its  Deacon  for  many  years.  His 
death  occurred  in  his  seventy-seventh  year. 
On  February  16,  1787,  he  wedded  Mary  Gile, 
who  was  born  in  Lee,  N.  H.,  July  7,  1765. 
His  nine  chiklren  were:  John,  Hall  J.,  Eliza- 
beth, Amelia,  Samuel,  Nancy,  Benjamin, 
Charles  G.,  and  Lewis.  John  married  Sally 
Merrill,  of  Gilmanton;  Elizabeth  married 
Benjamin  Shaw;  Amelia  became  the  wife  of 
James  Hill;  Nancy  married  Jones  Shaw;  and 
Samuel  became  largely  interested  in  the  lum- 
ber business  in  Calais,  Me.  Three  of  Dr. 
Kelley's  children  reached  the  age  of  ninety 
years. 

Hall  J.  Kelley,  the  third  child  of  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Kelley,  fitted  for  college  at  Gilmanton 
Academy,  and  graduated  from  Middlebury 
College.  After  graduation  he  taught  school 
for  a  time  in  Boston,  and  later  became  princi- 
pal of  the  high  school  at  Maiden,  Mass. 
Afterward  he  organized  and  led  a  party  of  one 
hundred  men  on  an  exploring  expedition  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  gaining  by  the  trip 
much  notoriety  as  an  intrepid  explorer.  Many 
of  his  followers  became  disheartened,  and 
turned  their  faces  homeward;  but  with  a  few 
men  he  eventually  reached  Oregon,  after  suf- 
fering numerous  hardships  owing  to  the  vari- 
ous obstacles  encountered  and  the  treachery 
of  the  savage  tribes.  On  his  return  he  pre- 
sented a  claim  to  the  government  for  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  his  work  as  an 
explorer;  but  it  was  disallowed,  and  he  came 
back  to  New  England  a  poor  man.  He  re- 
sumed teaching,  and  later  published  a  book 
containing  a  full  account  of  his  adventures  in 
the  Far  West,  which  had  a  large  sale.  In  his 
later  years  he  became  well-to-do.     He  died  in 


Palmer,  Mass.,  aged  ninety  years.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Mary  B. 
Baldwin. 

Charles  G.  Kelley,  George  F.  Kelley's 
father,  was  born  March  18,  1804,  at  the  home- 
stead. His  life  task  was  the  development  of 
his  farm,  to  which  he  brought  broad  and  pro- 
gressive purposes  and  indomitable  persever- 
ance. He  was  the  first  farmer  to  construct  an 
under  drain  in  Gilmanton.  None  excelled  him 
as  a  breeder  of  stock  and  a  dairyman.  It  may 
safely  be  said  that  he  became  one  of  the  best 
known  farmers  and  stock-raisers  in  this  local- 
ity. During  his  management  the  estate  was 
enlarged  to  four  hundred  acres,  and  the  build- 
ings were  much  improved.  He  died  on  April 
25,  18S5,  retaining  his  faculties  and  control- 
ling his  business  to  the  last,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one  years.  In  1842  he  married  Abi- 
gail Sherburn,  who  bore  him  four  children  — 
Mary,  Charles,  John,  and  George  F.  Charles 
died  at  the  age  of  five  years,  and  John  at  seven- 
teen. Mary  attended  Gilmanton  Academy, 
and  began  life  as  a  teacher.  A  most  estima- 
ble woman,  she  makes  friends  of  all  with  whom 
she  comes  in  contact. 

George  F.  Kelley  inherited  the  farm  and 
much  of  the  tastes  of  his  father,  whose  policy 
as  a  farmer  he  has  continued.  He  brought  to 
his  business  a  good  practical  education;  which, 
added  to  good,  natural  endowments  and  the 
strong,  vigorous,  and  enlightened  purposes  of 
his  father,  have  borne  fruit  in  successful  farm 
management.  His  most  marked  success  has 
been  as  a  breeder  of  speed  horses,  having  bred 
the  fastest  horses  in  the  State.  These  he 
trained  and  drove  in  the  races.  His  stalls 
contain  forty  fine  cattle,  bred  mainly  for  dairy 
purposes. 

Nominated  in  1896  by  the  Republicans  as  a 
candidate  for  the  legislature,  against  a  strong 
field,    Mr.    Kelley  triumphantly   was  elected. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


5 -'9 


AUhi)Ui;li  a  progressive  man,  he  preserves  and 
values  highly  everything  about  the  farm  that 
belonged  to  his  ancestors,  including  many 
relics  left  by  his  great-grandfather,  Dr.  ]5enja- 
niin  Kelley. 

Mr.  Kelley  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  marriage  was  contracted  A])ril  19,  1876, 
with  !•" ranees  Ma.xfield,  of  Pittsfield,  N.H., 
who  died  seventeen  months  after,  leaving  a 
daughter,  Mabel.  Mabel  has  been  a  success- 
ful school  teacher  since  she  was  fifteen  years 
old.  By  his  second  marriage,  contracted  De- 
cember 2,  1S82,  Mr.  Kelley  was  united  to 
Adelia  Jones,  who  was  born  May  5,  1861, 
daughter  of  John  G.  VV.  Jones,  of  Alton,  N.  H. 
Mrs.  Kelley  has  since  become  the  mother  of 
si.\  children,  namely:  Mary  A.,  born  May  27, 
1884;  Charles  G.,  born  July  21,  1886;  Alice 
I..,  born  November  16,  1888;  Arthur  K.,  born 
August  18,  1891  ;  Emma  M.,  born  September 
3,   1894;  and  Ruth  N.,  born  July  11,   1897. 


IIOMAS  J.  DOUGHERTY,  M.D.,  a 
rising  young  physician  of  Somersworth, 
was  born  in  Schaghticoke,  Rensselaer 
County,  N.Y.,  October  22,  1868,  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Catherine  (Gregg)  Dougherty.  His 
parents  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  this  country 
in  early  life,  his  father  becoming  a  contractor 
and  builder  in  New  York  State.  Our  subject 
was  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  his  na- 
tive town  when  eighteen  years  old.  He  then 
entered  upon  a  collegiate  course  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  on  account  of  failing  health  was 
obliged  to  relinquish  his  studies.  Subse- 
quently he  entered  the  Hudson  River  State 
Hospital,  where  he  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine, and  was  graduated  from  the  Baltimore 
Medical  College  in  1894.  In  August  of  the 
same  year  he  came  to  Somersworth,  where  he 
found  what  he  considered  a  good  field  in  which 


to  locate.  He  has  since  practiseil  his  [irofes- 
sion  in  this  place,  and  has  already  gaineil  an 
excellent  reputation  as  a  skilful  physician. 

Dr.  Dougherty  is  a  member  of  the  State, 
County,  and  District  .Medical  Societies,  is  ex- 
amining physician  for  the  I*"oresters  ,iiul 
Vice-President  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  iie  is  a  member 
of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians. 


SA  A.  HALL  has  been  identified  with 
the  industrial  interests  of  Farming- 
ton,  Strafford  County,  as  carpenter, 
builder,  and  lumber  dealer,  for  the  past  thirty 
years,  and  is  one  of  the  best  known  citizens  of 
this  section  of  the  State.  He  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Strafford,  January  22,  1830,  a  .son  of 
Jonathan  and  Lydia  (Demerritt)  Hall,  and  a 
grandson  of  Ebenezer  Hall,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Strafford. 

Jonathan  Hall  spent  the  larger  portion  of 
his  life  in  Strafford,  and  was  numbered  among 
the  most  thrifty  farmers  of  his  neighborhood. 
He  was  an  active  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
party.  He  married  Miss  Lyilia  Demerritt,  of 
Barrington,  this  county,  and  of  their  nine 
children  seven  are  still  living;  namely, 
Amanda  S.,  A.sa  A.,  Catherine,  Daniel  D., 
Carrie  D.,  Eliza  D.,  and  Ellen.  Mr.  Hall 
attained  the  age  of  seventy-five  years,  dying  in 
Strafford  in  1S71. 

Asa  A.  Hall  obtained  his  elementary  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town, 
this  being  supplemented  by  a  course  of  study 
at  the  academy  in  Pittsfield,  N.H.  On  reach- 
ing man's  estate  he  went  to  Manchester,  this 
State,  where  he  served  an  apiirenticeshi])  of 
three  years  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  Going 
then  to  Dorchester,  N.H.,  he  was  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business  for  about  five  years.  In 
18G1,     when    the    tocsin    of    war    resounded 


53° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


through    the    land,    he    enlisted    in    the    New 
Hampshire  Cavalry,  anil,  being  appointed  Ser- 
geant of  Company  K,  served  his  country  nearly 
four   years.      He  was   in   the   battle   of    Cedar 
Mountain,  June   9,   1862,  when  'he   received   a 
slight  tlesh  wound,  but  did  not  leave  the  field. 
He  was   in   the  second    battle   of    l?ull    Run  in 
August,   1862.      On  June  18,   1863,  at  Middle- 
burg,  Va. ,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  was  con- 
fined in  the  Confederate  prisons   of   l^elle   Isle 
or  Richmond  about   two  months,  suffering   un- 
told   horrors    and    hardships.       On    June    13, 
1S64,  at  White  Oak   Swamp,  Virginia,  he   re- 
ceived a  wound  in  the  left  hand  which  necessi- 
tated the  amputation  of  the  middle  finger.    In 
the  summer  and   autumn   of    1864   he  was  with 
his  regiment  in  Virginia  under  General  Sheri- 
dan, and  took  part  in  many  of  the  engagements 
of    that    memorable   campaign,    including    the 
battle  of   Winchester  and  others   of   less  note. 
Orr  December  21,  1864,   at   Lacey   Spring,  he 
received  a  severe  sabre  wound  in  the  head,  and 
was  taken  prisoner  and   carried  to   Richmond, 
where  he  was  long  and  seriously   ill    from   the 
effects   of   the  wound,    nearly   losing  his    life. 
On  June  27,   1865,  he  was  discharged  from  the 
service  at  Patterson    Park   Hospital    on   a   sur- 
geon's  certificate   of   disability  on  account   of 
wounds  received  in  battle.     Mr.  Hall  returned 
to  Strafford  County,  and    for  two   years   there- 
after followed  his  trade  in  Dover.      In  1868  he 
came   to  F'armington,  where  he   has   since   re- 
sided, being  successfully  engaged  as  a  carpen- 
ter and  builder,  although  of   late  years   he   has 
confined   his   attention   almost  entirely  to  the 
lumber  business.      He  is  now  a  Director    in 
the  Farmington  Savings  Bank.      In  politics  he 
is  a  firm    Republican,  and   takes  an  intelligent 
interest  in  local  affairs.      In  1876  he  served  as 
Selectman,    and    for    four    years    was    Deputy 
Sheriff    under   Job    Greenfield.       During    the 
administration  of  President  Harrison  he  served 


for  an  equal  length  of  time  as  Postmaster 
of  F'armington,  and  since  1893  he  has  ijeen 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  is  prominently  con- 
nected with  the  order  of  Odd  Fellows,  belong- 
ing to  Woodbine  Lodge,  No.  41,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
in  which  he  has  filled  all  the  offices;  and  to 
Mad  River  Encampment ;  and  he  is  Past  Chan- 
cellor of  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  11,  K.  of  P. 
He  is  also  a  member  in  high  standing  of  Carl- 
ton Post,  No.  24,  G.  A.  R.,  having  served  in 
nearly  all  the  offices  of  the  organization. 

Mr.  Hall  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Hannah  R. 
Morey,  was  born  and  reared  in  West  Fairlee, 
Vt.  She  died  in  early  life,  leaving  one  child, 
Hannah,  who  died  October  13,  1885,  at  the 
home  of  her  husband,  Mr.  A.  F.  Waldron. 
On  December  31,  1866,  Mr.  Hall  married 
Miss  Maria  A.  Stanton,  of  New  Durham, 
N.  H.  ;  and  they  have  one  child,  John  I{.  S. 
Hall,  of  whom  a  brief  sketch  may  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Mr.  Hall  is  a 
member  of  the  Congregational  Society,  and  he 
and  his  family  attend  that  church. 


J^ARLES  W.  ROLLINS,  a  prosper- 
ous and  energetic  farmer  and  lumber 
dealer  of  Gilford,  was  born  in  West 
Alton,  N.H.,  August  31,  1835,  son  of  P'red- 
erick  B.  and  Abigail  (Miller)  Rollins.  His 
grandfather,  Colonel  John  Rollins,  volun- 
teered for  service  in  the  Revolutionary  War 
before  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  going 
out  at  the  very  first  call,  and  remaining  in  the 
army  for  five  years  and  eight  months.  At  the 
time  of  Arnold's  treason  Colonel  Rollins  was 
in  Washington's  army,  and  was  an  eye-witness 
at  the  execution  of  Major  Andre.  An  interest- 
ing relic  of  that  period,  carefully  preserved  by 
his  grandson,  is  an  English  gun  captured  by 
the  Colonel.      The    latter,    even    in    old    age, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S3« 


continuetl  to  be  interested  in  military  affairs, 
and  would  often  instruct  men  in  the  art  of 
drilling.  He  was  never  weary  of  referring  to 
the  tlays  of  war.  After  the  war  he  went  to 
Alton  Corner,  and  had  charge  of  the  public 
iio\ise  there  for  a  few  years.  lie  then  removed 
to  South  Alton,  and  again  to  West  Alton.  In 
Alton  he  bought  a  tract  of  land  with  build- 
ings, and  there  was  afterward  engaged  in  farm- 
ing until  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he 
was  ninety-two  years  old.  He  was  buried  in 
Emerson  Cemetery  on  the  property  of  the  pres- 
ent Mr.  Rollins.  His  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Betsey  Leighton,  lived  to  the  age  of 
ninety  years.  One  of  their  children  died  in 
infancy.  The  others  were :  Anthony,  John, 
Jonathan,  Frederick,  Richard,  and  Susan. 
All  these  married  and  reared  families.  An- 
thony was  a  farmer  in  Somersworth ;  John 
lived  in  Alton,  and  died  in  New  ]3urhani ; 
Jonathan  spent  his  life  in  Alton;  Richard 
lived  in  Alton,  and  then  moved  to  Dover, 
N. H.,  and  died  there;  and  Susan  married 
William  Emerson,  grandfather  of  Willis  P. 
Emerson,  the  subject  of  another  sketch. 

Frederick  15.  Rollins,  the  fourth  child  of 
Colonel  Rollins,  and  the  father  of  Charles  W. , 
received  a  common-school  education,  and  after- 
ward engaged  in  the  coopering  business  in 
West  Alton.  He  was  also  occupied  in  team- 
ing, and  ran  two  four-horse  teams,  by  which  he 
hauled  barrels  and  shooks  to  Portsmouth,  and 
then  freight  (groceries  and  other  supplies)  to 
Laconia.  He  was  prosperous,  and  did  quite 
an  extensive  business,  employing  a  large  num- 
ber of  hands  for  the  work.  At  first  a  part 
owner  of  the  farm  left  by  his  father,  he  finally 
turned  his  attention  wholly  to  that,  and  died 
on  the  old  homestead  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
five.  His  wife,  Abigail,  bore  him  twelve  chil- 
dren—  Calvin,  Charles  W. ,  Seth  E. ,  Lean- 
der,  Sally,  Catherine,  Susan,  Drusilla,  Abbie, 


Mary  Jane,  Melissa,  and  Ro.vana.  Of  these, 
Leander  died  in  infancy,  and  Sally  and  Cath- 
erine dieil  young,  the  latter  when  eighteen 
or  twenty  years  of  age.  Susan  marrieil  Clies- 
ter  B.  Emerson,  of  West  Alton;  Drusilla  mar- 
ried Levi  Grant;  Abbie  became  the  wife  of 
Horace  Lear;  Mary  Jane  marrietl  G.  W.  lien- 
nett,  of  Gilford;  Melissa  married  M.  V.  B. 
Eaton  ;  anil  Ro.\ana  became  the  wife  of  Charles 
Foss. 

Charles  W.  Rollins  received  his  education 
in  the  district  schools.  He  then  took  up 
farming,  and  later  the  wood  and  lumber  busi- 
ness. Of  the  latter  he  has  made  a  specialty 
for  some  years  past.  He  has  sold  logs  e.xten- 
sively  to  parties  owning  mills  along  the  banks 
of  Lake  Winnepesaukee,  and  is  very  prf)sper- 
ous  in  this  line.  He  is  one  of  the  largest 
landowners  in  the  county,  his  property  embrac- 
ing nine  hundred  acres  in  all,  five  hundred  of 
which  are  included  in  his  ]iresent  homestead, 
which  is  located  jiartly  in  Alton  and  jiartly  in 
Gilford,  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
acres,  however,  being  in  Gilford.  He  was 
first  elected  Selectman  in  18S3,  and  subse- 
quently served  in  that  capacity  for  six  years 
before  the  town  was  divided  and  part  of  it 
added  to  I^aconia,  and  for  four  years  after  that 
event.  In  1896  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
legislature  with  Clifton  Tilton,  both  from  Re- 
publican towns,  and  the  only  Democrats 
elected  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Rollins  married  Betsey,  daughter  nt 
Stephen  Dow,  of  (jilforil.  They  have  hail 
three  children  —  Arthur  1).,  Charles  A.,  and 
Elsie.  Arthur,  who  graduated  at  New  Hani])- 
ton  Academy,  and  is  engaged  in  the  lumber 
business  in  West  Alton,  married  Emilie  A. 
Ives,  of  Salem,  Mass.  Charles  A.  is  attend- 
ing the  academy  just  mentioned.  Mr.  Rollins 
is  highly  esteemed  by  all  his  towns])eople. 
While    Selectman    he    gave    his    most    careful 


532 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


attention  to  the  hij^hest  interests  of  the  town. 
People  know  him  as  a  man  of  strict  moral  prin- 
ciples, and  one  who  always  has  the  courage  of 
his  convictions. 


'K.\NKLIN  W.  COBURN,  the  well- 
kntiwn  cutlery  manufacturer  of  New 
Durham,  Strafford  County,  N.H.,  and 
an  ex-member  of  the  State  legislature,  was 
born  in  Pelham,  N.H.,  January  i6,  1834,  son 
of  Jesse  and  Abigail  (Hardy)  Coburn.  His 
parents  were  nati\'es  of  Pelham,  as  was  also  his 
paternal  grandfather,  Josiah  Coburn.  Jesse 
Coburn  was  an  industrious  farmer,  who  tilled 
the  soil  of  a  good  farm  in  his  native  town  for 
the  greater  part  of  his  life,  but  whose  last  days 
were  spent  in  New  Durham.  He  lived  to  be 
eighty-four  years  old.  His  wife,  Abbie 
Hardy,  became  the  mother  of  nine  children, 
four  of  whom  are  living  —  P"ranklin  W.,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  being  the  youngest. 

Franklin  W.  Coburn  acquired  a  common- 
school  education,  and  at  the  age  of  si.xteen 
came  to  New  Durham,  where  he  served  an 
apjjrenticeship  at  the  blacksmith's  and  knife- 
maker's  trades.  In  1855  he  erected  a  small 
factory  where  the  large  one  now  stands,  the 
latter  being  erected  in  1887,  and  began  the 
manufacture  of  knives,  shoe  shaves,  and  general 
cutlery.  His  plant,  which  is  situated  at  what 
is  now  called  Coburnville,  has  a  capacity  of 
fifty  workmen,  and  his  goods  are  disposed  of 
by  his  own  agents  at  97  Summer  Street,  Bos- 
ton. Mr.  Coburn  also  utilizes  the  water- 
power  at  the  head  of  the  Cocheco  River,  where 
he  carries  on  a  saw-mill  for  the  manufacture 
of  shingles  and  so  forth,  and  also  makes  cider. 
His  activity  and  business  ability  are  greatly 
appreciated  by  the  community,  which  is  bene- 
fited by  the  industries  which  he  has  developed 
within   its  midst,    and  the   success  which  has 


attended  his  enterprise  is  fully  meriteil.  In 
politics  he  acts  with  the  Republican  party, 
and  has  long  been  a  leading  spirit  in  the  pub- 
lic affairs  of  this  town.  He  represented  New 
Durham  in  the  legislature  during  the  sessions 
of  1878  and  1S79,  and  has  been  chosen  dele- 
gate to  both  State  and  National  conventions. 

Mr.  Coburn  has  been  three  times  married. 
For  his  first  wife  he  wedded  Susan  VVilley, 
who  died  in  1858.  By  that  union  there  were 
three  children,  namely ;  Charles,  who  is  no 
longer  living;  Franklin  \V. ,  Jr.;  and  Alonzo 
G.  His  second  wife,  Mary  J.  Willey,  sister 
of  the  first  wife,  died  in  1891.  There  were 
three  children  by  this  marriage,  as  follows: 
Thomas  Paine,  who  lived  but  six  months; 
Alma  J.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-four; 
and  Susan  Maud,  who  is  twenty  years  of  age. 
The  present  Mrs.  Coburn,  formerly  Mrs.  Sarah 
E.  Gould,  of  I.ynn,  is  a  daughter  of  Hiram  F. 
Wright,  Esq.,  of  Cambridgeport,  Mass. 

Mr.  Coburn  is  connected  with  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  the  Knights  of  Honor. 


KRANKLIN  W.  COBURN,  Jk.,  who 
is  connected  with  the  cutlery  manufac- 
tory founded  by  his  father  in  New 
Durham,  was  born  in  this  town,  December  5, 
1856,  son  of  Franklin  W. ,  Sr. ,  and  Susan 
(Willey)  Coburn.  His  great-grandfather,  Jo- 
siah, and  his  grandfather,  Jesse  Coburn,  were 
natives  of  Pelham,  N.  H.  ;  and  an  account  of 
the  family  will  be  found  in  a  sketch  of  Frank- 
lin W.  Coburn,  Sr. ,  which  appears  elsewhere 
in  the  "  Review.  " 

Franklin  W.  Coburn,  Jr.,  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  New  Durham  and  of  Pelham. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  entered  his 
father's  factory  in  this  town,  and  has  since 
been  closely  connected  with  that  enterprise. 
He    is  one    of    the  earnest  supporters  of    the 


FRANKLIN    W.    COBURN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


535 


l\c|)iihlicaii  part)'  in  New  Ihiihani  ;  and  his 
public  services  have  demonstiated  the  fact 
tiiat  he  possesses  much  natural  ability,  which 
will  undoubtedly  pave  the  way  for  his  future 
success  either  in  business  or  in  public  life. 
He  was  for  some  time  supervisor  of  the  check 
list,  acted  as  Collector  for  one  year,  and  was 
elected  a  Representative  to  the  legislature  in 
1.S89.  He  is  a  member  of  Winnepesaukec 
Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Alton,  and  of  Colum- 
bian Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of  Farm- 
ington ;  is  connected  with  Woodbine  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.  ;  and  Harmony  Lodge,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  of  the  last  named  town.  Mr.  Coburn 
married  Leona  Smith,  daughter  of  James  and 
Ann  Smith,  of  Rochester,  N.  H. 


LONZO  G.  COBURN,  a  cutlery  man- 
ufacturer of  New  Durham,  was  born 
in  this  town,  March  13,  1858,  son 
of  I'Vanklin  VV. ,  Sr. ,  and  Susan  (Willey)  Co- 
burn.  He  is  a  great-grandson  of  Josiah  and 
grandson  of  Jesse  Coburn,  both  of  whom  were 
natives  of  Pelham,  N.H.  The  family  has 
long  been  identified  with  the  manufacture  of 
cutlery  in  New  Durham  ;  and  for  a  more  ex- 
tended account  of  this  enterprise  and  its 
founder,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  sketch  of 
Franklin  W.  Coburn,  Sr. ,  which  will  be  found 
upon  another  page  of  this  work. 

Alonzo  G.  Coburn  acquired  a  practical  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  this  town,  and  at  the 
age  of  si.xteen  began  work  in  his  father's  fac- 
tory, with  which  he  has  since  been  promi- 
nently identified.  He  is  actively  interested 
in  public  affairs,  was  supervisor  of  the  check 
list  for  twelve  years,  has  been  Tax  Collector 
for  the  past  two  years,  and  is  now  serving  as 
police  officer.  He  is  a  member  of  Harmony 
Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  Farmington. 
Mr.  Coburn   wedded   Ann  Adams,  daughter  of 


Charles  Adams,  of  New  Durham,  and  she  has 
had  two  children,  namely:  Alice  M.,  who  is 
no  longer  living;  and  Floyd  P.  'Jhe  family 
attend  the  Baptist  church. 


NOCH  T.  HANSON,  a  successful  tiller 
of  the  soil,  residing  on  his  well- 
appointed  farm  in  the  town  of  Dover, 
Strafford  County,  has  a  good  record  both  as 
citizen  and  soldier.  He  was  born  in  April, 
1841,  in  Moultonboro,  Car'roll  County,  N.H., 
at  the  home  of  his  parents,  Charles  and  Mary 
C.   (True)  Hanson. 

Mr.  Hanson  passed  the  first  eighteen  years 
of  his  life  in  Moultonboro  and  Sandwich, 
N.  H.,  and  has  since  made  his  home  in  Dover. 
Soon  after  attaining  his  majority  he  re- 
sponded to  the  call  for  troops  to  put  down  the 
Rebellion,  enlisting  on  the  (jtli  of  August, 
1862,  as  a  private  in  Company  K  of  the 
Eleventh  New  Hampshire  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, for  three  years,  or  during  the  war.  He 
was  mustered  into  service  at  Concord,  and, 
being  sent  with  his  comrades  to  the  scene  of 
action,  took  an  active  part  in  many  of  the  im- 
portant battles  that  followed,  notable  among 
them  being  those  of  Fredericksburg;  Jackson, 
Miss.;  Knoxville;  the  seven  days'  battle  of 
the  Wilderness;  the  engagements  at  Spottsyl- 
vania.  North  Anna  River,  Cold  Harbor;  and 
the  siege  of  Petersburg.  In  front  of  the  latter 
city,  June  16,  1864,  Mr.  Hanson  was  seriously 
wounded  by  a  minie  ball.  He,  however,  con- 
tinued a  member  of  his  regiment  until  the 
close  of  the  conflict,  receiving  his  discharge  at 
Concord  on  the  4th  of  June,  1865.  In  1882 
Mr.  Hanson  purchased  his  present  place, 
twenty  acres  of  land,  with  convenient  build- 
ings, and  has  since  been  [irofitably  engaged  in 
general  farming,  the  neat  and  comfortable 
appearance  of   his   iKjmestead   giving  evidence 


536 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


of  the  Intel  licence  with  which  he  manages  his 
work.  InihistrioLis  and  upright,  he  is  held 
in  high  regard  throughout  the  community  in 
which  he  resides.  In  politics  he  is  a  firm 
supporter  of  the  Republican  party;  and  he  is  a 
worthy  member  of  the  Charles  Sawyer  Post, 
(i.  A.  R.,  of  Dover. 

Mr.  Hanson  was  married  in  September, 
iS6i,  to  Miss  Lydia  Austin,  who  was  born  in 
Dover,  N.H.,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Nancy 
Austin.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hanson  may  be  briefly  mentioned  as  follows: 
Ciiarles  H.,  living  at  Portsmouth,  N.H.  ;  Mary 
J.,  who  died  November  8,  1878;  Mattie  A., 
who  died  August  23,  i88g;  John  T.,  a  resi- 
dent of  Dover;  Grace  M.,  who  died  November 
30,  1878;  and  B.  Frank,  Ida  M.,  and  Lil- 
lian, all  residing  in  Dover. 


(s5YOHN  P.  SMITH,  a  representative  La- 
conia  farmer,  was  born  in  Gilford, 
Belknap  County,  N.  H.,  April  30, 
1830,  a  son  of  John  P.,  Sr. ,  and  Abigail  R. 
(Smith)  Smith.  His  maternal  grandfather, 
Daniel  Smith,  who  lived  at  New  Hampton, 
was  a  farmer  and  storekeeper  and  extensive 
landowner  of  that  place,  which  he  represented 
in  the  Lower  House  of  the  State  legislature. 
He  also  served  as  Selectman  of  New  Hampton. 
He  married  Mary  Pickering,  and  had  five  chil- 
dren ;  namely,  Daniel,  James,  Sarah,  Abigail, 
and  Susan,  all  deceased. 

John  P.  Smith,  Sr.,  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  East  Meredith, 
and  there  received  a  common-school  education. 
He  early  took  up  the  occupation  of  a  farmer, 
and  when  but  twenty-one  years  of  age  had  full 
charge  of  a  five-hundred-acre /arm.  He  subse- 
quently owned  a  farm  of  his  own,  and  was 
engaged  in  stock  raising  to  some  extent.  He 
served  his  town  as  Selectman,  and  for  a   lono- 


period  he  was  a  Deacon  of  the  Free  Baptist 
church,  with  which  he  was  connected  for  forty 
years.  He  died  in  Gilford  in  1879,  leaving 
three  children,  namely:  Mary  Ann  and  Daniel 
K.,  both  deceased;  and  John  P. 

John  P.  Smith,  the  youngest  born  and  the 
only  one  now  living,  attended  school  two  years 
in  his  native  town,  Gilford,  and  an  equal 
length  of  time  in  Tilton,  after  which  he  took 
up  farming  with  his  father,  who  owned  a  one- 
hundred-and-thirty-acre  farm.  Upon  attain- 
ing his  legal  majority,  he  removed  to  Sanborn- 
ton,  and  was  successfully  engaged  in  farming 
there  for  a  time;  but  on  account  of  sickness  in 
the  family,  he  returned  to  work  on  the  home- 
stead farm,  where  he  remained  ten  years,  and 
then  sold  out.  He  still  has  considerable  farm- 
ing land.  In  1872-74,  Mr.  Smith  served  as 
a  Representative  to  the  Lower  House  of  the 
State  legislature,  and  was  one  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Banking.  He  is  an  attendant  of  the 
Free  Baptist  church. 

Mr.  Smith  has  twice  married.  His  first 
wife,  Susan  O.  Smith,  died  in  1887,  at  fifty- 
two  years  of  age;  and  in  1892  he  married 
Sarah  Potter.-  There  were  two  children  by  the 
first  union  —  namely,  Vina,  who  died  in  1S63; 
and  Abby,  who  died  in  1878 — ^  and  none  by 
the  second  marriajre. 


■TW\ICHARD  T.  ROGERS,  for  many 
I  ^~^  years  a  prominent  resident  of  Roches- 
i-^  V  ^  ter,  was  born  in  this  town,  July  3, 
1818,  son  of  Samuel  and  Nancy  (Tripe) 
Rogers.  The  earliest  ancestor  of  Mr.  Rogers 
in  this  country  emigrated  from  Dublin,  Ire- 
land, bringing  an  infant  son  John,  who  was 
at  the  time  only  a  year  old.  This  John  grew 
to  manhood  in  America  and  married  Mary 
McDuffie,  who  was  born  at  sea  when  her 
mother  was  coming  to  America.      John  Rogers 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


537 


was  father  of  Daniel,  the  grandfather  of  Mr. 
Richard  Rogers.  He  was  born  on  the  farm 
that  had  been  cleared  by  his  father;  antl  ii[)on 
reaching  manhood  he  married  Hannah  Gage, 
of  Dover,  whose  father  was  a  brother  of  Gen- 
eral Thomas  Gage  of  Revolutionary  fame. 
Samuel  Rogers,  born  on  the  place  afterward 
owned  and  occupied  by  his  son  for  many  years, 
was  a  farmer  and  wheelwright,  and  did  a  large 
business.  A  prominent  and  influential  man  in 
this  section  of  the  State,  he  was  for  many 
years  Selectman  of  the  town.  He  married 
Nancy  Tripe,  of  Dover,  whose  father  invented 
the  diving  bell  used  at  Portsmouth,  N.H. 
They  had  two  children  —  Elizabeth  and  Rich- 
ard T.  Rogers.  It  is  related  of  Mrs.  Nancy 
Rogers  that  on  being  warned,  when  her  hus- 
band was  about  to  test  the  newly  invented 
diving  bell,  he  would  not  come  up  alive,  she 
went  down  with  him,  and  both  came  up  un- 
harmed. 

Richard  T.  Rogers  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  district  schools,  where  he  was 
known  as  a  diligent  pupil  of  much  promise. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business,  carrying  on  an  extensive 
traffic.  Later  by  reading  law  and  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  conveyances  and  other  legal  in- 
struments he  was  able  to  transact  a  large 
amount  of  probate  business.  In  politics  he 
was  known  throughout  the  town  as  a  stanch 
and  active  supporter  of  Republican  principles. 
He  served  the  town  as  Selectman  for  many 
years,  was  County  Commissioner  for  some 
time,  and  he  represented  the  town  in  the  State 
legislature  for  several  terms.  Of  a  kindly 
and  generous  nature,  he  had  a  large  circle  of 
personal  friends,  who  were  deeply  grieved  by 
his  death,  which   occurred   October   28,    1890. 

On  December  25,  1877,  Mr.  Rogers  mar- 
ried Miss  Olive  M.,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
and    lluldah    (Hussey)    Page,     of     Rochester. 


Mrs.  Rogers,  who  sui\ives  her  iiusi)aiid,  can 
trace  her  genealogy  back  to  Daniel  Page,  who 
came  from  I-'ngland  and  was  one  of  the  earliest 
and  most  [jrominent  settlers  of  Rochester. 
Daniel's  son  lienjamin,  who  was  a  farmer, 
had  the  title  of  Captain.  Jknjamin  Page,  Jr., 
the  father  of  Mrs.  Rogers,  was  a  native  of 
Rochester,  and  served  in  the  War  of  1812, 
being  stationed  at  Portsmouth.  His  chief  oc- 
cupation was  farming,  which  he  followed  on 
his  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres,  mak- 
ing a  specialty  of  raising  cattle,  sheep,  and 
horses.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  Hy 
his  wife,  Huldah,  he  was  the  father  of  seven 
children,  of  whom  five  grew  to  matinity; 
namely,  William  IL,  Mary  Elizabeth,  Olive 
Margaret,  Kingman  Fogg,  and  Daniel  Hussey. 
The  last  named  is  a  resident  of  Higgins,  Te.\. 
Mr.  Page  was  a  Baptist  in  religious  faith,  and 
his  wife  was  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 


YMAN  H.  JENKINS,  a  successful 
farmer  of  Barnstead,  N.H.,  was  born 
in  this  town,  January  2,  1846,  son 
of  Joseph  and  Lydia  Ann  (Merrill)  Jenkins. 
His  paternal  grandfather  was  John  Jenkins,  a 
native  and  lifelong  resident  of  Lee,  N.H. 
Joseph  Jenkins  came  to  Barnstead  from  Lee, 
his  native  place,  when  about  twenty-one  years 
old;  and  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  a  period  of 
seventy  years,  did  a  prosperous  business  as 
farmer  and  stock-raiser  in  this  town.  Begin- 
ning in  a  small  way,  he  kept  on  buying  land 
until  he  owned  six  hundred  acres.  Besides  the 
occupations  already  mentioned,  he  was  also  en- 
gaged to  some  extent  in  the  lumber  business. 
He  was  a  hale  and  active  man,  and  was  able  to 
do  an  ordinary  man's  work  until  well  along 
toward  the  close  of  his  life.  He  jirofes.sed  the 
C,)uaker  faith  ;  and  in  ])(ilitics  he  was  a  stanch 
Republican,  having  first  been  a  member  of  the 


538 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Whig  party.  Of  a  strong  will,  sound  judg- 
ment, and  more  than  the  average  intelligence, 
his  character  comniamied  the  respect  of  his  fel- 
low-citizens, and  he  was  often  called  upon  to 
serve  in  public  capacities.  He  was  repeatedly 
elected  Selectman,  was  Chairman  of  the  Board 
for  a  number  of  years;  and  he  also  represented 
the  town  in  the  legislature.  He  died  Decem- 
ber 4,  1882,  aged  ninety-two  years.  Joseph 
Jenkins  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Nancy  Walker,  he  be- 
came the  father  of  five  children  —  William  A., 
Joseph,  John  W. ,  Orin  J.,  and  Louisa.  His 
second  wife,  in  maidenhood  Lydia  Ann  Mer- 
rill, a  daughter  of  Elisha  Merrill,  of  Barn- 
stead,  bore  him  eight  children  —  Charles  F., 
Everett,  Lewis,  Louisa,  Calvin,  Melvin,  Mary, 
and  Lyman  H.  William  died  July  21,  1890, 
and  Joseph,  October  17,  1881,  aged  fifty-seven. 
The  former  was  at  one  time  County  Treasurer. 
Louisa,  now  deceased,  became  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Solomon  Young.  Lewis  at  one  time  repre- 
sented Gilmanton  in  the  legislature.  Everett 
was  in  the  Civil  War  until  the  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg, where  he  received  a  wound  that  in- 
capacitated him  for  further  service.  Lewis 
and  Melvin  served  in  the  war,  having  enlisted 
in  Company  B,  Twelfth  New  Hampshire  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  The  former  received  a  wound 
in  the  arm  at  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and, 
being  disabled,  returned  home.  He  has  been 
Postmaster  at  Pittsfield,  N.  H.,  for  the  past 
eighteen  years.  His  brother  Melvin  was 
wounded  in  the  foot.  Melvin  was  City  Mar- 
shal of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  for  seven  years, 
having  attained  the  position  by  serving  in  the 
different  grades  of  the  police  force  of  the  city. 
Lyman  H.  Jenkins  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  at  Pittsfield  Academy.  After 
leaving  school,  he  was  engaged  for  three  years 
in  the  meat  business  in  Pittsfield.  He  then 
took  up  farming,  beginning   in   this   town  with 


fifty  acres  of  land.  By  careful  management 
and  hard  work,  he  has  increased  the  size  of  his 
farm  to  two  hundred  and  thirty  acres.  Besides 
carrying  on  general  farming,  he  makes  a  spe- 
cialty of  dairying.  Mr.  Jenkins  is  a  Republi- 
can in  politics.  Though  interested  in  town 
affairs  and  the  general  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity, he  has  never  sought  office,  but  office  has 
sought  him.  In  1896  he  was  nominated  on 
the  Republican  ticket  as  Representative  to  the 
legislature  for  1897-98,  and  was  triumphantly 
elected,  running  ahead  of  his  ticket,  the  town 
going  Republican  for  the  first  time  in  its  his- 
tory. Mr.  Jenkins  is  a  member  of  the  Ccmgre- 
gational  church,  and  for  the  past  three  years 
has  held  in  it  the  position  of  Deacon.  On 
May  I,  1872,  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Shack- 
ford,  daughter  of  Samuel  G.  Shackford,  and  a 
representative  of  an  old  Barnstead  family. 


irXAVID  H.  CARON,  a  popular  grocer 
11  of  Salmon  Falls,  was  born  January 
r-4ii/  16,  1863,  in  St.  Roch,  P.O.,  son  of 
Jacques  and  Alphonsine  (Lizotte)  Caron.  As 
his  name  indicates,  he  is  of  French  extraction. 
Several  descendants  of  his  mother's  great- 
grandfather, who  emigrated  from  France  to 
Canada,  became  interested  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. Mr.  Caron 's  paternal  grandfather  was 
Guillaume  Caron,  also  a  Frenchman. 

Jacques  Caron  was  born  in  St.  Roch  in 
18 1 5,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools.  He  has  been  a  farmer  all  his  life,  is 
a  stalwart,  sturdy  man  now  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two  years,  and  comes  every  year  to  pay 
a  visit  to  his  sons  in  Salmon  Falls.  He  is  a 
loyal  British  subject,  one  of  those  yeomen  of 
Canada  who  form  the  strength  of  Great  Britain 
in  America.  His  wife,  Alphonsine,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Francois  Lizotte,  of  St.  Roch,  has 
borne  him  si.\  children — Joseph,  Alphonsine, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


539 


Gaudclie,  lunma,  Arthur  R.,  ami  David  II. 
Alphonsine  is  the  wife  of  Augiire  Gagnon,  of 
St.  Koch;  Gaiidclio  is  the  wife  of  N.  J.  Tel- 
Icticr,  of  Springvale,  Me.  ;  and  Emma  married 
IClzear  Deschenes,  of  St.  Roch,  and  is  living 
on  the  old  homestead. 

Mingling  with  the  memories  of  Mr.  Caron's 
early  life  are  the  mind  pictures  caught  from 
the  beautiful  legends  of  St.  Koch  and  St. 
Anne  La  Pocatiere.  For  his  education  he 
was  sent  to  the  schools  and  college  of  St. 
Anne  la  Pocatiere.  Afterward,  in  1880,  he 
came  to  Salmon  Falls  with  the  intention  of 
starting  in  business  here.  Instead  of  carrying 
out  this  purpose,  he  went  to  work  in  the  mill 
for  a  year.  Then  he  and  his  brother,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Arthur  Caron  &  Co.,  engaged 
in  business  at  South  Berwick,  Me.  Two  years 
later  they  bought  out  the  store  in  Salmon  Falls 
now  managed  by  him,  and  at  the  end  of  a 
month  he  bought  his  brother's  interest  and 
became  sole  proprietor.  He  keeps  groceries 
and  provisions,  is  a  wholesale  dealer  in  pota- 
toes, handling  them  by  the  car  loatl,  and  em- 
ploys a  number  of  clerks.  He  married  Miss 
Marie  C.  Pelletier,  daughter  of  Cajetan 
Pelletier,  of  Kiviere  du  Lou]),  and  became  the 
father  of  the  following  children.  Of  these, 
Arthur  is  deceased.  The  others  are:  David 
J.,  Arthur  N. ,  Marie  Alma  Eva,  Marie  Lou- 
ise, and  William. 

In  politics  Mr.  Caron  is  a  Democrat.  He 
was  chosen  to  represent  the  town  in  the  New 
Hampshire  legislature  in  i8go,  and  he  has 
held  other  ofifices  of  public  trust  and  responsi- 
bility. For  three  years  he  has  been  on  the 
Board  of  Selectmen,  and  is  at  present  serving 
as  School  Committee.  He  is  a  member  of 
Pagus  Tribe,  No.  i,  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Ked  Men,  holding  the  rank  of  Sachem.  He 
is  also  a  charter  member  of  Frontenac  Lodge, 
Catholic  Order  of  Foresters. 


l.LIAM  HARRISON  WKl-iKS,  a 
very  enterprising  and  successful 
farmer  of  Gilford,  N.H.,  was  burn 
here,  July  31,  1S39,  son  of  William  and  I'lliza 
(Hutchin.son)  Weeks.  The  Weeks  family  in 
Giltord  has  been  a  numerous  and  inllnential 
one  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  i)lace. 

Leonard  Weeks,  the  immigrant  ancestor, 
was  born  in  bjigland  in  1635.  In  February, 
1660-61,  he  iiad  settled  at  Winnicut,  a  part  of 
Portsmouth,  now  in  Greenland,  N.H.,  where 
he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Captain 
Samuel,  his  son,  was  born  in  Greenland, 
N.H.,  in  1670;  and  Matthias,  son  of  Captain 
Samuel,  was  born  there  in  1708,  and  died  in 
1777.  Ik'njamin,  son  of  Matthias,  and  great- 
grandfather of  the  special  subject  of  the  pres- 
ent sketch,  was  born  in  Greenland,  N.I  I.,  in 
1749.  In  early  manhood  he  removed  to  Gil- 
ford, N.H.,  then  a  jiart  of  Gilmanton,  and, 
buying  a  two-hundred-acre  lot  of  land,  resided 
here  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1829. 
He  went  by  the  name  of  Squire  Ben,  and  was 
a  prominent  resident.  He  employed  a  number 
of  hands,  as,  in  addition  to  farming,  he  carried 
on  a  tannery  for  some  years.  After  living  for 
a  while  in  a  log  cabin,  he  built  a  frame  house 
of  split  planks  four  inches  thick  and  locked  to- 
gether; and  later  still  he  constructed  a  more 
modern  house  of  two  stories.  At  one  time  he 
lost  heavily  by  fire,  but  he  was  undaunted  in 
his  efforts  to  succeed;  and  he  did  succeed. 
He  was  an  energetic  man  of  business  and  a 
keen  trader,  but  was  genial,  social,  and  exxecd- 
ingly  popular.  It  is  said  that  his  was  always 
an  open  house,  and  that  no  one  ever  turned 
away  without  help.  He  was  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  many  years.  He  married  Sally 
Weed,  who  was  of  a  bright,  cheerful  nature 
like  his  own.  They  had  seven  children  — 
Elisha,  Daniel,  Benjamin,  Jr.,  Levi,  Sarah, 
Matthias,  and    William.      All    were   well    edn- 


540 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


cated.  Matthias  married  a  Miss  Dodge,  and 
moved  to  Readville,  Mc.  Daniel  married 
Hannah  Gale  Salsbury.  IClisha  was  in  trade 
in  Strafford,  and  married  Miss  Potter,  of  Gil- 
ford, by  whom  he  had  three  children.  Will- 
iam had  a  college  education,  and  went  to  Penn- 
sylvania to  teach.  Levi  was  a  merchant  in 
Orono,  Me.  He  married  Lydia  Sleeper. 
Sarah,  who  was  highly  educated  and  a  woman 
of  marked  literary  taste,  taught  school  some 
years. 

J^enjamin,  Jr.,  known  as  Captain  Benjamin 
Weeks,  son  of  Benjamin  Weeks,  was  born  in 
Gilford  in  1788,  and  died  in  Gilford  in  the 
year  1863  (December  29)  aged  seventy-five. 
He  was  the  original  owner  of  the  iron  ore  lot 
near  Mount  Belknap,  and  also  inherited  one- 
half  of  his  father's  farm.  He  commanded  a 
company  in  the  State  militia,  and  was  a  very 
popular  man  in  the  community,  being  a  Whig 
in  politics.  He  attended  the  Universalist 
church.  He  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-seven 
years  —  his  wife,  Betsey  Hoitt,  dying  at  the  age 
of  fifty-si.x.  Their  children  were  as  follows: 
Hazen ;  Franklin;  Sarah;  Mehitable;  Will- 
iam, father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch ; 
Th(jnias;  Harriet;  Nathan;  and  Betsey. 

Of  these,  Harriet  is  the  only  one  living. 
She  married  Daniel  Gilman,  and  is  at  present 
residing  in  Providence,  R.I.  They  have  three 
children  —  Erastus,  Anna,  and  Laura.  Hazen 
married  Prudence  Sleeper,  and  had  four  chil- 
dren—  Benjamin,  John  M.,  Betsey,  and 
Plarrict.  Franklin  was  Selectman,  Tax  Col- 
lector, Representative,  and  also  held  other 
offices.  He  married  Julia  Weeks,  and  their 
children  were:  Charles,  Francis,  Julia  A., 
Ellen,  George  V.,  Henry,  and  Parker.  Sarah 
married  John  G.  Weeks.  They  have  eight 
children,  as  follows:  Caroline,  John  H., 
Sarah,  Lydia  Ann,  Josephine,  Rebecca,  Rufus, 
and    Clara.       Mehitable    married    George    W. 


Weeks,  and  their  children  are:  Scott,  George 
W.,  Jr.,  and  Levi  R.  George  W.  Weeks,  Jr., 
is  now  a  hotel -keeper.  Thomas  married  Nancy 
Hill,  and  their  children  are:  Mary  P' ranees, 
who  married  George  Morrill;  Sarah  A.;  and 
Austin  B.  Nathan  married  twice.  By  his 
first  wife,  Harriet  Hackctt,  he  had  three  chil- 
dren—  Edward,  Emma,  and  Clara;  and  by  his 
second  wife,  Martha  Philbrook,  he  had  five 
children  —  Anna,  P'red,  Scott,  Lelia,  and 
P'lossie.  Betsey  Weeks  died  when  aljout 
twenty-two  years  of  age. 

William  Weeks,  son  of  Captain  Benjamin, 
was  born  in  Gilford,  N.  H.,  March  30,  1812. 
He  carried  on  general  farming,  having  a  farm 
of  over  three  hundred  acres.  He  served  as 
Selectman  for  three  years.  Representative  for 
two  years,  and  Tax  Collector  for  a  number  of 
years,  being  social  and  popular,  and  a  man  of 
good  judgment  in  public  affairs.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  church.  He 
married  Eliza  Hutchinson,  daughter  of  PLlijah 
Hutchinson,  and  was  the  father  of  eight  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Elizabeth;  Lewis;  William 
Harrison,  subject  of  this  sketch ;  Oren  H.  ; 
Annette  ;■  Fred  ;  Arthur;  and  Rufus.  Eliza- 
beth Weeks  married  James  R.  Morrill;  Lewis 
died  in  Nevada;  Oren  married  Arvilla  Page, 
and  is  now  living  on  the  (dd  farm;  Annette 
married  Edwin  Munsey,  a  veteran  of  the  war, 
and  is  now  in  California;  P'red  married  Laura 
Gilman,  and  is  at  present  a  wholesale  confec- 
tioner in  Providence,  R.I.  Arthur  Weeks 
married  Carrie  Robinson.  He  was  a  whole- 
sale confectioner,  but  is  now  retired  from  busi- 
ness. Rufus  is  a  dentist  at  Suncook,  N.  PI. 
He  married  Luella  Hoitt.  William  Weeks 
died  June  8,  1878;  and  his  wife,  PZliza  Hutch- 
inson of  Gilford,  who  was  born  in  Gilmanton, 
June  I,   iSii,  died  April  20,    1880. 

William  Harrison,  the  second  son,  com- 
pleted his  education   at   the   Gilford  Academy, 


Willis  McDuffee,  Rochester, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


543 


;iiul  at  tlie  age  of  t\vciity-i)iio  went  t(i  CalilHi- 
iiia,  wlierc  ho  iLMiiaincd  over  four  years  in  the 
mining  business.  He  then  returned  to  Gil- 
foril  and  bought  the  homestead  of  his  grand- 
father, wiiicli  he  still  occupies;  and,  having 
added  other  lands  to  his  property,  he  now 
owns  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres. 

He  was  a  Representative  to  the  State  legis- 
lature in  1.SS9  and  1S90;  has  been  Selectman 
for  the  past  four  years;  two  years  on  School 
Committee;  and  was  Supervisor  in  1893, 
when  the  town  was  divided  and  a  part  added,  to 
Laconia.  In  ]3olitics  he  afifiliates  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  He  is  one  of  the  charter 
members  of  Mount  Belknap  Grange,  No.  52. 
On  May  15,  1866,  he  married  Mary  G.  Potter, 
daughter  of  William  Potter.  She  was  born  in 
South  Reading,  now  Wakefield,  Mass.  They 
have  four  children,  as  follows:  Natt  H.,  Julia 
A.,  Millie  F.,  and  William  Stark.  Natt  H. 
Weeks  is  at  present  clerk  in  a  hardware 
store  in  Providence,  R.I.  Julia  is  married  to 
Ansell  Gove.  Millie  is  a  teacher,  and  Stark 
is  at  home  with  his  parents.  Mr.  Weeks  is 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  farmers  of  his 
vicinity,  and  as  a  citizen  he  has  the  respect  of 
his  fellow-townsmen. 


VCA^/ILLIS  McDUFFEE,  editor  of  the 
Rochester  Courier  and  President  of 
the  Courier  Publishing  Company, 
was  born  in  Rochester,  Strafford  County, 
N.II.,  March  15,  1868.  His  father,  Franklin 
McDuffee,  and  his  grandfather,  John  Mc- 
Duffee,  were  both  prominent  and  influential 
figures  in  banking  and  financial  circles  of  this 
part  of  the  State.  John  McDufTee  was  born  in 
the  suburbs  of  Rochester,  December  6,  1803. 
He  gave  early  promise  of  a  useful  and  ener- 
getic career.  After  five  years  at  the  village 
schools   he   was,  when    eighteen  years  old,  one 


of  the  first  ini|)ils  of  l''ranklin  Academy, 
Dover,  where  he  fitted  for  the  .Snpjiomnre  class 
of  a  university,  but  returned  to  Rochester  in- 
stead of  going  to  college.  He  then  spent  two 
years  clerking  in  his  uncle's  general  store, 
after  which,  in  1823,  he  opened  a  store  of  his 
own  in  the  same  line,  and  in  1825  admitted 
to  partnership  another  uncle,  J.  H.  Torr.  At 
this  time,  although  under  age,  he  was  Post- 
master of  Rochester,  which  position  he  re- 
tained until  removed  by  President  Jackson. 
In  1 83 1  he  opened  a  store  in  Dover  in  tiic 
same  business  on  a  much  larger  scale;  but  in 
February,  1833,  being  called  to  Rochester 
again  as  e.xecutor  of  the  will  of  his  father-in- 
law,  Joseph  Hanson,  he  sold  out  the  business 
and  retired  from  trade.  The  lack  of  a  bank  in 
Rochester  had  long  been  a  serious  inconven- 
ience to  that  place  and  the  neighboring  terri- 
tory. Mr.  McDuffee  inaugurated  a  movement 
for  the  establishment  of  such  an  institution, 
and  was  active  in  securing  the  support  of  the 
leading  business  men.  Subscribers  were  soon 
found;  and  the  Rochester  Pank  was  duly  char- 
tered, and  opened  its  doors  May  i,  1835,  with 
Mr.  McDuffee  as  Cashier.  For  twenty  years 
he  \irtually  managed  the  bank's  business, 
when  he  resigned  to  become  its  President. 
This  position  he  held  until  the  withdrawal  of 
the  State  banks  in  favor  of  national  iKinks. 
I-'or  si.\  years  he  and  his  son,  under  the  firm 
name  of  John  McDuffee  &  Co.,  Private 
Bankers,  continued  the  business  until  1S74, 
when  the  Rochester  National  Hank  w\ns  inau- 
gurated, Mr.  McDuffee  and  his  son  taking  two- 
fifths  of  the  stock  and  holding  the  oflTice  of 
President  and  Cashier  respectively,  each  until 
his  death.  Other  banks  in  which  he  was 
interested  were  the  Dover  National  Hank,  the 
Strafford  ]?ank  of  Dover,  and  the  Norway 
Plains  Savings  Hank,  of  which  he  was  the  first 
Treasurer.      In  1867  he  was  made  its  President, 


544 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  so  continued  to  his  death.  The  water- 
power  at  Rochester,  witli  its  great  possibili- 
ties of  advantage  to  his  native  town  in  the 
line  of  manufactures,  early  attracted  his  atten- 
tion. Mainly  through  his  efforts  the  Mechan- 
ics' Maiuifacturing  Company  (now  the  Nor- 
way I'lains  Manufacturing  Company)  was 
starteil  in  Rochester,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
Directors.  He  purchased  mill  property  in 
Gonic  in  1845,  and  lent  assistance  to  S. 
Shorey  in  establishing  mills  at  liast  Roches- 
ter. He  owned  large  blocks  of  stock  in  the 
Great  Falls  Manufacturing  Company,  and  was 
interested  in  the  Cocheco  and  the  Conway 
railroads,  being  the  first  Treasurer  of  each  of 
these  companies.  He  also  held  shares  of  Port- 
land &  Rochester  and  of  Rochester  &  Nashua 
roads. 

Besides  the  handsome  McDuffee  Block, 
erected  in  1868,  Mr.  McDuffee  owned  many 
pieces  of  valuable  real  estate  in  and  near 
Rochester.  He  was  a  decided  Republican  in 
politics,  believing  the  principles  of  the  party 
to  be  for  the  public  good.  He  joined  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  on  the  very  day  of  his  major- 
ity. His  death,  which  occurred  in  December, 
1890,  was  sincerely  mourned  by  his  family 
and  friends,  in  short  by  the  community,  since 
all  were  friends;  and  the  place  he  left  vacant 
cannot  easily  be  filled. 

Franklin  McDuffee,  father  of  Willis,  was 
born  in  Dover,  August  27,  1832.  He  passed 
through  the  local  schools  and  Gilmanton 
Academy,  and  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College 
in  1853.  He  read  law  with  the  Hon.  D.  M. 
Christie  at  Dover  for  six  months,  and  in  May, 
1854,  was  made  Cashier  of  the  Rochester 
(State)  Bank.  In  1866,  as  above  stated,  he 
became  a  member  of  the  private  banking  in- 
stitution of  John  McDuffee  &  Co.,  which  in 
1874  was  merged  into  the  Rochester  National 
Bank;  and  of  the  latter  he  became,  as  has  also 


been  said,  the  first  Cashier,  holding  that  posi- 
tion at  the  time  of  his  death.  Mr.  McDuffee 
also  filled  various  public  offices,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Town  Council  and  School  Commit- 
tee, was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1862,  and 
to  the  Constitutional  Convention  in  187(1. 
He  took  a  deep  interest  in  national  affairs; 
and,  although  by  no  means  a  politician,  he 
possessed  a  broad  and  clear  understanding  of 
political  issues  and  a  marked  political  influ- 
ence. He  was  known  by  all  as  a  stanch 
Republican  and  a  firm  friend  of  temperance 
and  good  order.  Having  a  scholarly  turn  of 
mind,  he  was  much  interested  in  the  study  of 
history,  and  was  a  member  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Historical  Society.  At  his  death  he 
left  an  uncompleted  history  of  Rochester,  to 
the  writing  of  which  he  had  devoted  much 
time  and  historical  research.  This  was 
finished  under  the  direction  of  the  family,  and 
published  in  1892.  He  was  for  eight  years  a 
Deacon  of  the  Congregational  church.  For 
many  years  he  was  prominent  in  Masonry. 
His  decease,  in  1880,  removed  from  Rochester 
one  of  its  ablest,  most  public-spirited,  and 
benevolent  citizens. 

Willis  McDuffee  prepared  for  his  collegiate 
course  at  the  Rochester  High  School,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1885;  and  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  from 
Dartmouth  College  in  1890.  He  then  en- 
gaged in  banking  for  a  time.  In  1891,  in 
company  with  his  mother  and  brother,  he  trav- 
elled six  months  in  Europe,  visiting  England, 
Scotland,  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany, 
France,  and  Switzerland.  On  his  return  he 
purchased  a  half-interest  in  the  Rochester 
Courier,  and  became  its  editor,  which  position 
he  has  since  filled  with  marked  success.  In 
1894  a  stock  company  was  formed  for  carrying 
on  the  business,  and  Mr.  McDuffee  became  its 
president. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


54S 


He  Ikis  taken  ;i  prominent  [>ait  in  [lolitics  in 
the  city  and  State,  being  at  present  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Rei)ublican  Ward  Committee  of  his 
ward  and  a  member  of  the  Reiniblican  State 
Committee.  I-'or  three  years  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  School  ]?oard  of  Rochester, 
being  for  a  time  its  Chairman.  In  1895  lie 
was  one  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  legis- 
lature, elected  by  the  largest  majorit)'  ever 
given  in  his  ward  up  to  that  time.  During 
that  session  he  devoted  himself  to  securing  the 
passage  of  a  law  compelling  towns  to  make 
a  small  appropriation  for  public  library  pur- 
poses each  year,  as  they  are  obliged  to  do  for 
schools.  The  bill  met  with  considerable  op- 
position ;  but  he  overcame  it,  and  the  law  has 
received  much  notice  as  the  most  advanced 
library  legislation  in  the  world.  The  law  has 
proved  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  State. 

Mr.  McDuffee  is  a  Mason,  and  is  now  an 
officer  of  Palestine  Commander)'  of  Knights 
Templar. 


« ■  •  ■  > 


(ff^OHN  ]5ATCHKLDP:R,  a  wheelwright 
by  trade,  also  for  many  years  by  occu- 
]iation  a  farmer,  industrious,  intelli- 
gent, a  man  of  good  habits,  is  an  esteemed 
citizen  of  Laconia,  N.H.  A  son  of  John,  Sr., 
and  ]5etsey  (Batchelder)  Batchelder,  he  was 
born  December  22,  181 5,  at  the  i)aternal 
homestead  in  Laconia,  N.H.,  which  he  now 
occupies. 

The  family  to  which  Mr.  Batchelder  belongs 
is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  State.  Its  founder, 
the  Rev.  Stephen  Bachiler,  born  in  England 
in  1561,  and  educated  at  O.xford,  was  for  quite 
a  number  of  years  vicar  of  VVherwell,  but 
eventually  lost  his  benefice,  being  ejected 
for  non-conformity.  This  was  about  1605. 
Crossing  the  Atlantic  in  1632,  when  past 
seventy  years  of  age,  and  arriving  in  Boston 
in  June,  he  at  once  proceeded   to  Lynn,  where 


he  organized  a  church,  and  baptized  the  first 
white  child  horn  in  that  town.  I-'roin  I.yini 
he  removed  to  Ijjswich.  in  1638  he  liiunded 
the  town  of  lIam|)ton,  N.II.  (incorp(»rateil  in 
1639).  Subsequently  returning  to  England, 
he  died  near  London,  in  his  one  hundreilth 
year.  He  had  several  children  who  were 
grown  uj)  and  married  before  he  came  to 
America.  In  the  AVw  England  llistoncal 
auil  (•ciualoi^icdl  Rigistcr  for  October,  1893, 
their  names  are  mentioned  in  a  note  in 
connection  with  Mr.  Waters's  "Genealogical 
Gleanings  in  England,"  as  follows:  Theodate, 
who  married  Christopher  Hussey  (they  emi- 
grated and  settled  first  in  Lynn  and  later  in 
Ham])ton,  N.  IL);  Nathaniel,  who  married 
Hester  Mercer,  and  lived  in  England;  Deb- 
orah;  Stephen;  and  Ann. 

Nathaniel,  second,  son  of  Nathaniel  and 
Hester,  born  in  luigland  in  1630,  came  to 
America,  and  settletl  in  Hami)ton,  N.H.  He 
spelled  the  name  in  its  present  form,  Batchel- 
der. He  was  married  to  Deborah  .Smith  in 
1656,  and  had  nine  children  by  that  union. 
After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  early  in  1676, 
he  married  a  widow,  Mrs.  Mary  Carter  VVy- 
man,  of  Woburn,  Mass.,  by  whom  he  had 
eight  children,  making  seventeen  in  all.  His 
son  .Samuel,  born  January  10,  1681,  married 
and  hail  cliildren,  one  of  whom,  named  .Samuel, 
born  August  i,  17 13,  died  in  Hampton  in 
1797. 

Three  sons  of  the  second  Samuel  Batcheliler 
—  Abraham,  Increase,  and  John  —  were  the 
first  acknowledged  settlers  of  Northwood, 
N.II.  They  left  home  taking  with  them  a.\es 
and  tlint-lock  guns;  and,  so  far  as  known,  no 
white  man  had  ever  been  in  the  section  they 
explored.  The  first  two  nights  they  spent  in 
Northwood  they  had  no  sleej)  because  of  the 
attack  of  wolves.  They  first  built  a  wigwam, 
ami    later   on   erecteil    the    usual    pioneer    log 


546 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


house.  One  of  the  farms  on  which  they  set- 
tled, on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Northwood 
turnpike,  is  still  in  the  family.  Increase 
l^atcheUler  held  at  different  times  about  all 
the  offices  in  Northwood.  He  built  the  first 
frame  house  erected  in  the  town,  which  twenty 
years  ago  held  an  anniversary  in  honor  of  these 
pioneers.  In  December,  1773.  Abraham 
Batchelder  married  Abigail  Buzzell.  They 
had  five  daughters  and  five  sons.  The  four 
sons  that  grew  to  manhood  were:  John,  Abra- 
ham, Solomon,  and  Nathaniel. 

John  l?atchelder,  father  of  the  special  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  a  farmer;  but,  besides 
attending  to  his  farm  duties,  he  made  shoes 
and  worked  as  a  cooper.  When  he  left  home 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  to  go  to  Meredith, 
he  carried  his  belongings  tied  up  in  a  hand- 
kerchief. Industrious  and  thrifty,  he  after- 
ward acquired  property  so  that  late  in  life  he 
gave  to  each  of  his  children  a  thousand  dollars. 
He  was  highly  esteemed  and  a  very  hospitable 
man.  For  many  years  he  was  a  Deacon  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church  at  Meredith  Centre. 
He  died  in  Laconia,  March  24,  1869.  By  his 
first  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Betsey 
Batchelder,  he  had  four  children :  Increase, 
who  died  in  Campton,  N.H.,  in  1875;  Abra- 
ham, who  died  at  the  home  of  his  brother  John 
in  185S;  John;  and  Alvin,  who  died  in  Con- 
cord in  1889.  His  second  marriage  vvas  with 
Mrs.  Mary  F.  Folsom. 

John  Batchelder,  the  only  living  child,  in- 
herited the  homestead.  Early  in  life  he  took 
up  the  trade  of  a  wheelwright  at  Meredith, 
N.H.  ;  and  when  twenty-four  years  okl  he 
went  to  Boston,  working  at  his  trade  for  a  time, 
but  subsequently  taking  up  the  piano-finishing 
business.  He  remained  in  Boston  eight  years 
all  together.  Then,  being  broken  down  in 
health,  he  returned  home,  and  took  up  farming 
with  his  father.      He  brought  with  him  quite  a 


sum  of  money,  somewhat  more  than  a  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  he  had  laid  up  from  his 
earnings;  and  this  he  usetl  in  improving  the 
place. 

On  September  8,  1849,  Mr.  Batchelder  mar- 
ried Miss  Caroline  Folsom,  daughter  of  Noah 
and  Polly  F.  (Sanborn)  Folsom.  Her  father, 
born  in  1803,  was  a  son  of  John  Folsom,  born 
in  November,  17S1,  and  grandson  of  the  Rev. 
Nicholas  Folsom,  born  July  3,  1742,  who  was 
the  first  Baptist  minister  settled  in  Meredith. 
Mrs.  Batchelder's  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
Dudley  Sanborn,  of  Meredith.  The  Rev. 
Nicholas  Folsom  was  a  son  of  an  earlier  John 
Folsom,  whose  father,  Nathaniel  Folsom,  of 
Exeter,  N.  H.,  was  killed  by  Indians  at  Not- 
tingham, about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Batchelder  have  had  eight 
children  —  Mabelle,  John  F.,  Frank  A.,  Free- 
man H.,  Burton  W. ,  Lyman  P.,  Edward  W., 
and  Alice.  Mabelle  and  Alice  died  in  in- 
fancy, and  Frank  at  nine  years  of  age.  Free- 
man lives  at  home,  and  has  charge  of  the  farm; 
Fred  is  a  machinist  in  Concord;  Burton  is  a 
farmer;  Lyman,  a  carpenter;  and  Edward  is 
in  the  livery  business  in  California. 


ILLIAM  FLAGG,  a  lifelong  resident 
of  Rochester,  and  one  of  its  most 
successful  agriculturists,  was  born 
January  2,  1839,  on  the  farm  where  he  now 
resides,  this  having  been  also  the  birthplace  of 
his  father,  George  W.  Flagg.  Some  time  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  his  paternal  grandfather, 
Jonathan  Flagg,  bought  the  original  home- 
stead, which  contained  but  one  hundred  acres 
of  land,  and  during  his  life  cleared  several 
acres  of  it. 

George  W.  Flagg,  son  of  Jonathan,  succeed- 
ing to  the  ownership  of  the  ancestral  acres, 
continued    the    improvements  already   inaugu- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S47 


rated,  making  consiilctablc  atltlitimis.  Toil- 
ing early  ami  late,  he  carried  on  a  gootl  busi- 
ness as  general  farmer  and  dairyman.  A 
Whig  in  politics  when  a  young  man,  he  after- 
ward became  a  Republican.  In  iS5g  he  rep- 
resented his  native  town  in  the  General  Court. 
Working  for  some  time  as  a  clerk  in  the  gen- 
eral store  of  Nicholas  V.  Whitehouse,  of 
(lonic  \'i!lage,  who  commanded  tiie  larger  part 
of  the  trade  for  many  miles  around,  he  became 
well  known  throughout  this  district.  He  mar- 
rieil  Miss  Caroline,  daughter  of  Duilley  and 
Hannah  Watson,  of  Rochester,  and  became  the 
father  of  four  children.  These  were:  Lydia 
J.,  who  married  William  H.  Allen,  and  is 
now  deceased;  William,  the  subject  of  this 
biographical  sketch;  Charles  W.,  who  died  at 
Central  Falls,  R.  I.  ;  and  Mary  A.,  now  the 
wife  of  George  W.  McDuffee,  of  this  town. 
The  father  died  in  1859,  and  the  mother  on 
February  i,   1865. 

William  Flagg  was  educated  in  Rochester, 
where,  for  some  years,  he  attended  the  [irivate 
school  of  Miss  Knight,  a  noted  instructor. 
He  subsequently  assisted  in  the  care  of  the 
home  property,  and  at  the  death  of  his  father 
assumed  its  entire  management.  To  the  origi- 
nal homestead  he  has  added  other  land  by  pur- 
chase, having  now  a  well-appointed  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  forty  acres,  on  which,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  son,  he  carries  on  general 
farming  and  dairying.  Mr.  Flagg  is  inca- 
pable of  much  active  labor,  having  had  a 
stroke  of  paralysis  several  years  ago,  from  the 
effects  of  which  he  has  never  recovered.  He 
has  ever  taken  an  intelligent  interest  in  local 
affairs,  and  in  the  years  of  1867  and  1868  he 
was  a  Representative  to  the  State  legislature, 
having  been  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket. 
In  1S90  and  1891  he  served  as  a  member  of 
the  City  Council  of  Rochester. 

Mr.   F"lagg  married,  January    16,   1S62,  Miss 


I-'veline  Hickford,  daughter  of  Aaron  and  I'a- 
tience  Hickfcjrd,  of  this  town.  Tiieir  only 
chilli,  George  W.  Flagg,  wiio  lives  on  the  home 
farm,  was  born  January  7,  1S64.  In  the 
lumber  business  for  several  years  as  senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Flagg  &  Corson,  of 
Gonic,  it  was  his  practice  to  buy  standing  tim- 
ber, oftentimes  taking  entire  farms  for  the  sake 
of  the  wood.  He  has  been  twice  married. 
He  was  first  married  December  11,  18X5,  to 
Eva  B.  Willey,  who  lived  but  four  years  after. 
She  hail  one  son,  Charles  W.,  born  December 
27,  1S89.  On  Sei)tember  i,  1S92,  he  married 
Miss  Hattie  Houston,  who  was  born  in  San- 
ford,  Me.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  J. 
Houston. 


~tf^     Di;    WITT    BURNHAM,    a    promi- 
\y\         ncnt  druggist  of  Rochester,  was  born 

l-^'  V,_  ^  in  h'armington,  Strafford  County, 
N.  H.,  October  5,  1859,  son  of  Charles  I",  and 
Betsy  J.   (Tufts)  Burnham. 

Charles  F.  Burnham,  who  was  a  native  of 
New  Durham,  this  county,  went  when  a  young 
man  to  Farmington,  where  he  w(nkcd  at  his 
trade  of  carpenter  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  when  he  was  sixty-five  years  of  age. 
His  wife,  Bet.sy  J.,  was  born  in  South  Farm- 
ington, and  still  resides  in  the  town  of  I-'arm- 
ington,  being  now  about  sixty-six  years  old. 

R.  De  Witt  Burnham,  after  attending  the 
common  and  high  schools  in  Farmington,  and 
being  graduated  from  the  latter,  found  emjiloy- 
ment  at  eighteen  years  of  age  as  a  clerk  in  a 
clothing  store.  Six  months  later  he  came  to 
Rochester,  and  went  to  work  as  a  clerk  in  the 
drug  store  of  S.  F.  Sanderson,  with  whom  he 
remained  for  about  five  years,  during  which 
time  he  acquired  a  good  knowledge  of  the 
business.  He  then  opened  his  present  store, 
and  has  since  built  up  a  very  desirable  trade. 
Besides    the    drug    store,    he   owns    other    real 


548 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


estate  in  Rochester,  all  of  which  represents 
his  own  earnings.  lie  is  also  interested  in 
the  Hiiikling  antl  Loan  Association. 

Mr.  IJurnham  married  Miss  Marietta  Tvvom- 
bley,  of  Farniington;  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  daughters — Florence  M.  and  Alice  J. 
Mr.  lUu-nham  is  a  stanch  Re]5iiblican,  but  has 
declined  nomination  to  office,  though  his 
friends  have  reciuested  him  to  allow  the  use  of 
his  name  as  cantlidate  for  the  Mayorship.  He 
is  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  21,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. ; 
also  of  the  chapter  and  commandery;  and  of 
Alount  Olivia  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  Though  not  a  church  commu- 
nicant, he  is  a  regular  attendant  at  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church. 


ALTER  H.  KEYSER,*  proprietor 
of  the  Mountain  View  House,  Mere- 
dith, Belknap  County,  N.  H.,  was 
born  in  .Shirley,  Mass.,  October  i,  1845,  son 
of  Nathaniel  and  Betsey  (Messer)  Keyser. 
His  father  was  a  native  of  Lunenburg,  Mass.  ; 
anil  when  a  young  man  he  learned  the  carpen- 
ter's trade.  He  followed  that  calling  for 
some  years,  and  finally  settled  upon  a  farm  in 
Shirley,  where  he  resided  for  the  rest  of  his 
life.  His  wife,  formerly  Betsey  Messer,  was 
a  daughter  of  Stillman  Messer,  of  Lunenburg. 
Their  children  were:  Elizabeth;  Nathaniel; 
Sarah  (deceased);  Stillman;  Nancy;  James; 
Mary ;  Henrietta  ;  and  Walter  H.,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  Elizabeth  Keyser  married 
William  Gibbs,  of  Everett,  Mass;  Nancy  is 
the  wife  of  Edward  M.  Derby,  of  Oakland, 
Cal.  ;  Mary  became  the  wife  of  Moses  Proctor, 
of  Boston,  and  is  no  longer  living;  Henrietta 
married  Alonzo  Perkins,  of  Centre  Harbor. 
Mrs.  Betsey  M.  Keyser  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-five  years.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 


Walter  H.  Keyser  was  six  years  old  when 
his  mother  died;  and  then  he  went  to  reside 
with  his  sister  in  Uerry,  N.  II.  He  began  his 
education  in  the  common  schools,  and  advanced 
in  learning  by  attending  Pinkertoii  Acadeniy. 
After  that  he  went  to  work  in  a  shoe  shojj  at 
Ashland,  Mass.  ;  and  he  also  pursued  a  com- 
mercial course  at  Ikyant  &  Stratton's  ]5usi- 
ness  College.  From  Ashland  he  went  to 
Bureau  County,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  a 
short  time,  and  then  going  to  Des  Moines,  la., 
vi'as  engaged  in  speculating  for  a  year  and  a 
half.  Returning  to  Ashland,  he  for  the  ne.xt 
ten  or  eleven  years  worked  in  the  shoe  shops, 
and  then  removed  to  Centre  Harbor,  where  he 
bought  a  farm.  He  resided  there  until  1885, 
when  he  sold  that  property,  and,  coming  to 
Meredith,  purchased  his  present  farm,  consist- 
ing of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres,  forty 
of  which  are  under  cultivation.  Hay  and  corn 
are  his  principal  crops.  He  keeps  from  forty 
to  fifty  head  of  cattle,  a  small  flock  of  sheep, 
thirty  hogs,  one  hundred  hens,  and  three 
horses.  He  has  a  well-ecjuipped  dairy,  and 
makes  a  large  quantity  of  butter  annually. 
The  Mountain  View  House,  which  enjoys  a 
high  reputation  as  a  pleasant  and  healthful 
summer  resort,  is  capable  of  accommodating 
thirty-five  boarders,  and,  as  it  occupies  an  airy 
and  sightly  location,  is  well  patronized. 

Mr.  Keyser  married  Georgianna  Gline, 
daughter  of  Willard  Gline,  of  Westmoreland, 
N. H.,  and  has  five  children;  namely,  Emma, 
Charles  W.,  Sadie  E.,  Arthur  J.,  and  Edwin 
W.      In  politics  Mr.    Keyser  is    independent. 


WILLIAM 
prising 


T.  WALLACE,*  an  entej-- 
merchant  of  Milton,  N.H., 
was  born  in  Middleton,  an  adjacent 
town  in  the  same  county  of  Strafford,  in  1861, 
son  of   John    and    Dorothy    Wallace.     Judging 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIFAV 


549 


from  his  name,  his  family  must  liavc  originated 
in  Scotland. 

John  Wallace  was  born  in  Sandwich,  N.ll.; 
and  for  many  years  he  tilled  the  soil  of  a  good 
farm  in  IVIiddleton.  He  is  still  living,  and  re- 
sides in  I.ynn,  Mass.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican. Three  children  were  born  to  him  and  his 
wife  Dorothy,  namely  :  Charles  F.  ;  Josephine  ; 
and  William  T.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

William  T.  Wallace  attended  school  in  the 
town  of  Lee,  N.H.,  when  the  schools  were  in 
session,  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old  ;  and  for 
some  time  afterward  he  was  employed  as  a  farm 
assistant.  In  1876  he  came  to  Milton,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  the  express  business  for  three 
years ;  and  later,  entering  the  service  of  the 
Boston  &  Maine  Railroad  Company,  he  con- 
tinued in  its  employ  nine  years,  seven  years  of 
which  he  acted  as  station  agent  in  this  town. 
In  1 89 1  he  established  himself  as  a  grocer  in 
Milton,  and  by  a  close  attention  to  business  has 
succeeded  in  building  up  a  good  trade.  Politi- 
cally, he  acts  with  the  Republican  party.  He 
served  with  ability  as  a  Selectman  for  one  year, 
and  is  at  the  present  time  supervisor  of  the 
check  list.  Mr.  Wallace  is  connected  with  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  is 
Past  Sachem  of  Modocawando  Tribe,  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men.  He  is  a  Baptist  in  his  re- 
ligious views,  but  attends  the  Congregational 
church. 


Y^OUIS  H.  SNP:LL,*  a  practical  and  pro- 
IJT  gressive  young  farmer  of  Lee,  Strafford 
•"^■^  1 1.1  -'  County,  N.H.,  was  born  on  his  present 
farm,  September  25,  1859,  son  of  Nehemiah  C. 
and  Martha  (Hanson)  Snell.  A  Samuel  Snell 
is  said  to  have  been  the  first  one  of  the  family 
to  settle  in  Lee.  From  Samuel  the  line  of 
descent  continues  through  John,  Paul,  Hosea  Iv, 
to  Nehemiah  C,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 


Nehemiah  C.  Snell  was  born  in  1831.  Some 
time  after  his  marriage  he  removed  to  Mailbury, 
Strafford  County,  N.ll.,  where  he  remaineil 
twelve  years  ;  and  during  his  residence  there  he 
otficiated  in  various  offices,  including  that  of 
Selectman.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  a  highly 
esteemed  Deacon  of  the  Congregational  church 
in  Lee.  His  death  occurred  on  May  17,  1S93, 
at  the  age  of  si.xty-two  years.  He  is  survi\ed 
by  his  widow,  Mrs.  Martha  Hanson  Snell,  who 
is  living  in  Dover,  N.H.,  and  by  their  three 
children  :  Louis  IL,  Cora  E.,  and  Mary  G. 
Cora  E.  Snell  resides  in  Do\er.  Mary  (i. 
married  Frank  \'ittum,  and  they  also  live  in  the 
same  city. 

Louis  H.  Snell  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Lee,  at  Franklin  Academy  in  Dover, 
and  Northwood  Seminary.  His  practical  knowl- 
edge of  agriculture  was  obtained  by  working  on 
the  farm  with  his  father  until  the  death  of  that 
parent,  four  years  ago.  Mr.  Snell  owns  eighty 
well-kept  acres,  and  carries  on  general  farming. 
He  also  has  a  milk  route,  from  which  he  derives 
a  good  income. 

In  1 891  Mr.  Snell  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Sherburne,  by  which  union  there  is  one  child 
—  Norman  T.,  a  bright  boy  of  four  years.  In 
politics  he  affiliates  cordially  with  the  Republi- 
can party ;  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  in  the 
membership  of  Lee  Grange,  in  which  he  offici- 
ated as  assistant  steward.  I''or  three  years  he 
served  on  the  School  Committee. 


;s^AMES  T.  HANSON,*  formerly  a  re- 
spected member  of  the  farming  commu- 
nity of  Rochester,  Strafford  County, 
N.H.,  was  a  resident  of  this  town  from  the  time 
of  his  birth.  May  15,  1818,  until  his  death, 
which  took  place  April  7,  1889.  He  was  a 
son  of  Timothy  Hanson,  a  farmer  of   Rochester, 


55° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


and  a  grandson  of  John  Hanson,  who  came  here 
from  Dover. 

James  T.  Hanson  was  reared  and  educated  in 
Rochester,  and  from  force  of  circumstances  as 
well  as  from  choice  early  engaged  in  agricultural 
labors.  Becoming  the  owner  of  a  comfortable 
homestead,  he  continued  to  occupy  himself  as 
a  faimer  and  dairyman  throughout  his  active 
life,  his  modest  worldly  gains  being  the  result 
of  useful,  honorable  toil.  In  politics  he  was  a 
sound  Democrat  ;  and,  though  never  an  aspirant 
for  official  honors,  he  took  an  intelligent  interest 
in- local  matters.  A  man  of  quiet  and  domestic 
tastes,  devoted  to  his  farm  and  his  family,  he 
mingled  but  little  with  the  outside  world,  never 
uniting  with  any  of  the  fraternal  organizations 
so  common  in  every  town,  preferring  the  enjoy- 
ments of  his  home  life  above  all  others. 

Mr.  Hanson  married  Miss  Lois  Wentworth, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Wentworth,  of  Milton,  N.H. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hanson  became  the  parents  of 
three  children,  namely  :  Carrie,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  Andrews,  and  lives  with  her  widowed 
mother  on  the  homestead,  Mr.  Andrews  having 
the  charge  of  the  farm  ;  Nellie,  who  also  lives 
at  the  old  home  ;  and  Cora  B.,  who  resides  at 
Great  Falls,  N.H. 


lEONARD  BROWN  MORRILL, 
M.D.,*  a  rising  young  physician  of 
Centre  Harbor,  lielknap  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  in  Moultonboro,  Carroll 
County,  November  2,  1865,  son  of  Harrison 
and  Julia  (Brown)  Morrill.  His  grandfather, 
Jonathan  Morrill,  who  was  born  in  Stowe,  Vt., 
in  1780,  settled  in  Gilford,  N.  H.,  when  a 
young  man,  and  became  one  of  the  stirring 
farmers  of  that  town  in  his  day. 

Harrison  Morrill,  father  of  Leonard  B.,  was 
born  in  Gilford,  N.H.,  November  18,  1822. 
He  learned  the  stone-cutter's  trade,  which  he 


followed  in  Ouincy,  Mass.,  for  eight  years; 
and  then  in  company  with  Henry  Brown,  now 
of  Lakeport,  N.H.,  he  was  engaged  for  about 
ten  years  in  the  stove  and  tinware  business  in 
Lynn,  Mass.  Selling  out  his  business  inter- 
ests in  Lynn,  he  bought  a  farm  of  two  hundred 
acres  in  Moultonboro,  and  made  a  specialty 
of  raising  beef  for  the  market.  He  married 
Julia  M.  Brown,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  Brown, 
of  Gilford;  and  Leonard  B.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,   is  the  only  child  of  that  union. 

Leonard  Brown  Morrill,  having  acquired  his 
early  education  in  the  public  schools,  began 
to  study  medicine  with  Dr.  George  L.  Mason, 
of  Moultonboro.  He  subsequently  jiursued  a 
course  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont,  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1888;  and  he  has  since  practised  his  profes- 
sion in  Centre  Harbor.  He  has  already  dis- 
played much  skill  in  the  treatment  of  some 
difficult  cases,  and  his  devotion  to  his  profes- 
sion is  fast  gaining  for  him  the  confidence  of 
the  inhabitants  throughout  this  locality. 

On  September  10,  1S91,  Dr.  Morrill  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Ada  V.  Berry,  daugh- 
ter of  George  T.  Berry,  of  Moultonboro.  In 
politics  Dr.  Morrill  is  a  Republican.  He  is 
connected  with  Red  Mountain  Lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M. ;  Winnepesaukee  Tribe,  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men,  of  which  he  is  Past 
Sachem;  and  with  Garnet  Hill  Grange,  Pa- 
trons of  Husbandry,  Mrs.  Morrill  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Congregational  church. 


OHN  M.  ROBINSON,  a  farmer  by 
occupation  and  a  well-known  and  es- 
teemed citizen  of  Laconia,  N.H.,  was 
born  on  the  farm  which  is  now  his  home, 
August  14,  1828,  son  of  Zadoc  and  Polly 
(Moses)  Robinson. 

Nathaniel    Robinson,    the   great-grandfather 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


553 


of  Joliii  M.,  niovoil  from  l-;i)i)inL;-,  aiul  settled 
at  an  early  date  in  Laconia,  then  called  (jil- 
manton  and  later  Meredith,  taking  up  a  tract 
of  practically  wild  land.  He  particijxited  with 
some  distinction  in  the  French  ami  Indian 
War,  after  which  he  returned  to  liis  home  in 
Meredith,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers, and  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days,  living  to  a  good  age. 

Captain  Joseph  Robinson,  his  son,  born 
June  II,  1760,  succeeded  to  the  homestead. 
He  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  under 
General  Stark,  and  was  at  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington. He  married  Judith  York,  and  their 
union  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  ten  children, 
si.x  sons  and  four  daughters ;  namely,  Nathan- 
iel, Gideon,  John,  Joseph,  Dorothy,  Sarah, 
Nathaniel,  Judith,  Zadoc  B. ,  and  Sarah.  The 
first  Nathaniel  and  Sarah,  and  also  Gideon, 
died  in  childhood;  John  went  to  Marblehead, 
Mass.,  but  eventually  returned  to  the  old 
homestead,  where  the  closing  years  of  his  life 
were  spent;  Joseph  migrated  to  Orange,  Vt., 
and  afterward  lived  there;  Dorothy  married 
Benjamin  Foss,  of  Meredith;  Nathaniel  mar- 
ried Mahala  Moses,  and  spent  his  life  in  his 
native  town;  Judith  remained  on  the  home- 
stead; Sarah  became  the  wife  of  Daniel 
Higgins. 

Zadoc  B.  Robinson,  born  January  23,  1799, 
died  February  28,  1S82,  having  lived  to  be 
eighty-three  years  old.  He  followed  farming 
here  with  success.  He  married  August  27, 
1820,  Polly  Moses,  of  Meredith,  and  by  this 
union  had  three  children,  two  sons  and  one 
daughter;  namely,  Joshua  A.,  Angeline,  and 
John  M.  Joshua  A.,  a  wheelwright  by  trade, 
lived  in  Laconia  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 
After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Adeline  Fo.x, 
he  married  Juliann  Moore.  The  first  union 
was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  one  daughter, 
Laura  T.,  and   the  second,    by  one  son,  Mark 


M.  Robinson,  ot  Laconia.  .\ngeline  married 
Noah  Brown,  and  for  a  number  of  years  lived 
in  I'^ast  Tilton,  but  both  she  and  her  husband 
died  in  Laconia.  Their  mother  was  ninety- 
one  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  death,  Jan- 
uary 17,  1 888.  Both  parents  were  members 
of  the  Baptist  church,  whose  house  of  worship 
stood  near  their  home. 

After  attending  the  tlistrict  school  and  Mer- 
edith High  School,  John  M.  Robinson  worked 
at  farming  for  a  time.  At  about  twenty-five 
years  of  age  he  went  to  Ohio;  and  during  the 
years  immediately  following  he  was  engaged 
in  railroading  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  other 
States.  Returning  to  New  Hampshire,  he 
continued  his  connection  with  the  railroad 
business  at  Lakcport,  where  he  remained  up  to 
June,  1861.  He  then  came  back  to  the  home- 
stead farm  that  had  been  handed  down  from 
his  great-grandfather,  and  has  since  engaged 
in  carrying  it  on  with  i)rofit. 

Mr.  Robinson  has  always  been  a  Republi- 
can, and  has  held  various  positions  of  trust. 
He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1875. 
Years  ago  he  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  whose  meeting-house  formerly  stood 
near  his  residence. 

March  26,  1856,  Mr.  Robinson  married 
Miss  Lucinda  H.  Severance,  daughter  of  I'etcr 
and  Judith  (Glidden)  Severance,  of  Sandwich, 
later  of  Meredith.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robinson 
are  the  parents  of  three  daughters;  namely, 
Judith  Annie,  Carrie  Blanche,  and  ICUen 
Wadleigh.  Judith  Annie  was  graduated  from 
the  New  Hampshire  State  Normal  School  at 
Plymouth,  and  has  since  followed  teaching. 
Carrie  Blanche  attended  the  same  school,  but 
owing  to  poor  health  did  not  remain  to  finish 
the  course.  She  has  since  become  the  wife  of 
Samuel  A.  Garland,  of  Meredith,  and  the 
mother  of  two  sons — Irving  Robinson  and 
Edgar  Drew.      Ellen   Wadleigh   attended    the 


554 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


New  Hampton  Iii.stitution,  was  graduated  from 
the  commercial  department,  and  taught  a 
while,  but  not  liking  the  work  gave  it  up. 


-f^KNJAMIN  M.  STEVENS,*  a  prac- 
tical agriculturist  of  Rochester, 
Strafford  County,  N.H.,  was  born 
February  i8,  1823,  in  the  town  of  Somers- 
worth,  this  State,  a  few  miles  distant,  which 
was  also  the  birthplace  of  his  father,  John 
Stevens,  and  of  his  grandfather,  Moses 
Stevens. 

John  Stevens  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  and 
worked  at  that  occupation  in  connection  with 
farming,  continuing  both  until  his  death,  be- 
fore reaching  the  prime  of  manhood,  in  1S27. 
He  enlisted  in  the  War  of  18 12  as  member  of 
a  company  of  artillery,  but  did  not  go  beyond 
Portsmouth.  In  politics  he  was  a  pronounced 
Whig.  He  married  Lydia  Hussey,  of  Somers- 
worth,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four 
children,  namely:  George,  of  Somersworth ; 
Louis,  deceased;  Benjamin  M. ;  and  Charles, 
deceased. 

Benjamin  M.  Stevens  completed  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town 
when  about  sixteen  years  old,  and  from  that 
time  earned  his  own  living.  He  began  first  as 
a  farm  laborer,  but  for  some  years  continued  to 
reside  with  his  widowed  mother.  In  1855  he 
bought  the  Pinkham  farm  in  Madbury,  where 
he  lived  for  three  years.  He  then  returned  to 
Somersworth,  and  a  year  later  went  to  Rollins- 
ford,  going  from  there  a  short  time  afterward 
to  Madbury,  where  for  another  three  years  he 
was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  spent  in  Barrington,  whence  he 
again  returned  to  Madbury.  Two  years  later, 
in  October,  1871,  Mr.  Stevens  purchased  the 
farm  on  which  he  now  resides  in  Rochester, 
and  has  since  been  actively  and    prosperously 


engaged  as  a  general  farmer  and  dairyman. 
lie  owns  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of 
land,  which  by  his  judicious  management  and 
persevering  energy,  he  has  brought  to  a  fair 
state  of  cultivation. 

In  his  early  life  he  was  a  Whig,  but  of  late 
years  he  has  been  a  warm  supporter  of  the 
Democratic  party.  He  has  never  taken  any 
active  part  in  local  public  affairs,  his  only 
office  having  been  that  of  Surveyor,  which  he 
held  for  some  time.  He  attends  the  Free 
Will  Baptist  church  at  Rochester. 

In  1847  Mr.  Stevens  married  Miss  Loisa  J. 
Young,  of  Dover.  They  became  the  parents 
of  three  children,  two  of  whom,  Lydia  and 
Jacob,  have  passed  to  the  life  immortal.  The 
other  child,  Junia,  remains  at  home. 


KITSON  BRUCE,  M.D.,*  a  skilful 
and  successful  physician  and  surgeon  of 
Farmington,  Strafford  County,  N.H., 
was  born  in  i860,  in  Chelsea,  Mass.,  a  son 
of  Louis  A.  Bruce.  His  grandfather,  Louis 
Bruce,  was  for  many  years  an  esteemed  resi- 
dent of  Portsmouth,  N.H. 

Louis  A.  Bruce  was  born  and  bred  in  Ports- 
mouth, where  in  his  earlier  life  he  was 
engaged  as  a  contractor  and  shipper.  He 
removed  to  Massachusetts  before  the  iate  war, 
making  his  home  in  Boston  or  one  of  its 
suburbs,  and  is  now  residing  in  the  city 
proper.  He  is  neither  a  politician  nor  an 
office-seeker,  but  is  a  warm  advocate  of  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party.  While 
living  in  Portsmouth  he  married  Miss  Marga- 
ret S.  Kitson,  daughter  of  Captain  Thomas 
Kitson,  who  at  the  very  early  age  of  twenty- 
two  years  was  master  of  the  stanch  ship 
"America,"  and  subsequently  made  many  sea 
voyages  to  foreign  and  domestic  ports,  contin- 
uing in  seafaring  pursuits   until    his   death    in 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


555 


1855.  Of  this  union  five  ciiiiilrcn  were  Ixirn, 
as  follows:  Mary  A.;  Kva,  wife  of  diaries 
Kimball,  of  Winchester,  Mass.  ;  Fred  A.,  of 
Cape  Ncddick,  Me.;  Louis  P.,  of  Arizona; 
and  T.  Kitson,  the  Doctor. 

T.  Kitson  Bruce  obtained  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  public  sciiools  of  Winchester, 
Mass.,  and  fitted  for  college  at  the  academy  in 
North  Bridgton,  Me.  He  afterward  attended 
the  Institute  of  Technology  two  years,  and 
then  entered  Tufts  College  at  Medford,  Mass., 
completing  the  course  in  1S83.  In  1887  he 
was  graduated  from  the  Bellevue  Medical  Col- 
lege in  New  York  City,  where  he  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  remaining  there 
three  years.  Dr.  Bruce  then  came  from  New 
York  City  to  New  Hampshire,  locating  first 
in  Laconia;  and  in  the  five  years  that  he  spent 
there  he  built  up  a  good  local  practice,  besides 
gaining  valuable  experience  as  town  physi- 
cian. In  December,  1896,  the  Doctor  opened 
an  office  in  Farmington,  where  his  skill  as  a 
practitioner  is  fast  becoming  known.  A  man 
of  ready  tact  and  kindly  sympathy  and  of  good 
mental  attainments,  he  is  well  fitted  for  the  pro- 
fessional career  he  is  following,  and  in  which 
his  earnest  devotion  is  bringing  him  success. 

Dr.  Bruce  married  Miss  Katie  Belle  Jewett, 
of  Laconia,  N.  H.,  a  daughter  of  Job  G. 
Jewett,  and  has  one  child,  Thomas  Kitson 
Bruce,  Jr.  The  Doctor  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can in  politics.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  La- 
conia; and  is  a  member  of  Woodbine  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Farmington.  He  attends  the 
Congregational  church  of  this  town. 


(•(TJI'OHN  CROCKETT,*  a  respected  farmer 
of  the  town  of  Rochester,  Strafford 
County,  now    living   somewhat    retired 

from  active  pursuits,  has  spent  his  long  life  of 


nearly  fourscore  years  in  this  part  of  New 
IIam|)shire,  having  been  horn  in  the  neighbor- 
ing town  of  Middlcton,  August  14,  1S18. 
His  father,  Hezckiah  J.  Crockett,  M.D.,  a  son 
of  Elder  John  Crockett,  was  born  in  Sanborn- 
ton,  N.H.  He  came  from  that  place  in  1824 
to  Rochester,  purchasing  the  farm  on  which 
his  son  John,  the  special  subject  of  this  bio- 
graphical sketch,  has  since  lived.  Dr.  Crock- 
ett taught  school  in  several  New  Hampshire 
towns  during  his  early  life,  hut  after  obtaining 
his  degree  practised  medicine.  He  married 
Abigail  M.  Main,  a  daughter  of  Amos  Main, 
of  Rochester,  and  a  grand-daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Amos  Main,  who  was  for  many  years 
(1737-60)  the  beloved  minister  of  the  church 
in  this  town,  and  whose  memory  is  still  cher- 
ished in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

John  Crockett  acquired  his  education  mostly 
in  the  public  schools  of  Rochester,  having 
been  but  eight  years  old  when  his  parents  re- 
moved here.  For  a  time  after  he  had  com- 
pleted his  studies  he  worked  on  the  home  farm  ; 
and  then  he  went  to  Dover,  where  he  learned 
the  carriage-maker's  trade,  at  which  he  was 
employed  in  that  city  three  years.  Returning 
then  to  the  parental  roof,  he  took  upon  him- 
self the  care  of  the  farm,  and  from  that  time 
until  now  has  made  general  farming  his  prin- 
cipal occupation.  His  estate  comprises  about 
seventy  acres,  much  of  which  is  heavily  tim- 
bered;  and  in  addition  to  tilling  the  soil  he 
was  engaged  to  some  e.xtcnt  in  lumbering  dur- 
ing his  earlier  manhood.  Mr.  Crockett  has 
affiliated  with  the  Republican  party  since  its 
formation,  being  one  of  its  firmest  supporters. 
He  has  never  sought  public  office,  but  in  i86g 
he  represented  the  town  of  Rochester  in  the 
State  legislature.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  Odd  Fellows  order,  and  has 
been  through  all  the  chairs  of  the  Rochester 
lincampment  and  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 


S56 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Mr.  Crockett  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Main, 
daughter  of  the  late  David  Main,  and  a  sister 
of  Charles  Main,  who  presented  to  the  town  of 
Rochester  the  marble  monument  erected  to  the 
memory  of  his  great-great-<;randfather,  the 
Rev.  Amos  Main.  Mrs.  Crockett  died  in 
1882,  leaving  no  children.  Mr.  Crockett  has 
in  his  possession  some  highly  prized  relics, 
among  them  being  the  table  on  which  Parson 
Main  wrote  his  sermons,  and  the  old  chair  on 
which  he  used  to  sit. 


^^ENJAMIN  E.  OSBORNE,*  a  skil- 
ful and  thrifty  agriculturist  of 
Rochester,  N.  H.,  was  born  August 
II,  1S50,  in  this  town,  a  son  of  James  L.  Os- 
borne. His  great-grandfather,  John  Osborne, 
was  a  man  of  some  note  in  Pittsfield,  N.  H.,  at 
an  early  day,  and  there  reared  his  family. 
Elijah  Osborne,  son  of  John  and  grandfather 
of  f^enjamin  E. ,  was  the  first  of  the  family  to 
locate  in  Rochester. 

James  L.  Osborne  was  but  eight  years  of 
age  when  his  parents  brought  him  to  this  town, 
where  he  subsequently  lived  and  died,  his 
death  occurring  at  the  age  of  si.\ty-two  years, 
in  1893.  He  was  a  farmer  and  potter,  and  for 
many  years  carried  on  both  branches  of  indus- 
try. In  politics  he  allied  himself  with  the 
Republican  party.  He  married  Miss  Lydia 
Waldron,  of  Rochester,  and  they  reared  a  fam- 
ily of  eight  children,  as  follows:  Benjamin 
E.  ;  Ella,  wife  of  Andrew  Daggett,  of  this 
place;  Ida,  wife  of  Charles  Redman,  of 
Haverhill,  Mass.  ;  William  A.,  of  Rochester; 
D.  B.  Osborne,  of  Milton,  N.H.  ;  James  O., 
of  Newburyport,  Mass.  ;  Henry,  of  Rochester ; 
and  Lizzie,  wife  of  Warren  Otis,  of  Pittsfield, 
N.H. 

Benjamin  E.  Osborne  was  a  regular  attend- 
ant of  the  district  schools   in   his   boyhood  and 


youth,  and  remained  an  inmate  of  the  [larental 
household  until  about  nineteen  years  old, 
when  he  went  to  Gonic,  where  for  two  years 
he  was  employed  by  the  Gonic  Manufacturing 
Company.  After  learning  the  shoemaker's 
trade  and  working  at  it  for  seventeen  consecu- 
tive years,  he  purchased  the  farm  where  he 
now  resides,  and  which  in  former  times  was  a 
part  of  the  old  Parson  Main  estate,  but  was 
more  recently  owned  by  Mrs.  Hussey.  It 
contains  fifty  acres  lying  between  Rochester 
and  Gonic  on  Hussey  Hill.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  years  spent  in  Gonic,  Mr.  Os- 
borne has  since  remained  here,  carrying  on 
general  farming  to  some  extent,  and  doing 
Cjuite  a  large  teaming  and  lumbering  business. 
His  success  in  life  is  the  outcome  of  his  own 
energy,  enterprise,  and  tireless  industry.  He 
is  a  strong  Republican  in  his  political  views, 
but  not  an  active  politician.  He  attends  the 
]5aptist  church  of  Gonic,  of  which  he  is  a  con- 
sistent member. 

In  1871  Mr.  Osborne  married  Miss  Alice 
Hurd,  of  Rochester,  who  died  in  18S7.  He 
subsequently  married  Martha  Morrill,  of 
Windham,  Me.  He  has  four  children, 
namely:  Charles,  a  resident  of  Gonic;  Ernest, 
of  Dover;  Ralph  E.  ;  and  Florence  M. 


HARLES  F.  TOWLE,*  one  of  the 
able  farmers  of  New  Durham,  Straf- 
ford County,  N.  H.,  and  a  veteran  of 
the  Civil  War,  was  born  January  6,  1827,  in 
Wolfboro,  Carroll  County,  where  his  grand- 
father, Jeremiah  Towle,  who  came  from  Han- 
over, N.  H.,  was  an  early  settler. 

His  father,  William  Towle,  son  of  Jere- 
miah, was  a  prosperous  farmer  in  Wolfboro. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  He  married 
Ruth  Doe,  a  native  of  Amesbury,  Mass.  Of 
the  eight  children  born   of  their  union,  six  are 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIKW 


SS7 


living,  namely:  Charles  F.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Hezekiah  R  ;  William  A.  ;  Mary 
M.,  wife  of  Mzekiel  Randall;  IClizabcth,  wife 
of  George  Randall  ;  and  llcnryW.  William 
Towle  lived  to  be  seventy-three  years  old. 

Charles  F.  Towle  completed  his  education 
in  Dover,  N.  H.,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
began  work  in  the  woollen  factory  in  that 
town.  Four  years  later  he  went  to  Sawyer's 
Mills,  where  he  remained  for  the  same  length 
of  time,  and  then  came  to  New  Durham.  He 
followed  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker  here  until 
1862,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany A,  Twelfth  Regiment,  New  Hampshire 
Volunteer  Infantry;  and  at  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville  he  received  a  severe  wound 
in  his  thigh.  After  his  recovery  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  First  Lieutenant,  and 
resigned  in  1865.  After  his  return  from  the 
army  he  settled  upon  his  present  farm,  which 
was  formerly  a  part  of  the  Fdgerley  estate ; 
and,  resuming  his  trade,  he  followed  it  in 
connection  with  agricultural  pursuits  until 
about  two  years  ago.  In  politics  he  acts  with 
the  Democratic  party,  and  was  elected  to  the 
]?oard  of  Selectmen  in  1896. 

Mr.  Towle  married  Etta  Witham,  daughter 
of  Jerome  D.  Witham,  of  New  Durham,  and 
has  three  children,  namely:  George  L. ,  a  resi- 
dent of  Farmington ;  Clara  M.,  wife  of 
Charles  S.  Chesley,  of  Alton ;  and  Charles 
F.,  Jr.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Towle  attend  the  Bap- 
tist church. 


UDGF  IRA  ALLEN  EASTMAN, 
born  in  Gilmanton  in  i8og,  was  de- 
scended from  Roger  Eastman,  who 
came  to  America  in  1638,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  grantees  of  the  town  of  Salisbury,  Mass. 
Roger's  son,  Samuel,  born  in  1657,  married 
Elizabeth  Severance,  of  Salisbury.  After 
holding    important    town    offices    in   Salisbury, 


he  removed  to  Kingston,  N.ll.,  in  1713, 
and  was  from  that  time  till  his  death,  in  1725, 
a  Representative  to  the  General  Court,  taking 
an  active  part  in  all  its  deliberations.  The 
ne.xt  in  descent,  Samuel  Eastman,  was  active 
in  the  war  against  the  Indians.  He  married 
Sarah  (Brown)  Clough,  a  widow  and  a  de- 
scendant of  John  Brown,  one  of  the  first 
founders  of  Hamilton. 

Ebenezer  Eastman,  the  grandfather  of 
Judge  Ira  Allen  Eastman,  born  April  24, 
1746,  was  an  early  settler  of  Gilmanton,  N.II. 
He  was  one  of  the  minute-men  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. It  is  stated  regarding  him  that,  on 
hearing  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  Lieutenant 
Eastman  raised  his  company  and  proceeded  at 
once  to  Boston.  Afterward  he  acted  as  Cap- 
tain under  General  Stark  in  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  He  married  Mary  Butler,  of 
Brentwood,  the  heroine  of  the  poem,  "Mary 
Butler's  Ride,"  which  treats  of  the  incident 
related  as  follows:  "While  the  battle  was 
raging  on  the  heights  of  Charlestown,  the 
news  of  it  was  received  at  Gilmanton  ;  and  the 
young  wife  of  Lieutenant  Eastman,  witii  m) 
friend  to  accompany  her,  no  mode  of  convey- 
ance but  on  horseback,  with  no  road  to  travel 
but  a  track  to  be  followed  through  the  forest, 
left  home  with  her  only  child  (an  infant  in 
her  arms)  and  rode  to  her  father's  house  in 
Brentwood,  and  from  thence  to  Charlestown, 
a  distance  of  not  less  than  ninety  miles,  where 
she  found  her  husband  in  safety." 

An  intimate  friend  of  Ira  Allen,  the  brother 
of  the  celebrated  Ethan  Allen,  Ebenezer  named 
one  of  his  sons  Ira  Allen,  for  whom  Judge 
Ira  Allen  I'astman  was  named.  Stephen 
Eastman,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  an  officer  in  the  Colonial  militia. 
He  had  three  sons — Ira  Allen,  Henry  T'rank- 
lin,  and  Artemas  Stephen.  Henry  Franklin 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  Artemas  in 


558 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


1857.  The  widow  and  two  daughters  reside 
in  San  I'rancisco. 

Ira  Allen  Eastman,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College 
with  the  highest  honors  in  the  class  of  1829. 
He  subsequently  pursued  the  study  of  law  with 
Judge  Willard,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  upon  his 
admission  to  the  bar  commenced  to  practise 
in  that  place.  Later,  compelled  by  failing 
health  to   return    to    his    native    State,   he    in 

1534  opened     an    ofifice     in     Gilmanton.       In 

1535  he  was  chosen  Clerk  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Senate.  In  1836  he  was  elected  a  Rep- 
resentative from  his  native  town  to  the  State 
legislature.  He  was  re-elected  in  1837  and 
again  in  1838;  and  during  the  last  two  years 
he  was  Speaker  of  the  House,  having  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  youngest  man  who  had 
ever  occupied  that  position.  In  1836  he  was 
appointed  Register  of  Probate  for  Strafford 
County,  which  office  he  held  until  1839.  In 
that  year  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Twenty-sixth 
Congress.  Two  years  later  he  was  elected  to 
the  Twenty-seventh,  and  afterward  served  with 
distinction  as  a  member  of  that  body  from 
1839  to  1843.  After  his  retirement  from 
Congress  he  was  called  to  the  bench,  where 
he  served  continuously  until  1859,  being 
Judge  of  Common  Pleas  from  1844  to  1849,  of 
the  Supreme  Court  from  1849  to  1S55,  and  of 
the  Superior  Judicial  Court  from  1855  until 
his  retirement. 

In  1863  Judge  Eastman  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  in  1866  he  was  supported  by  the  same 
party  as  candidate  for  United  States  Senator. 
In  1858  his  Alma  Mater  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws;  and  in  1859 
he  was  chosen  one  of  the  trustees  of  that  insti- 
tution, in  which  capacity  he  served  until  his 
death. 


P'rom  1834  up  to  the  time  of  his  decease, 
when  not  engaged  in  the  performance  of  offi- 
cial duties,  he  was  in  the  active  and  success- 
ful practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he 
ranked  among  the  strong  men  of  the  State. 
The  chosen  Representative  of  his  native  town 
in  the  legislature  of  the  State  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  at 
twenty-eight,  a  Congressional  Representative 
of  the  Granite  State  at  thirty.  Judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  at  thirty-five.  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  at  forty,  and  Judge  of 
the  Superior  Judicial  Court  from  the  age  of 
forty-seven  until  that  of  fifty,  he  was  promi- 
nently before  the  public  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury. In  whatever  official  position  he  was 
called  to,  he  more  than  filled  its  requirements, 
entirely  realizing  the  just  expectations  of  his 
friends.  Unswerving  fidelity,  tireless  indus- 
try, and  marked  ability  were  all  illustrated  in 
his  public  life.  From  the  beginning  to  the 
close  of  his  career  he  retained  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  the  people  whom  he  served  so 
long  and  well.  At  the  age  of  over  threescore 
and  ten,  rich  in  honors,  he  passed  away,  leav- 
ing a  record  unmarred  by  a  stain.  Upon  the 
bench  he  never  arrogated  to  himself  a  superior 
wisdom,  giving  to  all  a  patient  and  courte- 
ous hearing,  and  making  the  young  practitioner 
feel  that  he  had  "a  friend  at  court"  in  the 
person  of  the  judge. 

In  general,  his  treatment  of  others  was  uni- 
formly polite.  He  never  betrayed  by  speech 
or  look  any  annoyance  or  irritability.  His 
evenness  of  disposition  well  adapted  him  to 
the  struggles  of  the  forum,  where  loss  of  tem- 
per  puts  the  advocate  to  a  disadvantage,  and 
was  of  equal  importance  to  him  in  his  judicial 
capacity,  where  an  even  mental  balance  is  es- 
sential to  the  proper  administration  of  justice. 
His  industry  and  familiarity  with  legal  princi- 
ples   are    evidenced    by    the    large    number  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


5  SO 


wcll-cniisidLTod  opinions   from    his   pen,   which 
are  found  in  the  pages  of  the  State  Kejiorts. 

Jane  Quackenbush  Eastman,  the  wife  of 
Judge  Eastman,  was  a  descendant  of  a  very  old 
Dutch  family,  which  dates  back  to  1650. 
Two  children  were  born  to  them  :  a  son  Clar- 
ence, who  died  in  March,  1S7.S;  and  a  daugh- 
ter, Anna  Q. ,  who  married  Judge  David 
Cross,  of   Manchester,  where   she   now  resides. 


^OSIAH  MITCHELL,*  a  loyal  citizen 
of  Strafford  County,  and  a  patriotic  de- 
fender of  his  country  iluring  the  late 
Civil  War,  is  the  owner  of  a  choice  farming 
property  in  the  town  of  Madbury.  He  was 
born  May  12,  1S36,  in  New  Durham,  N.  H., 
and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Andrew  and  Hannah 
(York)  Mitchell. 

Andrew  Mitchell  spent  the  early  part  of  his 
manhood  in  New  Durham,  and,  removing  from 
there  to  Dover  in  1840,  was  thereafter  iden- 
tified with  the  interests  of  that  place.  Twelve 
children  were  born  to  him  and  his  wife,  there 
being  si.x  of  each  sex;  and  two  of  the  sons 
fought  in  defence  of  the  stars  and  stripes  in 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 

Josiah  Mitchell  was  reared  and  educated  in 
Dover,  where  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he 
began  working  at  the  shoemaker's  trade. 
This  he  followed  until  aroused  by  the  tocsin 
of  war  which  resounded  through  the  land. 
He  then  enlisted,  being  the  first  man  from 
Dover  to  enter  the  navy  at  this  crisis.  Going 
aboard  the  man-of-war  vessel  "North  America" 
as  a  landsman.  May  6,  1861,  he  remained 
there  eleven  months,  seeing  considerable 
hard  service  in  that  time.  He  was  then 
transferred  to  a  prize  steamer  captured  off 
the  coast  of  Mobile,  being  one  of  the  crew 
ordered  to  take  her  into  New  York  Harbor. 
Returning  to  Dover,  he  sjient   three  months  at 


his  old  home,  and  at  the  end  of  that  period 
re-enlisted  as  a  landsman  in  the  navy.  He 
was  stationed  on  the  receiving  ship  "Ohio" 
until  his  health  gave  out,  necessitating  his 
discharge  on  account  of  physical  disability. 
After  regaining  his  strength,  Mr.  Mitchell 
worked  at  his  trade  until  i<S.S4,  when  he  pur- 
chased his  jircsent  farm,  consisting  of  thirty 
acres  of  land,  on  which  he  is  carrying  on 
general  farming.  With  the  aids  of  modern 
machinery  and  methods  he  has  met  with  excel- 
lent success,  his  land  being  under  good 
cultivation,  and  producing  the  crops  common 
to  this  part  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Mitchell  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Mattie  Smith,  Ajjril  29,  1892.  In  iioli- 
tics  he  is  an  uncompromising  l\epui)lican,  and 
heartily  indorses  the  measures  of   that  party. 


Y^^l  ENRY  C.  WHITNEY,*  a  man  of 
thrift,  i)hick,  and  enterprise,  owns 
and  occupies  a  small  f.irm  in  the 
town  of  Dover,  Strafford  County,  N.  H., 
whither  he  removed  from  I?oston  in  1S94. 
He  was  born  in  Standish,  Cumberland  County, 
Me.,  January  25,  1844,  and  is  tiicrcfore  now 
in  the  prime  of  manhood.  His  parents  re- 
sided in  Standish  until  1S52,  when  they  re- 
moved to  the  town  of  Naples,  in  the  same 
county;  and  there  Henry  C.  Wiiitney  was 
reared  and  educated. 

Soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  late  war 
young  Whitney,  not  quite  eighteen  years  of 
age,  offered  his  services  to  his  country,  enlist- 
ing September  30,  1861,  in  Company  l\. 
Tenth  Maine  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was 
mustered  in  as  a  private  October  6  of  the 
same  year.  He  met  the  enemy  in  many 
closely  contested  battles,  his  first  engagement 
having  been  at  Winchester,  after  which  his 
regiment  covered   the   retreat   to   Wilmington, 


560 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


and  again,  after  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain, 
made  a  back  march  to  Sulphur  Springs,  hoping 
there  to  intercept  the  Confederates,  but  being 
too  late.  Mr.  Whitney  next  participated  in 
the  Iwttle  of  Antiotam,  and  in  May,  1863,  his 
term  of  enlistment  having  expired,  came  home. 
He  at  once  re-enlisted,  joining  the  Maine 
Cavalry,  but  was  transferred  to  the  First  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  Cavalry.  The  following 
February  his  company  was  ordered  to  the  de- 
fence of  Washington,  being  sent  as  dis- 
mounted cavalry  to  City  Point,  there  remain- 
ing to  fortify  the  breastworks  until  June, 
1S64.  This  brave  company  then  remounted 
their  horses,  and,  taking  three  days"  rations, 
started  out  with  the  expedition  of  Wilson  and 
Kautz  on  a  raid  through  the  enemy's  coun- 
try. They  were  away  ten  days.  The  third 
day  Mr.  Whitney  lost  his  horse,  but  at  night 
by  good  luck  secured  another,  and  with  his 
comrades  took  part  at  the  engagement  at  Roa- 
noke l^ridge.  On  the  way  back  to  City  Point 
they  made  several  raids,  on  one  of  which,  at 
Sycamore  Church,  Va.,  September  16,  1864, 
Mr.  Whitney  was  captured  by  the  rebels. 
Me  was  taken  to  Libby  Prison,  two  weeks 
later  being  transferred  to  Danville,  Va.,  where 
he  was  confined  until  the  month  of  November. 
He  was  from  that  time  until  March,  1865, 
imprisoned  at  the  Salisbury  stockade.  After 
being  released  he  came  to  Maine,  and  at  Au- 
gusta received  an  honorable  discharge. 

Again  taking  up  his  abode  in  Standish,  Mr. 
Whitney  remained  there  a  short  time,  and 
then  went  to  Boston,  where  he  worked  for  a 
while  at  the  painter's  trade.  Subsequently  se- 
curing a  position  with  the  Metropolitan  In- 
surance Company  of  that  city,  he  continued 
with  them  sixteen  years.  In  1S94  he  pur- 
chased his  present  property  in  Dover,  and  in 
the  cultivation  and  management  of  his  thirty 
acres  of   land   is  finding  profit  and  pleasure. 


Politically,  Mr.  Whitney  is  a  straight  Repub- 
lican. He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  order,  and 
is  also  a  member  of  Charles  Russell  Lowell 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Boston. 


ENJAMIN  WEEKS*  is  a  well-known 
native  resident  of  the  town  of  Gil- 
ford, Belknap  County,  N.H.,  where 
for  thirty  years  and  more  he  has  been  success- 
fully engaged  in  business  as  a  butcher  and  a 
dealer  in  cattle.  He  was  born  on  April  i, 
1836,  and  is  the  only  surviving  son  of  the  late 
Hazen  and  Prudence  (Sleeper)  Weeks. 

From  early  times  in  the  history  of  Gilford 
the  Weeks  families  have  included  some  of  the 
most  substantial  and  highly  reputed  citizens. 
Squire  Benjamin  Weeks,  the  great-grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  came  here 
in  1787,  removed  a  year  or  two  later  to  Bur- 
ton, and  returned  in  1792.  He  invested 
largely  in  land,  and  became  a  prosperous 
farmer.  His  seven  children,  six  sons  and  a 
daughter,  were  each  given  the  advantages  of 
education  and  a  start  in  life.  In  the  main 
they  became  business  men.  One,  Matthias, 
studied  law,  but  was  afterward  in  business. 
William  fitted  for  college  at  Gilmanton,  grad- 
uated in  1806,  went  South  for  his  health, 
taught  a  few  years,  and  died  in  iSio.  He 
was  probably  the  first  one  from  the  town  of 
Gilford  to  graduate  from  college.  The  daugh- 
ter, Sally,  married  Henry  Wadleigh.  She 
was  of  a  literary  turn  of  mind,  but  died  while 
young.  Squire  Benjamin's  son  of  the  same 
name  was  given  the  title  of  Captain.  His 
children  were  nine  in  number,  two  of  whom 
we  wish  especially  to  note,  namely:  Hazen, 
the  father  of  the  present,  or  third,  Benjamin 
Weeks;  and  William,  the  father  of  W.  H. 
Weeks,  whose  personal  history  is  outlined  in 
another  article. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


5<i« 


Ila/.cn  Weeks  owned  and  farmed  abdiit  one 
Imndied  and  thirty  acres,  and  made  somewhat 
of  a  specialt)'  of  sheep-raising.  He  was  a 
useful,  upright  citizen,  and  lived  to  the  age 
of  sixty-eight  years.  He  married  Prudence, 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Sleeper;  and  she  died 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two.  They  had  four  ciiil- 
dren  —  Benjamin,  John  M.,  lietsey  S.,  and 
Harriet.  John  M.  Weeks  died  when  about 
forty-five  years  of  age,  leaving  a  widow  and 
one  son,  Willis  E.  Betsey  Weeks  died  while 
young,  and  Harriet  became  the  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin Gale. 

Benjamin  Weeks,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
received  the  ordinary  education  of  the  ilistrict 
school,  and  as  a  young  man  took  up  farming, 
in  which  he  was  engaged  until  he  was  twenty- 
five  years  old.  He  then,  in  company  with 
John  Weeks,  turned  his  attention  to  the 
butchering  business  and  buying  and  selling 
cattle.  After  four  years  of  business  in  part- 
nership Mr.  Benjamin  Weeks  became  sole 
manager  of  the  concern,  to  which  he  has  since 
given  his  whole  time  and'  attention,  and  with 
marked  success.  His  prosperity  is  a  proof  of 
what  may  be  accomjilished  by  sterling  integ- 
rity and  close  apjilication  to  business. 

Mr.  Weeks  married  a  widow,  Mrs.  Llewellyn 
White,  whose  maiden  name  was  Hannah 
Rollins. 


(sTrNDi 

f=X      nv 


NDREW  A.  AMES,  M.D.,*  a  general 
medical  practitioner  in  Dover,  N.H., 
was  born  and  bred,  as  it  were,  to 
the  profession  in  which  he  is  now  engaged, 
his  father,  Almon  A.  Ames,  having  been  a 
physician  of  good  repute  in  New  York  State. 
His  mother  was  before  marriage  Miss  Caro- 
line Marshall. 

Andrew  A.  Ames  was  born  August  i6, 
1S4S,  at  Saratoga  Springs,  Saratoga  County, 
N.Y. ;  but  in    1851,    when   he  was  about   three 


years  old,  his  parents  removed  to  Syracuse. 
He  spent  his  early  youth  in  thai  city,  attend- 
ing the  public  and  private  schools;  and  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  he  entered  Shafer  College  in 
New  York  City.  On  leaving  the  college  he 
returned  to  the  parental  roof,  and  with  his 
father  began  the  study  of  medicine,  at  the 
same  time  attending  lectures  at  the  Syracuse 
Medical  School,  where  he  was  graduated  five 
years  later.  Associating  himself  with  his 
father,  the  young  Doctor  began  his  profes- 
sional career  in  Syracuse,  continuing  there 
three  years,  and  then  going  to  I'oughkecpsie, 
N.Y. ,  where  he  remained  an  equal  length  of 
time.  Giving  up  practice  for  a  while,  he 
spent  some  )ears  in  travelling  in  the  West; 
and  he  afterward  located  in  ]k)ston,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  general  practice  twelve  years. 
His  health  failing,  Dr.  Ames  was  again 
obliged  to  retire  from  his  labors;  but  in 
1894  he  resumed  his  work,  settling  in  Dover, 
where  his  patronage  is  constantly  increasing. 
In  politics  Dr.  Ames  is  identified  with  the 
Republican  party,  but  has  never  cared  for  pub- 
lic office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church. 


<  •  • » > 


/^^STeORGE  p.  EMERSON,*  an  energetic 
V  fsT  and  ])rosperous  young  farmer  of  the 
town  of  Durham,  Strafford  County, 
son  of  John  P.  and  Mary  M.  (Bunker)  Emerson, 
was  born  on  the  homestead  where  he  now  re- 
sides, October  27,  1871,  he  being  a  descend- 
ant on  the  maternal  side  of  the  original  owner 
of  the  property,  a  Mr.  Bunker,  who  located 
here,  it  is  said,  in  1633  or  not  far  from  that 
date.  His, father,  John  P.  Emerson,  who  was 
born  in  Durham  in  1S33,  was  a  son  of  Timothy 
Emerson,  w^hose  birth  occurred  here  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  last  century. 

John  P.   Emerson  was  bred  and   educate<l    in 
Durham,  early  becoming  established  as  a  sue- 


5^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


ccssful  farmer;  and  after  his  marriage  with 
Miss  Mary  M.  Bunker  he  settled  on  this,  the 
old  Bunker  homestead.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Ephraim  Bunker,  from  whom  she 
inherited  the  estate,  and  the  grand-daughter  of 
John  Bunker,  who  was  descended  in  a  direct 
line  from  the  emigrant  ancestor  above  men- 
tioned. The  parental  household  included  but 
two  children:  George  P.,  the  special  subject 
of  this  biographical  sketch;  and  his  sister, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Jones.  The  father 
continued  his  residence  on  this  farm  until  his 
demise,  which  occurred  in  1889.  The  mother 
passed  to  the  higher  life  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
seven  years. 

George  P.  Emerson  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  and  in  the  academy  of  his  native 
town,  and  when  but  a  small  boy  began  to  as- 
sist in  the  lighter  labors  of  the  farm.  Since 
the  death  of  his  father  he  has  had  the  entire 
management  of  the  property,  the  forty  acres 
contained  in  the  homestead  being  now  in  his 
possession.  He  is  here  engaged  in  teaming 
and  general  farming,  conducting  his  affairs 
with  a  practical  sagacity  and  push  that  augur 
well  for  his  success  in  life.  Mr.  Emerson  is 
a  member  of  the  Durham  Grange. 


CONVERSE  PLACE,*  a  keen,  wide- 
awake business  man,  as  successor  to 
the  long-established  firm  of  Con- 
verse &  Hammond,  manufacturers  and  whole- 
sale and  retail  dealers  in  lumber  of  all  kinds, 
is  an  important  factor  of  the  manufacturing 
and  mercantile  interests  of  Dover.  The  busi- 
ness was  first  started  by  Mr.  Place's  grand- 
father, Joshua  Converse,  in  1870,  in  company 
with  a  Mr.  Hammond.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
Converse  his  place  in  the  firm  was  assumed  by 
James  C.  Place,  whose  death  occurred  April  6, 
1891.      A.  Converse  Place,  who  had  been  pre- 


viously admitted  to  the  firm,  succeeded  to  the 
entire  business  on  the  demise  of  the  Mr.  Ham- 
mond, October  16,   1895. 

Mr.  Place  was  born  at  Salmon  Falls,  N. H., 
a  son  of  James  C.  and  Mary  J.  (Converse) 
Place.  At  the  age  of  six  years  he  removed 
with  his  parents  to  ]?erwick,  Me.,  where  he 
attended  the  public  schools  until  his  admission 
to  the  North  Berwick  Academy.  On  leaving 
the  latter  institution  he  began  working  as  a 
clerk  for  his  grandfather  Converse,  and  a  few 
years  later  became  junior  partner  of  the  firm. 
A  man  of  excellent  judgment  and  shrewd 
sense,  he  has  greatly  assisted  in  enlarging  and 
building  up  the  business,  which  is  finely  lo- 
cated at  17  Cocheco  Street.  Besides  manu- 
facturing brackets,  mouldings,  spiral  rope, 
balusters,  piazza  columns,  wood  mantels,  and 
artistic  tiles,  etc.,  he  is  an  extensive  dealer  in 
Eastern,  Western,  and  Southern  lumber,  as 
well  as  in  lime,  cement,  plaster,  and  fertil- 
izers; and  he  makes  a  specialty  of  cedar 
shingles.  His  work  is  well  known  throughout 
New  England,  and  is  noted  for  the  excellence 
of  its  style  and  finish  and  its  great  durability. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1892,  Mr.  Place 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  L. 
Pope.  Politically,  Mr.  Place  is  a  Republican 
at  all  times.  He  is  numbered  among  the 
thirty-second  degree  Masons  of  Strafford 
County,  and  belongs  to  various  lodges,  in- 
cluding the  Moses  Paul  Lodge,  Belknap  Chap- 
ter, Orphan  Council,  St.  Paul  Commandery, 
and  the  Dover  Lodge  of  Protection.  He  and 
his  wife  are  regular  attendants  at  the  Congre- 
irational  church. 


KRANK    G.    BEAMAN,   who  has  an  ex- 
tensive box  manufacturing  business  in 
Laconia,   Belknap  County,    N.H.,   was 
born  in   Boston,  Mass.,  February  6,   1847,  son 


iilOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S<i3 


of  ICri  Heiijamiii  and  Rosanna  (Wilder)  IJca- 
niaii,  and  is  desccnilcd  from  old  Massachu- 
setts families. 

Gamaliel  15eaman,  his  earliest  known  ances- 
tor on  the  paternal  side,  came  to  America  in 
1635  in  the  ship  "Eliza  and  Ann,"  and  set- 
tled in  Dorchester,  Mass.  F"rom  him  the  line 
of  descent  continues  through  John,  Joseph, 
Gamaliel  (second),  Thomas,  and  Gideon,  to 
Eri  Benjamin,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Gideon  Heaman,  grandson  of  Gamaliel 
and  grandfather  of  Frank  G.,  was  a  native  of 
Leominster,  Mass.  He  married  Folly  Wilder, 
and  they  had  six  children;  namely,  Eri  B., 
Ellery  Brown,  Calista,  Ziba,  Catherine,  and 
Caroline. 

Eri  Benjamin  Beaman,  eldest  son  of  Gideon 
and  Folly  Beaman,  was  born  in  Frinceton, 
Mass.,  May  31,  1814.  After  acquiring  a 
common-school  education  in  Sterling,  Mass., 
he  was  apprenticed  to  Colonel  Gushing,  of 
Lunenburg,  in  the  same  State,  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  the  book-binder's  trade,  remaining 
there  until  he  attained  his  majority.  He  then 
went  to  Lancaster,  Mass.,  where  he  met  his 
future  wife.  Mr.  Beaman  was  next  employed 
in  Roxbury,  Mass.,  but  subsequently  returned 
to  Lancaster,  entering  the  employ  of  Marsh, 
Capen,  Lyons  &  Webb,  who  were  extensively 
engaged  in  the  jjublication  of  educational 
works.  Later  he  removed  to  Boston,  being 
there  employed  by  Carleton  &  Huckinsas  fore- 
man in  their  book  bindery.  Subsequently  for 
a  time  he  was  in  Cambridgeport  in  the  same 
business.  Going  from  Cambridgeport  to  Man- 
chester, N.H.,  in  1849,  he  lived  there  until 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War.  On  Sep- 
tember 23,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A, 
Seventh  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  Volunteer 
Infantry,  for  three  years,  and  faithfully  per- 
formed his  duties  until  August  31,  1862,  when 
he    was    discharged    for     physical     disability. 


After  returning  from  the  war,  Mr.  Beanuui 
came  to  Laconia;  and  on  July  i,  1864,  lie 
began  the  manufacture  of  pai)er  boxes  in  the 
Walker  Avery  Building  on  Main  Street. 
Several  years  after  he  removed  to  S  Mill 
Street,  occupying  the  whole  of  the  brick  block; 
and  from  there  he  came  later  to  his  present 
plant  on  Lake  Street,  where  he  successfully 
managed  the  enterprise  for  sixteen  years,  being 
the  pioneer  box  manufacturer  of  Laconia,  as 
well  as  its  only  book-binder.  He  was  also  in- 
terested in  the  Laconia  Water  Works. 

On  November  4,  1836,  in  Fitchburg,  Mass., 
Mr.  Eri  B.  Beaman  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Rosanna,  a  daughter  of  William  Wilder, 
of  that  city.  Her  father  was  a  highly  re- 
spected member  of  the  Methodist  I{piscopal 
church,  and  served  as  sexton  of  all  the  city 
cemeteries  for  over  thirty  years.  Mrs.  Bea- 
man was  born  in  Amherst,  Mass.  She  became 
the  mother  of  five  sons  —  Benjamin  (de- 
ceased), F"rederick  L.,  William  E.,  Frank  G., 
and  Charles  F.,  the  latter  of  whom  enlisted 
October  29,  1861,  for  three  years  in  Com- 
pany A,  Seventh  New  Hampshire  Regiment, 
Volunteer  Infantry,  Hawley's  brigaile,  Terry's 
division.  Tenth  Army  Corjjs.  He  was 
wounded  at  Fort  Wagner,  S.C.,  July  18,  1863, 
dying  two  days  later  at  Beaufort  Hospital. 

In  politics  Mr.  Fri  15.  Beaman  alTiliated 
with  the  Republican  party.  Fraternally,  he 
was  identified  with  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge, 
No.  32,  F.  &  A.  M.,  which  he  joined  I-'ebru- 
ary  5,  186S;  Union  Chapter,  No.  7,  R.  & 
A.  M.,  joining  November  26  of  that  year; 
Filgrim  Commantlery,  K.  T.,  July  19,  1S89. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  John  L.  I'erley  Post, 
No.  37,  G.  A.  R.  ;  and  of  the  Knights  of  the 
Golden  Eagle.  He  was  connected  with  the 
Methodist  Episcojial  church  by  membershii) 
for  sixty  years,  oflSciating  on  the  Boarii  of 
Trustees  in  Laconia.     Mr.  Eri  B.  Beaman  ilied 


5^4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


October  27,  1890,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six 
years,  leaving  a  wiilovv,  who  still  lives,  being 
remarkably  vigorous,  at  the  ailvanceil  age  of 
eigiity-three  years.  She  resides  in  tlie  house 
her  husband  bought  in  1869. 

Frank  G.  Beaman,  the  fourth  child  of  his 
parents,  was  educated  in  Manchester  (N.H.) 
High  School,  leaving  his  studies  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  to  enlist  as  a  drummer  boy  in  the  Fed- 
eral army.  Being  disqualified  on  account  of 
his  size,  he  became  waiter  for  the  Adjutant, 
lie  remained  in  the  army  eleven  months,  and 
has  vivid  recollections  of  many  exciting 
scenes.  I.ater  he  served  an  apprenticeship  to 
the  watch-making  trade  with  John  Moore,  of 
Manchester,  and  then  went  to  New  York  City, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  wholesale  de- 
partment of  the  American  Watch  and  Clock 
Company  for  six  years.  From  there  he  went 
to  Philadelphia,  and  served  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company  two  years,  subse- 
quently working  in  the  Jersey  City  Heights 
watch  factory  for  eighteen  months.  In 
Newark,  N.J.,  he  was  engaged  for  eight 
months  in  making  Bogardus  pigeon  traps;  and 
in  iSjg  he  came  to  Laconia,  N.H.,  and  estab- 
lished himself  as  an  auctioneer  and  second- 
hand furniture  dealer.  Two  years  later  he 
entered  his  father's  factory,  where  he  was 
foreman  until  his  father  died.  He  then  set- 
tled the  estate,  and  two  years  afterward  he 
bought  out  the  interests  of  the  other  heirs. 
Under  his  efficient  management  the  business 
has  increased  tenfold.  Until  the  recent  busi- 
ness depression  (1896)  he  employed  from 
thirty  to  forty  hands  in  making  paper  boxes. 
In  the  near  future  he  intends  to  add  the  busi- 
ness of  book-binding  to  his  already  flourishing 
enterprise,  his  financial  success  having  been 
such  as  to  warrant  the  undertaking. 

On  June  28,  1869,  Mr.  Beaman  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Deborah  Parker,  daughter  of 


Dr.  Alonzo,  and  niece  of  Colonel  T.  J. 
Whipple,  of  Laconia,  N.H.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Beaman  have  three  enterprising  sons,  two  of 
whom  are  engaged  in  manufacturing  with  their 
father:  Charles  L. ,  who  married  Abbie  Clem- 
ment,  of  Laconia,  and  has  two  children  — 
Ralph  and  Mary  Sanborn  Beaman;  Edwin  F.; 
and  Tom  Whipple. 


OHN  FRANKLIN  MERRILL,  a 
prominent  business  man  of  Laconia, 
Belknap  County,  N.H.,  was  born  in 
Holderness,  Grafton  County,  October  31, 
1833,  son  of  William  and  Hannah  C.  (Batch- 
elder)  Merrill.  He  is  a  descendant  of  Na- 
thaniel Merrill,'  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Newbury,  Mass.  ;  and  his  line  of  descent  from 
Nathaniel'  to  Joseph  Merrill''  has  been  ob- 
tained by  him  from  General  Lewis  Merrill, 
U.  S.  A.,  of  Philadelphia.  In  Hubbard's 
"History  of  New  England"  it  is  stated  that 
"the  plantation  at  Agawam  (Ipswich)  was  from 
the  first  year  of  its  being  raised  to  a  township 
so  filled  with  inhabitants  that  some  of  them 
presently  swarmed  out  into  another  place,  a 
little  further  eastward  .  .  .  and  called  it  New- 
berry (Newbury)."  Among  them  were  Na- 
thaniel and  John  Merrill  and  "the  reverend 
and  learned  Mr.  Parker."  This  was  about 
1634-35,  the  company  having  wintered  in 
Ipswich.  In  the  town  records  of  Newbury, 
under  date  of  January  1 1,  1644,  appears  the 
name  of  James  Merrill  as  selecting  lot  No. 
40,  and  Abraham  Merrill  selecting  lot  No. 
36;  and  under  date  of  March  17,  1642,  in  a 
list  of  freeholders  is  the  name  of  John  Mer- 
rill, brother  of  Nathaniel.  These  early  pro- 
genitors were  the  first  and  the  only  persons  of 
the  name  so  far  as  known  to  emigrate  to  this 
country.  Later  on,  members  of  the  family  took 
active  part,  as  American  patriots,  in  the  French 


JOHN     F.    MERRILL. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


565 


and  Iiuliaii  and  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  It 
is  recorded  that  Samuel  Merrill,  born  at  Salis- 
bury, Mass.,  August  4,  1728,  was  serving  as  a 
soldier  under  the  command  of  Captain  Thomas 
Bradbury  in  1748,  being  stationed  at  the 
block-house,  which  was  situated  below  Union 
Falls.  He  also  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  being  Lieutenant  of  the  conijiany  com- 
manded by  Jeremiah  Hill,  Ksq.,  at  the  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill.  In  1747  he  married  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Captain  Thomas  Bradbury. 
He  died  at  his  home  at  Salmon  Falls,  Buxton, 
Me.,  May  4,    1822. 

The  traditional  history  of  the  Merrill  family 
dates  back  to  the  time  of  the  crusades,  when 
the  name  was  spelled  De  Merle.  Its  members 
were  of  Norman  descent,  and  were  residents  of 
the  north  of  France,  whence,  after  suffering 
persecution  because  of  their  Huguenot  proclivi- 
ties, they  fled  to  Scotland,  and  eventually  their 
descendants  migrated  to  the  south  of  England. 
It  was  from  England  that  Nathaniel  Merrill  and 
his  brother  John  came  to  America.  Nathaniel 
married  Susannah  Wilteston,  either  before 
coming  to  this  country,  or  very  shortly  after 
landing  here.  He  died  March  16,  1654  or 
1655,  leaving  one  daughter  and  several  sons, 
all  of  whom  married  and  reared  families. 
John  Merrill  also  married  and  reared  one 
child,  a  daughter.  The  following  are  the 
generations  in  direct  line  to  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  from  Nathaniel  and  Susannah  (Wiltes- 
ton) Merrill:  — 

Abel,-  born  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  February 
20,  1644,  resided  in  Newbury,  and  died  Octo- 
ber 28,  i68g.  He  married  Priscilla  Chase, 
February  10,   1670. 

Nathan,'  born  April  3,  1676,  lived  in  New- 
bury, died  in  1742.  He  married  Hannah 
Kent,  September  6,   1699. 

Nathan,'  born  in  Newbury,  May  i,  1706, 
resideil    in    Newbury  and    Salisbury,  and    died 


November   22,    1745.      He   married    November 
22,    1731,  Dorothy  Carr. 

Richard,'  born  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  Novem- 
ber 6,  1732,  died  in  1791.  He  marrieil  Mary 
I'illsbury,  and  they  had  eleven  children. 

Joseph,''  born  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  Septem- 
ber 10,  1770,  died  January  10,  1842,  in 
Holderness,  N.H.  He  married  Hannai) 
Rogers,  and  they  had  ten  children. 

William,'  father  of  John  Franklin  Merrill, 
was  born  March  2,  1805,  in  Holderness,  N.H. 
He  began  his  business  career  as  a  farmer,  but 
subsequently  became  a  dealer  in  wool  and 
other  produce.  He  was  also  engaged  with 
several  others  in  manufacturing.  He  died  in 
Laconia,  N.H.,  July  13,  1876.  He  married 
Hannah  C.  Batchelder,  daughter  of  Deacon 
Abraham  Batchelder,  of  Northwood,  N.H. 
who  was  a  son  of  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
that  town.  Her  father  died  in  1S71,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-one  years.  William 
and  Hannah  C.  (Batchelder)  Merrill  had  si.\ 
children,  namely:  John  I-Vanklin,  who  is  the 
special  subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary  Augusta; 
Susan  Maria;  Emily  Ann;  Hollis  Williau); 
and  George  Boardman. 

John  Franklin  Merrill,''  son  of  William  anil 
Hannah  Merrill,  was  educated  in  the  common 
school  of  Laconia  and  at  Gilford  Academy. 
He  then  learned  the  marble  and  granite  busi- 
ness with  Albert  G.  Hull,  of  Laconia,  for 
whom  he  worked  a  year  after  his  apprentice- 
ship was  over.  In  1856  he  was  taken  into 
partnership,  the  firm  name  being  changed  to 
Hull  &  Merrill.  This  connection  having  con- 
tinued about  twelve  years,  Mr.  Merrill  bought 
his  partner's  interest,  and  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness alone  until  January,  1S92,  when  he  sold 
out.  Upon  the  formation  of  the  Laconia 
Electric  Lighting  Coni])any  in  1884,  he  be- 
came associated  with  it  as  Director,  which  he 
still  is;  and  since  1893   he  has  been   General 


566 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Manager.  When  Union  Cemetery  Asso- 
ciation was  farmed  in  i860,  Mr.  Merrill  was 
elected  to  the  Board  of  Directors  and  to  the 
office  of  Treasurer,  having  since  retained  both 
positions;  and  the  ])resent  flourishing  condi- 
tion of  the  association  is  largely  due  to  his 
efforts. 

In  [lolitics  Mr.  Merrill  is  a  stanch  Republi- 
can. He  has  been  Selectman  from  Ward 
Ft>ur  since  the  city  was  incorporated,  and  he 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Council.  He  is 
connected  with  the  Masonic  order,  being  a 
member  of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No.  32, 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  which  he  has  held  several 
chairs;  Union  Chapter,  No.  7,  R.  A.  M.; 
Pythagorean  Council,  No.  6,  R.  S.  &  S.  M.  : 
and  Pilgrim  Commandery,  K.  T.  He  also 
belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  being  a  member  of  Winipiseogee 
Lodge,  No.  7;  Laconia  Encampment,  No.  9, 
in  both  having  held  all  the  chairs;  and  Can- 
ton Osgood,  No.  5.  Over  forty-five  years  ago 
Mr.  Merrill  became  a  member  of  the  Free 
Baptist  Society,  of  which  he  has  been  Secre- 
tary and  Treasurer  for  about  forty  years. 
When  seventeen  years  old  he  entered  the 
church  choir  as  bass  singer,  and  he  has  been 
connected  therewith  for  forty-five  years. 

Mr.  Merrill  was  first  married  May  i,  1859, 
at  Laconia,  to  Eleanor  J.  Eaton,  who  died 
February  i,  1864,  leaving  no  children.  De- 
cember 7,  1865,  Mr.  Merrill  married  Miss 
Flora  Abby  Rowe,  daughter  of  Morrison 
and  Sarah  (James)  Rowe,  of  Belmont,  N.H. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  sons  and  a 
daughter;  namely,  Albert  Rowe,''  Frank  Carle- 
ton, 'J  P>ederick  Dimock,''  and  Eva  Lillian.'' 
Albert  R.,  born  in  Laconia,  N.H.,  May  29, 
1867,  is  junior  partner  in  the  firm  of  Hilliard 
&  Merrill,  wholesale  dealers  in  cut  soles  at 
Lynn,  Mass.  He  is  a  member  of  Mount  Car- 
mel  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M. ;   Sutton  Chapter  and 


Olivet  Commandery,  K.  T.  He  married  Har- 
riett E.  Davis  in  Lynn,  May  29,  1889;  and 
they  have  two  children:  Clara  Lillian,'"  born 
March  20,  1890;  and  Alberta  Rosalind,'"  born 
June  II,  1895.  Frank  Carleton,  born  in 
Laconia,  July  8,  1869,  is  a  piano  tuner  by  oc- 
cupation. He  married  Christianna  Lamprey, 
Decembei  2,  1896;  and  they  reside  in  Laconia. 
Eva  Lillian,  born  in  Laconia,  July  12,  1871, 
married  in  Laconia,  September  25,  1895, 
Eugene  Nimmons  Best,  a  lawyer  of  Min- 
neapolis, Minn.,  where  they  reside.  Fred- 
erick Dimock,  born  in  Laconia,  January  19, 
1S77,  is  still  a  resident  of  Laconia. 

Mary  Augusta,*  born  in  Holderness,  N.H., 
May  3,   1835,  died  in  Meredith,  May  2,   1846. 

Susan  Maria,'*  born  September  15,  1836, 
married  Andrew  Dimock,  of  Boston,  October 
13,  1871,  and  died  at  Winthrop  Highlands, 
Mass.,  January  10,  1897,  leaving  no  children. 
She  was  an  artist  in  oil,  a  pupil  of  J.  J.  En- 
neking,  of  Boston,  and  J.  Appleton  Brown,  of 
New  York.  She  studied  at  the  Boston  Mu- 
seum of  Fine  Arts,  and  improved  to  the 
utmost  the  excellent  opportunities  granted  in 
that  institution  to  those  who  desire  an  art 
education.  Her  paintings  of  New  Hampshire 
scenery  are  among  her  best  productions,  and 
are  distinguished  for  their  correctness  of  draw- 
ing and  richness  of  coloring. 

Emily  Ann,-  born  in  Holderness,  N.H., 
October  5,  1840,  married  James  W.  Hoitt,  of 
Lynn,  Mass.,  May  23,  1868.  An  infant 
daughter  died  in  Lynn,  November  28,  1869; 
a  second  daughter,  Allie  May,  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1878;  a  son,  Ernest  R.,''  born  in 
Lynn,  November  28,  1880,  died  in  Lynn,  Au- 
gust 15,  1881.  Lewis  D.,'  born  in  Lynn, 
July  13,  1879,  "^'i^^fl  '"   Lynn,  March  30,    18S0. 

Hollis  William,*  born  in  Holderness,  N.H., 
June  13,  1842,  married  first,  in  Alton,  111., 
August  22,  1866,  Miss  Mary  S.  Young.     She 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S(i7 


died  at  Alton,  111.,  June  22,  1867;  and  their 
infant  children  died  June  20,  1867.  Ilollis 
\V.  Merrill  married  second,  at  Lynn,  Mass., 
July  2,  1S81,  Mrs.  Hattie  M.  Leavitt  Gore, 
by  whom  he  has  one  son,  William  Ilenry,'^ 
born  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  July  17,  1882.  Mr. 
Mollis  W.  Merrill  is  a  successful  business 
man  in  Lynn.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
a  member  of  the  Mount  Carmel  Lodge,  A.  F". 
&  A.  M.,  and  Providence  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
of   Lynn,  Mass. 

George  Boardman  Merrill  "*  was  born  at  La- 
conia,  N.H.,  October  2,  1848.  He  received  a 
good  practical  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  Gilford  Academy,  Laconia. 
After  leaving  school  he  found  employment  for 
five  years  in  Belknap  Mills  as  a  loom  fi.xcr  in 
the  weaving-room.  He  then  went  to  Moline, 
111.,  where  he  was  engaged  as  superintendent 
in  manufacturing  with  his  brother,  Hoi  lis  W. , 
for  about  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
their  factory  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  Mr. 
George  B.  Merrill,  after  spending  some  time 
in  travel  through  the  South,  returned  to  La- 
conia, and  went  into  the  marble  and  granite 
business  with  his  brother,  John  F.  He  was 
thus  engaged  until  iSgi,  when  he  bought  out 
a  marble  and  granite  business  in  Lynn,  which 
he  now  carries  on,  residing  in  that  city.  He 
was  married  October  2,  1870,  at  Laconia, 
N.H.,  to  Addie  M.  Osgood,  who  was  born 
March  16,  1851,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  James 
and  Eliza  C.  (Hyde)  Osgood. 

Samuel  James  Osgood  was  born  in  Tam- 
worth,  N.H.  His  original  surname  was 
Hackett,  but  he  and  his  sister,  Ruth  H.,  on 
becoming  of  age  had  their  names  changed  to 
Osgood.  He  was  very  prominent  in  Odd  Fel- 
lowship, and  was  Grand  Master  of  New  Hamp- 
shire in  1876.  At  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  I'^ebruary  14,  1S77,  he  was 
Grand  Representative  to  the   Sovereign   Grand 


Lodge.  His  wife,  Eliza  C.  Hyde  Osgood, 
born  in  Tamworth,  died  in  Laconia,  N.H., 
February  1  i,  1894.  They  were  the  parents  of 
six  children  —  1'" rank  J.,  George  H.,  Kate 
J.,  Clara  H.,  Addie  M.,  and  Annie  M. 
Frank  J.  Osgood  was  born  in  Laconia, 
whence  in  the  course  of  time  he  removed  to 
Ridgway,  I'a.  During  the  war  he  enlisted 
in  the  Union  army,  was  commissioned  l-"irst 
Lieutenant,  then  rose  successively  to  the 
ranks  of  Captain,  I\Lijor,  and  Lieut. -Colonel, 
remaining  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
G.  A.  R.,  and  is  Past  Commander  in  J.  L. 
Perley,  Jr.,  Post,  No.  ^7.  Hc  married  Emma 
J.  l^eaman,  of  Laconia,  N.H.  George  H. 
Osgood,  who  was  born  in  Laconia,  entered 
the  army  with  the  rank  of  Sergeant,  and  died 
from  a  gunshot  wound  received  at  the  battle 
of  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Georgia.  Kate  J. 
Osgood  married  Fred  L.  Bcaman.  Clara  H. 
Osgood  married  Frank  J.  Tourtelot.  Annie 
M.    Osgood  married    Albert    W.   Wilco.x. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  B.  Merrill  have  had 
four  children,  of  whom  two  are  living,  namely: 
Hollis  James,''  born  in  Laconia,  December  8, 
1875;  and  Harry  Wilco.x,'  born  in  Laconia, 
April  I,  1879.  The  others  were:  Charles 
Sumner,  who  was  born  in  Laconia,  February 
17,  1874,  and  died  November  14,  1878;  and 
Frankie  William,  who  was  born  in  Laconia, 
December  20,  1877,  and  died  January  11, 
1878. 

Mr.  Merrill  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 
He  is  connected  with  various  secret  societies, 
being  a  member  of  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge,  No. 
32,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.;  Union  Chapter,  No.  7, 
R.  A.  M. ;  Pythagorean  Council,  No.  6,  R.  S. 
&  S.  M.  ;  antl  honorary  member  of  Pilgrim 
Commandery,  K.  T.,  all  at  Laconia;  and  in 
all  of  these  bodies  of  York  Masonry  he  had  held 
important  offices.     In  Ancient  Accepted  Scot- 


scs 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


tish  Kite  Masonry  he  belongs  to  Alpha  Lodge 
of  l^erfection,  14°;  Ariel  Council,  Princes  of 
Jerusalem,  16°;  and  Acacia  Chapter,  Rose 
Croix,  18°,  Dc  H.  .R.-.D.  .M.,  at  Concord, 
N.H.  He  is  S.  P.  of  Edward  A.  Raymond 
Consistory,  32°,  at  Nashua,  N.H.;  and  be- 
longs to  Aleppo  Temple,  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  at  Boston,  Mass.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  Lynn  Council,  No.  516,  Royal 
Arcanum,  at  Lynn,  Mass. ;  ex-member  of 
Laconia  Council,  Royal  Arcanum,  at  Laconia, 
N.H.  ;  Bay  State  Lodge,  No  40,  L  O.  O.  F., 
at  Lynn,  Mass.  ;  ex-member  of  Winipiseogee 
Lodge,  No.  7,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  at  Laconia,  N.H.; 
member  of  Laconia  Encampment,  No.  9,  La- 
conia, N.  H.,  having  held  all  of  the  chairs  in 
both  organizations;  member  of  Canton  City  of 
Lynn,  No.  63,  Patriarchs  Militant,  at  Lynn, 
Mass. ;  ex-member  of  Canton  Osgood  No.  5, 
P.  M.,  at  Laconia;  member  of  Beulah  Lodge, 
Daughters  of  Rebecca,  Lynn,  Mass. ;  ex-mem- 
ber of  listher  Degree  Lodge  at  Laconia,  N.  H.; 
charter  member  of  Abraham  Lincoln  Lodge, 
No.  127,  Knights  of  Pythias;'  and  charter 
member  of  Euphrates  Senate,  No.  362,  Knights 
of  the  Ancient  Essenic  Order,  at  Lynn,  Mass. 


-OHN  SPAULDING,  the  proprietor  of 
the  Good  Luck  House,  The  Weirs, 
Belknap  County,  which  he  has  con- 
ducted as  a  summer  hotel,  was  born  in  Plain- 
field,  N.  H.,  September  10,  1S32,  son  of 
Josiah  and  Hannah  (Cole)  Spaulding.  The 
descent  of  the  Spaulding  family  is  traced  to 
two  brothers,  John  and  Edward  Spaulding,  who 
came  from  England  in  1620;  but  it  is  not 
known  which  of  them  was  the  founder.  Both 
the  paternal  and  maternal  grandfathers  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War. 

Josiah    Spaulding,    who   was   for    a   time    a 


leading  resident  of  Plainfield,  moved  to  Pier- 
mont  in  1837.  He  represented  that  town  in 
the  legislature  for  two  years,  and  served  in  the 
capacities  of  Selectman  and  Justice  oi  the 
Peace.  He  often  did  legal  work  for  others, 
such  as  writing  deeds  and  wills.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Whig  until  the  formation  of  the  Re- 
publican party,  which  he  afterward  supported. 
In  religion  he  was  a  Universal  ist.  He 
served  in  the  War  of  1812,  holding  the  rank 
of  Quartermaster  Sergeant.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  his  eighty-third  year.  His  wife  was 
eighty-six  years  old  when  she  died.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children  — Wheeler, 
Fernando,  Stephen,  Hannah,  Josiah,  John, 
Mary,  and  Herbert.  Hannah  is  the  wife  of 
Benjamin  Hibbard,  a  prominent  Republican 
of  Piermont,  which  he  has  served  as  a  Repre- 
sentative, Selectman,  and  in  other  positions; 
Mary  died  aged  twenty-eight;  Stephen  mi- 
grated to  Southern  Illinois,  where  he  engaged 
in  fruit-raising,  and  subsequently  retired  from 
business;  Herbert  also  went  to  Southern  Illi- 
nois; Fernando,  who  died  in  1894,  was  for 
forty-three  years  in  the  employ  of  the  P'itch- 
burg  &  Fort  Wayne  Railroad  at  Chicago;  and 
Josiah  went  to  California  in  1850  and  engaged 
in  mining. 

John  Spaulding  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools  of  Piermont.  He  afterward  took  up 
farming  and  carpentering,  learning  the  trade 
when     nineteen    years    of    age.      In    August, 

1861,  he  enlisted  in  the  Fourth  Vermont  Regi- 
ment of  Volunteers,  and  served  in  all  the 
peninsular  battles  up  to  the  retreat  of  General 
McClellan    in  the  late  war.      On   October  31, 

1862,  after  spending  four  months  in  a  hospital 
at  Point  Lookout,  Md.,  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged on  account  of  sickness  resulting  from 
injuries.  In  1S65  he  went  to  Wisconsin, 
where  he  lived  for  sixteen  years.  He  then 
returned  to  the  old  home  in  New  Hampshire, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


569 


;incl  later  came  to  The  Weirs,  Laconia.  On 
coming  here,  he  had  no  intention  of  entering 
the  hotel  business.  In  one  summer  he  tool:  a 
few  boarders,  in  the  next  he  was  asl<ed  to  take 
more,  in  the  following  summer  still  more,  and 
so  on,  necessitating  the  enlargement  of  his 
house.  It  will  now  accommodate  between 
forty  and  fifty  people,  and  is  quite  a  favorite 
with  boarders.  Mr.  Spaulding  possesses  the 
happy  faculty  of  bringing  strangers  together 
for  their  own  amusement.  Another  attraction 
of  the  place  is  a  spring,  discovered  in  iSSg, 
when  the  trenches  for  the  foundations  of  the 
building  were  dug.  Upon  having  the  water 
of  this  spring  tested  by  the  State  chemist,  it 
was  found  to  be  equal  in  efficacy  to  the  best 
known  curative  waters,  while  free  from  their 
im[nirities. 

On  May  i,  1854,  Mr.  Spaulding  was  joined 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Jane  Felch,  daughter 
of  Parker  Felch,  of  Piermont.  Mr.  Spauld- 
ing was  Selectman  for  Ward  One,  Laconia, 
for  three  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  J.  L. 
Perley  Post,  No.  37,  G.  A.  K.,  of  Laconia, 
and  of  The  Weirs  Grange,  No.  248,  in  which 
he  is  the  present  Overseer. 


RS.  MARILLA  M.  RICKKR, 
attorney  -  at  -  law  and  writer,  was 
born  in  New  Durham,  this  State. 
She  comes  of  a  long  line  of  ancestors  who  were 
members  of  the  legal  profession.  Her  father, 
Jonathan  B.  Young,  was  born  on  the  farm 
settled  by  his  grandfather.  He  was  a  broad, 
liberal-minded  man,  a  stanch  Whig,  and  a 
suffragist.  With  the  political  doings  of  the 
world  he  kept  himself  in  touch  through  the 
columns  of  the  New  York  Week!}'  Tribune  and 
the  Boston  Cultivator.  The  influence  of  her 
father's  liberal  spirit  during  her  youth  must 
be  counted    as  one   of   the   chief  factors  in    the 


bent  of  Mrs.  Kicker's  genius  and  its  later  de- 
velopment. Mr.  Young  had  four  children  — 
Joseph  U.,  Marilla,  Helen  Frances,  and  Ade- 
laide. Josei)h  I).,  the  only  son,  enlisted  in 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  in  the  Third  New 
Hampshire  Regiment,  Company  I.  He  was 
a  gallant  soldier,  and  lost  his  life  on  lulisto 
Island,  South  Carolina,  in  \U^2.  This  was 
Mrs.  Ricker's  first  great  grief,  and  its  memory 
has  never  been  quite  lost.  Helen  Frances 
Young  married  Samuel  G.  Jones,  of  New 
Durham.  She  died  in  1870.  Adelaide 
Young,  who  is  unmarried,  is  a  professional 
nurse  in  Connecticut. 

Marilla  M.  attended  the  district  schools  of 
New  Durham  in  her  childhood,  and  later  at 
Colby  Academy  fitted  to  be  a  teacher,  jiaying 
her  expenses  by  teaching  in  the  district 
schools.  She  began  the  work  at  the  age  of 
si.xteen,  and  for  seven  years  was  one  of  the 
most  successful  instructors  in  the  State.  She 
still  believes  that  "teachers  are  born,  not 
made,"  and  looks  back  with  great  pleasure  to 
the  time  when  she  was  a  "school-marm."  In 
1863  she  married  Mr.  John  Ricker,  of  Dover, 
N.  H.,  who  lived  only  five  years  after.  At 
twenty-eight  Mrs.  Ricker  was  a  widow,  with 
no  children  and  with  means  sufficient  to  en- 
able her  to  devote  her  time  and  her  heart  to 
any  work  in  which  she  felt  called  upon  to 
engage.  After  travelling  for  some  years  in 
America,  she  went  abroad,  remaining  for  three 
years;  and,  spending  much  of  that  time  in 
Germany,  she  acquired  jierfect  command  of  the 
(icrman  language.  Returning  to  this  coun- 
try, she  entered  the  law  office  of  A.  W.  Will- 
iams in  Washington,  D. C,  and  in  18S3  was 
one  of  a  class  of  nineteen  to  apply  for  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
She  received  first  rank  in  the  examination,  and 
was  said  to  give  evidence  of  possessing  more 
extensive  legal  knowledge   than   had   ever  been 


57° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


tlisplaycd  by  any  other  candidate.  She  began 
the  practice  of  law  in  the  courts  of  Washing- 
ton, and  has  practised  there  ever  since.  She 
has  a  broad  charity  and  an  intense  sympathy 
for  all  unfortunates,  and  her  practice  has  lain 
largely  with  criminals.  She  may  frequently 
be  found  in  the  jails  on  Sundays,  befriending 
the  needy  and  offering  words  of  encouragement 
and  cheer  to  the  prisoners.  She  works  for 
all,  good  and  bad  alike,  and  has  long  been 
known  as  the  "Prisoners'  Friend." 

Since  being  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  she  has 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  New  Hampshire 
and  in  Utah;  and  in  1891  she  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 
She  was  appointed  by  President  Arthur  a 
Notary  Public;  and  in  1884,  by  the  judges 
of  the  District  Supreme  Court,  United  States 
Commissioner  and  Examiner  in  Chancery, 
both  of  which  offices  she  still  holds.  Out- 
side of  her  practice  Mrs.  Ricker  is  chiefly 
interested  in  politics.  Brought  up  a  suffragist 
and  a  Whig,  she  is  ever  ready  with  pen  or 
voice  to  help  speed  the  principles  of  the  great 
Republican  party.  She  has  written  many  let- 
ters on  the  tariff,  and  is  to  be  found  in  every 
campaign  delivering  addresses  and  using  all 
her  influence  for  the  success  of  her  party. 
During  the  campaign  for  Harrison  she  made 
lecturing  tours  through  California  and  Iowa, 
and  she  made  many  stump  speeches  and  wrote 
many  articles  for  the  McKinley  campaign. 
She  is  especially  interested  in  the  currency 
question.  On  the  success  of  her  party  in  the 
late  election  (1896)  Mrs.  Ricker  conceived 
the  worthy  ambition  of  representing  the 
United  States  of  America  as  Envoy  Extraordi- 
nary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Re- 
public of  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  a 
position  for  which  she  was  in  every  way  well 
qualified.      Her    ai^plication    for    that    or    for 


"some  other  diplomatic  position  of  equal  rank 
and  importance"  was  strongly  indorsed  by  in- 
fluential men,  not  only  in  New  Hampshire, 
but  elsewhere,  the  States  of  California,  Iowa, 
Illinois,  Colorado,  and  Massachusetts  being 
represented  in  the  petitions  presented  to  the 
President  in  her  behalf.  Ex-Senator  Henry 
W.  Blair  had  a  personal  interview  with  Presi- 
dent McKinley  on  the  matter,  and  also  wrote 
him  a  forcible  letter  calling  attention  to  the 
strength  of  Mrs.  Ricker's  claim  to  the  appoint- 
ment, "so  far  as  character,  ability,  education, 
professional  acquirements,  experience,  culture, 
and  all  the  varied  accomplishments  which 
would  adorn  the  position  and  reflect  honor 
upon  her  country  are  concerned."  His  letter 
was  referred  to  by  the  Boston  Iiiz'istigator  as 
"a  very  strong  'Woman's  Rights'  document 
from  a  somewhat  conservative  source."  Not- 
withstanding such  substantial  support,  her 
application  was  rejected,  the  appointment 
going  to  Mr.  Charles  B.  Hart.  Mrs.  Ricker 
accepted  the  result  in  a  calm  and  philosophical 
spirit,  and  immediately  wrote  a  congratulatory 
letter  to  the  appointee.  To  others  she  said : 
"I  am  still  a  Republican  and  still  a  McKinley 
woman.  I  am  well  satisfied  with  this  admin- 
istration, and  expect  to  work  for  McKinley's 
renomination  and  re-election  in  1900."  Mrs. 
Ricker  is  a  member  of  the  Woman  Suffrage 
Association  and  a  liberal  contributor  to  the 
cause  both  in  money  and  with  her  pen.  She 
is  a  firm  believer  in  the  ultimate  success  of 
the  suffrage  movement,  and  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  woman  in  Dover,  N,  H.,  who 
tried  to  vote.  It  was  in  1S70  that  she  ap- 
peared before  the  Selectmen  of  the  town  and 
asked  to  have  her  name  put  on  the  check  list, 
claiming  to  be  a  law-abiding  and  tax-paying 
citizen. 

Mrs.    Ricker    is    an  advanced    free  thinker. 
She  is  a  personal  friend  and  an  ardent  admirer 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


57' 


of  Colonel  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  and  she  pro- 
poses to  offer  a  complete  set  of  his  works  to 
ten  New  Hampshire  towns  each  year  until  she 
shall  have  gone  through  all  the  town  libraries. 
She  has  already  offered  a  large  number  of 
copies,  and  in  some  cases  the  proposed  gift  has 
been  received  and  in  others  refused.  Some 
years  ago  she  gave  a  set  to  the  library  of  the 
State  Prison.  Mrs.  Ricker  still  claims  Dover, 
N.  H.,  as  her  home,  though  during  the  winter 
she  is  usually  to  be  found  in  Washington.  As 
to  her  attire,  Mrs.  Ricker  dresses  for  comfort 
rather  than  as  a  votress  of  Dame  Fashion. 
Her  dresses  are  simply  made,  without  big 
sleeves  or  too  long  skirts;  and  her  hair  is  worn 
short  and  curled.  She  always  wears  a  frill  of 
soft  lace  at  the  throat,  which  lessens  the 
effect  of  plainness  and  gives  a  womanly  set- 
ting to  her  strong,  intellectual  face. 


fs^OHN  W.  EDGERLY,  a  prominent  real 
estate  dealer  of  Concord,  N.  H. ,  was 
born  in  Meredith,  N.  H.,  January  i6, 
1S46,  son  of  William  M.  and  Lydia  (Fogg) 
Edgerly.  His  grandfather,  Samuel  Edgerly, 
went  from  Kensington,  N.  H.,  to  Meredith 
when  a  young  man,  and,  being  possessed  of 
excellent  business  ability  and  good  judgment, 
succeeded  in  accumulating  considerable  prop- 
erty. He  married  Betsey  Smith,  and  reared 
nine  children ;  namely,  Joseph,  David,  John, 
Daniel,  William,  Sarah,  Polly,  Jane,  and 
Hannah.  On  both  the  paternal  and  maternal 
side  Mr.  Edgerly's  great-grandfathers  served 
in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

William  M.  Edgerly,  John  W.  Edgerly's 
father,  was  born  in  Meredith  in  1812.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  reared 
to  agricultural  pursuits  upon  the  homestead 
farm,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  twenty- 
five  years  old.      He   then  bought   a   farm   and 


continued  to  till  the  soil  with  energy  as  long 
as  he  was  able  to  engage  in  active  pursuits. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Republican.  His  wife, 
Lydia  P'ogg,  who  was  a  daughter  of  David 
Fogg,  of  Meredith,  became  the  mother  of  five 
children,  as  follows:  George  G.,  who  died  in 
New  Orleans,  La.,  at  the  age  of  twenty  five 
years;  Charles  C. ,  who  is  no  longer  living; 
Joseph  W.,  who  resides  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.  ; 
John  W. ,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  and 
P"rank  G. ,  who  lives  in  Concord,  and  is  High 
Sheriff  of  Merrimack  County.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  M.  Edgerly  arc  members  of  the  Free 
Baptist  church. 

John  W.  Edgerly  began  his  education  in  the 
schools  of  Meredith,  and  completed  his  studies 
at  the  New  Hampton  Literary  Institute.  He 
resided  at  home  until  reaching  his  majority, 
and  then  went  to  Concord,  where  he  entered 
mercantile  life  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  store. 
A  few  months  later  he  engaged  in  that  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account.  He  continued  in 
trade  until  1879,  at  which  time  he  entered  the 
real  estate  field  ;  and  he  has  since  been  engaged 
in  developing  and  handling  city  jiroperty. 

On  April  25,  1869,  Mr.  Edgerly  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Emma  P.  Dolloff,  daughter 
of  Joseph  Dolloff,  of  New  Hampton.  Her 
parents  died  when  she  was  quite  young;  and 
she  then  lived  with  her  sister  in  Concord, 
where  she  was  educated,  graduating  from  the 
high  school  of  that  city.  Mrs.  luigerly's 
great-grandfather,  Samuel  Dolloff,  was  of 
Russian  descent.  He  was  a  |)ii)neer  in  New 
Hampton ;  and  he  cleared  and  improved  the 
Dolloff  farm,  whch  is  now  owned  by  Mrs. 
P^dgerly.  John  Dolloff,  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Edgerly,  was  a  lifelong  resident  of  New 
Hampton,  and  followed  farming  and  cooper- 
ing throughout  his  active  period.  He  had  a 
good  education,  and  was  exceedingly  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  religion.      Joseph  Dolloff,  Mrs. 


572 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


Edgerly's  father,  was  brought  up  on  the  home- 
stead in  New  Hampton,  to  the  ownership  of 
which  ho  eventually  succeeded.  There  he 
was  born,  lived  nearly  his  whole  life,  and  died. 
Mr.  Dolloff  had  a  family  of  nine  children, 
of  whom  si.v,  besides  Mrs.  Edgerly,  lived  to 
maturity,  namely:  Lavinia  P.,  who  married 
William  E.  Gordon,  of  New  Hampton,  and 
lives  in  Concord;  Martha  M.  N.,  who  married 
Edward  R.  Robinson,  of  Concord ;  Joseph  Y. 
and  Erank  E. ,  who  both  lived  in  Concord  until 
their  deaths;  John  S.  S. ,  who  was  killed  at 
the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor  in  the  Civil  War; 
and  William  P.,  who  was  the  originator  of  the 
remedy  for  rheumatic  troubles  known  as  the 
"Wonderful  Winter  Green."  He  was  a  resi- 
dent of  New  York  City,  but  died  in  Concord 
in  I  891. 

The  late  Hon.  George  G.  Fogg,  formerly 
United  States  Senator  and  Minister  to  Switz- 
erland, was  Mr.  Edgerly's  uncle;  and  a  short 
sketch  of  the  career  of  that  noted  New  Hamp- 
shire politician  will  no  doubt  be  appreciated 
by  the  readers  of  the  "Review."  The  Hon. 
George  G.  Eogg  was  an  able  lawyer  in  his 
younger  days,  and  possessed  literary  attain- 
ments of  a  high  order.  When  the  Independent 
Democrat  was  established,  he  was  requested  to 
become  its  editor.  As  a  writer  he  eloquently 
upheld  his  political  convictions,  and  his  for- 
cible pen  thrusts  were  keenly  felt  by  his  oppo- 
nents. He  was  associated  with  John  P.  Hale 
in  the  work  of  organizing  the  Republican 
party,  and  was  the  man  who  introduced  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  to  a  Concord  audience  as  "our 
ne.xt  President."  He  was  Chairman  of  the 
Republican  National  Committee  during  the 
campaign  of  i860;  and  President  Lincoln  ap- 
pointed him  United  States  Minister  to  Switz- 
erland, a  position  which  he  held  until  1865. 
After  his  return  he  was  appointed  to  fill  a 
vacancy    in    the    United     States     Senate,    and 


when  his  term  was  completed  he  resumed 
charge  of  his  newspaper.  The  Independent 
Devtoerat  was  later  consolidated  with  the  New 
Hami)shire  Statesman,  published  by  the  Con 
cord  Republican  Press  Assocation,  of  Concord; 
and  Mr.  P'ogg  finally  sold  his  interest  in  the 
enterprise  to  the  Hon.  William  E.  Chandler. 
His  last  days  were  spent  in  retirement  at  his 
home  in  Concord ;  and  he  died  in  October, 
1S81. 


ARED  ALONZO  GREENE,  M.D., 
a  resident  of  Long  Island,  in  the  town 
of  Moultonboro,  and  one  of  the  most 
prominent  citizens  of  New  Hampshire,  known 
throughout  the  civilized  world  for  his  connec- 
tion with  the  famous  remedy,  "Nervura, " 
was  born  in  Whitingham,  Windham  County, 
Vt.,  November  5,  1S45.  His  father,  Reuben 
Greene,  M.D. ,  removing  to  Boston  a  few 
years  after,  he  attended  the  public  schools  in 
that  city,  and  later  engaged  in  the  study  of 
medicine  with  the  view  of  succeeding  to  his 
father's  practice.  His  room  became  a  sort  of 
curiosity  shop  of  medical  appliances,  contain- 
ing odd  bones,  bundles  of  herbs,  jars  of  pills, 
big  charts,  and  medical  books,  and  even  a 
human  skeleton,  which  was  kept  under  the  bed. 
With  this  heterogeneous  collection  constantly 
in  sight,  and  his  mind  filled  with  the  thought 
of  the  vast  amount  of  work  that  must  be  done 
before  he  could  be  a  full-fledged  physician,  he 
at  length  became  so  tired  of  the  study  of  medi- 
cine that,  with  only  three  dollars  in  his 
pocket,  and  without  paternal  sanction  or 
knowledge,  he  set  out  for  the  West,  and  at 
Omaha  secured  employment  as  driver  of  si.\ 
yoke  of  o.xen  attached  to  a  large  freight  wagon 
for  the  purpose  of  transporting  flour  and  tools 
from  that  city  to  the  mining  camps  of  Denver, 
Col.  After  many  thrilling  experiences  in 
Western   mining   camps   he   enlisted   in    1863, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


573 


when  only  a  youth  of  eighteen,  in  the  Second 
Colorado  Cavalry,  and  served  throughout  the 
war,  receiving  honorable  discharge  in  the  fall 
of  1865  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kan.  The 
title  of  Colonel,  which  he  now  bears,  was 
given  thirty  years  later  upon  his  appointment 
as  senior  aide-de-camp  on  Commander  l^uzzell's 
staff  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

After  the  war  he  renewed  his  medical 
studies,  and  in  1867  received  his  degree  from 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  at  once  established  himself  for  prac- 
tice at  34  Temple  Place,  Boston,  in  the  same 
building  which  is  still  his  Boston  office.  In 
1886  Dr.  Greene  retired  from  active  participa- 
tion in  the  medicine  business,  but  still  retains 
a  partnership  with  his  brother.  Dr.  F.  E. 
Greene.  The  business  has  reached  enormous 
proportions,  and  over  a  hundred  men  and 
women  are  employed.  In  making  appoint- 
ments of  employees,  Dr.  Greene  has  been 
careful  to  select  New  Hampshire  men ;  and 
thirteen  of  the  firm's  travelling  salesmen  and 
heads  of  departments  are  men  chosen  from  the 
towns  surrounding  his  present  home.  The 
head  consulting  physician  of  his  Boston  office 
is  also  a  New  Hampshire  man. 

In  the  summer  of  1889  Dr.  Greene  bought 
si.x  farms,  which  comprise  his  estate  on  Long 
Island.  Here  he  lives,  enjoying  the  cordial 
respect  and  admiration  of  his  fellow-towns- 
men and  dispensing  a  most  generous  hospital- 
ity. Immense  numbers  of  visitors  are  received 
here  every  year;  and  several  of  the  fraternities 
of  which  the  Doctor  is  a  member  have  been 
entertained  in  a  body,  dinner  being  served  in 
the  grove  in  a  single  week,  it  is  said,  to  as 
many  as  four  thousand  persons.  With  its 
high-bred  horses,  cattle  and  fowl,  Ro.xmont  is 
one  of  the  most  famous  stock  farms  in  the 
country.  The  extensive  grounds  surrounding 
the  residence  have  been  beautified  by  the  land- 


scape gardener's  art,  and  command  magnificent 
views  in  every  direction.  The  "Castle,"  as 
it  is  fitly  named,  is  a  veritable  storehouse  of 
treasures  of  art  and  objects  of  virtu  collected 
by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Greene  in  their  travel  abroad 
in  many  lands.  The  main  hall  is  twenty- 
seven  feet  high,  with  a  gallery  running  around 
it,  finished  in  oak  and  draped  with  costly  Eastern 
rugs,  which  give  an  Oriental  effect;  while  the 
broad  fireplace  beneath,  with  its  hospitable 
glow,  and  the  carved  hall  clock,  with  its  sweet 
Westminster  chimes,  make  the  fortunate  guest 
almost  feel  himself  to  be  in  one  of  the  great 
manor  houses  of  England.  Among  the  many 
curios  shown  to  visitors  are  swords,  battle- 
axes,  spears,  shields,  canes,  and  bric-a-brac 
from  every  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

Since  coming  to  New  Hampshire,  Dr. 
Greene  has  identified  himself  intimately  with 
the  various  industries  of  this  region,  and  has 
won  a  place  for  himself  as  well  among  busi- 
ness men  as  in  social  and  intellectual  circles. 
He  is  President  of  the  Winnepesaukee  Trans- 
portation Company,  is  the  principal  owner 
in  the  Weirs'  Hotel  and  Land  Company,  part 
owner  of  the  Long  Island  Hotel,  Director  in 
two  New  Hampshire  National  Banks,  director 
and  shareholder  in  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
influential  daily  newspapers  in  the  State,  and 
sole  owner  of  the  Daily  and  Weekly  Gazette- 
Press,  published  at  Nashua.  His  residing 
here  also  has  brought  into  the  State  a  large 
amount  of  money  that  would  otherwise  have 
been  spent  elsewhere.  He  pays  the  Anios- 
keag  Paper  Company,  of  Manchester,  over  one 
hundred  thou.sand  dollars  a  year  for  paper  used 
in  the  publication  of  his  almanacs,  circulars, 
and  so  forth;  while  the  newspapers  of  the 
State  receive  from  him  between  si.xteen  thou- 
sand and  seventeen  thousand  dollars  a  year  for 
advertising  space. 

Fraternally,    the  Doctor   holds    membership 


574 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


in  the  following  named  organizations:  Odd 
Fellows,  K.  of  P.,  Grange,  Amoskeag  Vet- 
erans, and  the  G.  A.  R.  He  is  also  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Mason  and  an  exalted  member 
of  the  Royal  Order  of  Eminent  Good  F"ellovvs. 
His  touch  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic and  his  connection  with  various  military 
bodies  has  always  been  very  close,  and  he  has 
taken  great  pride  and  pleasure  in  his  member- 
ship in  these  bodies.  It  was  he  who  pre- 
sented to  the  New  Hampshire  comrades  the 
magnificent  bald  eagle  that  was  borne  at  the 
head  of  their  column  in  the  grand  procession 
at  the  Louisville  reunion.  The  elegant  ban- 
ner that  is  carried  in  all  the  parades  of  the 
State  Grand  Array  of  the  Republic,  and 
the  beautiful  gold-mounted  sword  worn  by  the 
commander,  are  also  his  gifts.  In  addition  to 
these,  his  benevolences  to  various  posts,  in  the 
matter  of  cancelling  debts  for  buildings  and  of 
offering  prizes  and  furnishing  entertainment, 
have  been  many. 

In  politics  Dr.  Greene  is  a  Republican  ;  and 
his  firm  adherence  to  the  principles  of  his 
party,  together  with  his  acknowledged  ability 
as  a  financier  and  his  extensive  knowledge  of 
men  and  affairs,  bid  fair  to  lead  him  to  high 
civic  honors  in  his  State. 


Y^TENRY   A.    WORTHEN,  who  is  carry- 

f^l       i"g  on   a   thriving   business   as  a  car- 

-*-^  V,—^  riage  manufacturer  in  Dover,  N.  H., 

is  a  son  of  the  late  Joseph  and  Dorothy  (Mor- 
rill) Worthcn.  He  was  born  June  25,  1840, 
in  Amesbury,  Mass.,  a  town  in  Essex  County 
noted  for  its  carriage  factories  as  well  as  for 
having  long  been  the  residence  of  the  poet 
Whittier. 

Joseph  Worthen  was  born  in  Amesbury,  and 
made  that  his  permanent  home,  living  there 
actively    engaged    as    a    ship-joiner    until    his 


death  in  May,  1861,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  promi- 
nence in  his  native  place,  an  earnest  worker  in 
the  Republican  ranks,  and  held  nearly  all  the 
offices  within  the  gift  of  his  fellow-townsmen. 
His  wife,  Dorothy,  outlived  him  a  number  of 
years,  dying  in  Amesbury,  her  native  town,  in 
February,  1893,  aged  eighty-nine  years.  Both 
she  and  her  husband  were  valued  members  of 
the  Orthodox  church.  They  reared  seven  chil- 
dren—  Nancy,  William  E.,  Susan  L. ,  Mary 
J.,    Charles  O. ,  John  B. ,  and   Henry  A. 

Henry  A.  Worthen  acquired  his  education 
in  the  public  schools.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen years  he  began  to  learn  the  carriage- 
maker's  trade  in  his  native  town.  Soon  after 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion  he  went  to 
Hartford,  Conn.,  where  he  was  employed  for 
a  year  in  making  equipments  for  the  United 
States  government.  Returning  then  to  Ames- 
bury, he  opened  a  shop,  and  for  two  years  was 
engaged  in  making  bodies  for  buggies  and. 
carriages.  Then  securing  a  situation  with  the 
man  for  whom  he  served  an  apprenticeship, 
Mr.  Worthen  worked  for  him  and  for  others 
until  coming  to  Dover.  Here  he  continued  at 
his  trade  two  years,  when,  in  1867,  forming 
a  partnership  with  C.  C.  Mills,  he  established 
a  carriage  manufactory,  taking  charge  of  the 
wood-work  department  himself.  Some  years 
later  he  purchased  his  partner's  interest  in 
the  business,  which  he  has  since  managed  most 
successfully,  having  a  large  shop,  and  filling 
orders  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  A  man 
of  great  enterjarise  and  industry,  wise  in  his 
investments,  prudent  in  his  expenditures,  he 
has  accumulated  a  good  property,  and  is  one 
of  the  most  prosperous  business  men  of  this 
city. 

Mr.  Worthen  was  married.  May  10,  1875,  to 
Miss  Leola  Severance,  who  was  born  in  Great 
Falls,    Strafford    County,    a    daughter    of    Al- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


575 


phonso  and  Robecka  Jane  (Moore)  Severance. 
In  national  jiolitics  Mr.  Worthen  is  a  stanch 
Kcpublican;  but  in  local  affairs  he  has  the 
courage  of  his  convictions,  and  votes  irrespec- 
tive of  party  lines  for  the  candidate  he  deems 
best  qualified  for  the  office.  He  has  devoted 
much  of  his  time  to  interests  outside  of  his 
own  particular  enterjirises,  having  been  a  Di- 
rector of  the  Building  Association  for  several 
years,  a  Director  of  the  Dover  Board  of  Trade 
since  its  formation,  a  Director  of  the  City  Im- 
provement Association,  a  Director  of  the  Dover 
National  Bank,  and  President  of  the  Dover  Five 
Cents  Savings  Bank.  In  1S96  he  accepted  the 
nomination  as  Representative  to  the  legislature 
from  Ward  Four,  and  was  elected  for  the  term 
1897-98. 

Mr.  Worthen  is  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  Mount  Pleasant  Lodge, 
I.  O.  O.  I'.,  of  this  city,  and  of  the  encamp- 
ment connected  with  this  order,  and  is  be- 
sides a  Knight  of  Honor.  Religiously,  he  is 
an  acti\e  member  of  the  Unitarian  church. 


wlio  was    born    Ai 


1792,    and   they   be- 


Tt:^EV.  JOHN  P.  WATSON,  son  of 
|!\  Job  and  Elizabeth  (Fish)  Watson, 
1-^  \^_  ^  was  born  on  November  22,  1826,  in 
Gilford,  N.H.,  where  toe  family  home  has 
been  maintained  but  little  less  than  a  century. 
His  grandfather  was  David  Watson,  who  came 
to  Gilford  from  Meredith,  cleared  land  near 
Gunstock  River  near  the  present  village,  and 
began  building  a  house  in  1798.  Jonathan 
and  Job  Watson,  sons  of  David,  lived  for  a 
time  on  the  place;  but  the  former  subsecpiently 
removed  to  Meredith,  and  in  181 1  Job,  the 
father  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Watson,  occupied  the 
homestead. 

Job  Watson  was  born  in  Meredith   on   Janu- 
ary   I,     1 78 1.      He    married    Elizabeth    Fish, 


came  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  namely: 
Eliza;  Mary;  Sarah  (Mrs.  John  Smith); 
Nancy  (Mrs.  Thomas  Smith),  who  died  in  De- 
cember, iSgfi;  Mercy;  David;  John;  Eliza- 
beth (Mrs.  Frank  Malone) ;  Laura  (Mrs. 
Moses  Merrill)  ;  William;  Charles;  and  Sam- 
uel aiul  Orren  (twins).  The  survivors  arc 
(1897):  Mercy,  Elizabeth,  Laura,  William, 
and  Charles. 

William  Watson  married  Mary  I^.  I'jiierson, 
daughter  of  Charles  Emerson,  a  manufacturer 
of  New  York  City.  He  worked  for  a  year  and 
a  half  for  his  father-in-law,  subsequently  re- 
turning to  Gilford,  where  he  has  since  been 
engaged  in  farming.  He  has  a  family  of  si.x 
children,  by  name  Nellie  E.,  Charles  H., 
Winifred,  Abbie,  Willie,  and  Alice.  Charles 
Watson,  another  brother,  graduated  from  Bow- 
doin  College  and  from  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  was  ordained  a  Congregational 
clergyman,  and  preached  many  years.  He  is 
now  living  retired  at  Lynn,  Mass.  His  wife 
was  before  her  marriage  Susan  Bowman.  She 
is  the.  mother  of  four  children  —  Rowland, 
Wilfred,  Franklin,  and  Alice. 

John  P.  Watson  graduated  from  the  academi- 
cal department  of  Bowdoin  College,  and  sub- 
sequently studied  theology  in  New  York  City 
and  in  Bangor  (Me.)  Theological  Seminary. 
He  was  ordained  in  New  York  City  as  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Presbyterian  denomination,  and 
began  his  pastoral  duties  first  in  Connecticut. 
Later  he  preached  in  Massachusetts,  at  Boston 
and  in  other  places.  He  was  a  man  of  deej) 
piety,  beloved  by  his  congregations,  and  always 
ready  to  give  friendly  counsel  or  helj).  As  a 
theologian  he  was  unusually  well  read,  and 
was  sound  in  doctrine.  He  had  a  taste  for 
historical  research;  and  some  years  before  his 
death,  he  began  the  preparation  of  a  his- 
tory  of    Gilford   and   the    surrounding    towns. 


576 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


This  was  to  embrace  a  description  of  tlie  natu- 
ral features  of  the  town,  an  account  of  the 
growth  of  population  and  industries,  and  the 
genealogy  of  its  old  families.  Mr.  Watson 
frequently  came  to  Gilford  in  order  to  examine 
the  records  and  to  collect  information  for  his 
work;  and,  had  he  lived  to  publish  the  result  of 
his  labors,  he  would  have  given  to  his  native 
town  a  valuable  production.  Some  sheets 
were  printed,  awaiting  revision;  but  death 
came  before  the  work  was  ever  put  into  book 
form.  It  shows  careful  and  extended  research, 
a  high  sense  of  historical  impartiality,  and 
excellent  method  of  arrangement.  Mr.  Wat- 
son was  never  married.  He  spent  his  life  in 
devotion  to  his  pastoral  duties  and  among  the 
books  he  loved  so  well.  His  death  occurred 
on  January  22,  1887,  at  the  family  homestead 
in  Gilford,  then  as  now  occupied  by  his  sister. 
Miss  Mercy  F.   Watson. 


M 


OMINICUS  HANSON,  a  wealthy 
landowner  and  one  of  the  oldest 
and  best  known  citizens  of  Roches- 
ter, Strafford  County,  N.H.,  resides  in  the 
house  in  which  he  was  born  nearly  eighty-four 
years  ago,  August  23,  181 3,  and  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  and  Charity  (Dame)  Hanson. 

Joseph  Hanson,  the  father,  was  born  in 
Dover,  N.H.,  December  18,  1764,  son  of 
IIum]-ihrey  Hanson,  and  died  at  Rochester, 
December  19,  1832.  He  came  to  Rochester 
when  a  young  man,  and  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business,  which  he  continued  until  within  a 
few  years  of  his  death.  His  marriage  to 
Charity  Dame  took  place  March  4,  1798. 
She  was  born  in  Rochester,  September  i, 
1775,  and  died  February  3,  1833.  They  had 
ten  children,  but  only  two  sons  are  living, 
namely:  Dominicus,  of  this  sketch;  and  Asa 
P.   Hanson,   of  Newton,    la.      Joseph   Hanson 


was  a  stanch  Whig;  but,  though  often  solicited 
to  accept  public  office,  he  invariably  declined. 

Dominicus  Hanson  was  educated  in  the 
Rochester  common  schools,  Rochester  Acad- 
emy, Parsonsfiekl  Seminary  of  Maine,  and 
Hopkinton  and  Pembroke  Academies  of  New 
Hampshire.  In  1830,  at  seventeen  years  of 
age,  he  began  in  the  drug  business  as  an  ap- 
prentice to  his  brother-in-law,  Dr.  Smith, 
with  whom  he  remained  two  years.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  bought  out  Dr.  Smith,  and 
conducted  the  business  alone,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  years  when  he  was  here  at  school, 
until  the  fire  of  December,  1880.  He  subse- 
quently erected  on  the  same  site  the  fine 
building  now  occupied  by  R.  De  Witt  Burn- 
ham;  but  he  did  not  again  personally  take  up 
the  business,  and  has  since  lived  practically 
in  retirement.  His  residence  was  built  over 
one  hundred  years  ago.  At  the  time  the  rail- 
roads were  built  through  Rochester  he  opened 
the  thoroughfare  known  as  Hanson  Street 
through  his  garden,  and  has  always  maintained 
it  at  his  own  cost,  spending  many  thousand 
dollars  to  keep  it  in  jjroper  condition.  He 
also  owns  valuable  real  estate  in  and  around 
Central  Square. 

On  September  19,  1839,  ^f''-  Hanson  mar- 
ried Miss  Betsy  S.  Chase,  daughter  of  Simon 
Chase,  of  Milton,  who  conducted  a  mercantile 
business  in  Rochester.  Two  sons  were  born 
to  them,  namely:  Charles  A.  C,  born  Au- 
gust 18,  1844;  and  George  Washington,  born 
July  6,  1854,  died  January  6,  1856.  The 
elder  son  has  always  kept  a  residence  in 
Rochester,  although  for  several  years  he  car- 
ried on  business  in  New  York  City,  first  con- 
ducting a  drug  store  and  later  a  lithograph 
business.  He  has  now  severed  his  business 
connections  there,  and  spends  the  greater  part 
of  his  time  in  Rochester. 

It  is  to  this  son  that  credit  is  due  for  the  es- 


•/; 


DOMINICUS     HANSON. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


579 


lalilisbment  of  the  ccinservation  fund,  provid- 
iiii,^  for  the  perpetual  care  and  improvement  of 
the  old  cemetery.  He  spent  over  three  hun- 
dred dollars  to  start  the  undertaking  properly, 
raised  the  fund  to  about  five  thousand  dollars, 
and  then  turned  the  money  over  to  the  town 
for  the  purpose  specified.  While  engaged  in 
making  final  arrangements  for  the  completion 
of  this  work,  he  was  severely  injured  by  an  ele- 
vator, and  crippled  for  life. 

In  iiolitics  Dominicus  Hanson  is  a  stanch 
Democrat.  He  was  an  earnest  supporter  of 
General  Jackson  for  the  Presidency  at  the  time 
of  his  candidacy  for  a  second  term,  though  he 
was  not  old  enough  to  vote.  He  cast  his  first 
vote  for  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  has  voted  at 
every  election  since.  Before  his  majority,  and 
without  seeking  the  position,  he  was  appointed 
Postmaster  of  his  native  village  by  General 
Jackson;  and  he  continued  to  hold  the  office 
under  the  administrations  of  Van  Buren  and 
Harrison.  He  was  a  Director  of  the  Norway 
Plains  Savings  Bank  for  a  number  of  years, 
resigning  this  position  in  1896. 

In  religious  opinions  Mr.  Hanson  is  a 
liberal.  Although  especially  interested  in  the 
Universalist  faith,  he  is  kindly  disposed 
toward  all,  believing  in  the  fatherhood  of  God, 
the  brotherhood  of  man,  and  a  higher,  better 
life  for  all.  No  man  is  more  highly  esteemed 
and  universally  respected  by  his  many  friends. 


(^AMES  D.  HAYES,  a  venerable  and 
/^\  honored  citizen  of  Rochester,  Straf- 
^ii'  ford  County,  N.H.,  who  well  merits 
the  high  respect  accorded  him  by  his  friends 
and  fellow-townsmen,  was  born  on  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides,  July  31,  1808,  son  of 
Benjamin  and  Martha  (Evans)  Hayes.  He  is 
a  descendant  of  one  of  the  early  Scotch  settlers 
of  New  England. 


Benjamin  Hayes  was  horn  in  Rochester, 
July  7,  1771,  on  the  same  farm  where  his  son, 
James  D.,  now  resides,  thougli  in  another 
house,  situated  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 
He  was  reared  to  farming,  wiiicii  occupation 
he  followed  through  life,  clearing  and  improv- 
ing a  homestead.  He  was  a  man  of  practical 
views  and  of  sound  judgment,  and  he  possessed 
in  a  high  degree  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-citi- 
zens. A  Democrat  in  politics,  he  was  elected 
on  that  ticket  to  the  State  legislature,  serving 
for  two  years;  and  for  a  long  time  he  was 
Treasurer  of  Strafford  County.  He  married 
Martha  Evans,  who  was  born  February  10, 
1780,  and  they  had  the  following  children: 
Mary,  born  January  18,  iSoi,  died  March  26, 
1883;  Lydia,  born  August  13,  1802,  died  Oc- 
tober 5,  1803;  Betsey,  born  June  23,  1804; 
Lucy,  born  July  lo,  1806,  died  May  24,  184S; 
James  D.,  whose  nativity  is  given  elsewhere 
in  this  sketch;  Abiah  B.,  born  October  14, 
1 8 10;  Stephen  E. ,  born  November  24,  1S13: 
a  babe  unnamed,  born  April  22,  1816;  Martha 
A.,  born  April  23,  1817;  Caroline  D.,  twin 
sister  of  Martha  A.  ;  Jonas  B.,  born  January 
7,  1 82 1,  died  February  14,  1821.  Benjamin 
Hayes,  the  father,  lived  to  a  good  old  age, 
dying  February  22,  1S50.  The  mother  died 
April    18,   1824. 

James  D.  Hayes  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Rochester,  and  from  his  earliest 
boyhood  was  trained  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
In  1824  he  left  the  parental  home,  going  to 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  gar- 
dening for  eleven  years,  Boston  being  a  very 
convenient  market  for  his  produce.  Return- 
ing to  the  old  homestead  in  1835,  he  was  soon 
after  attacked  by  rheumatism,  which  racked 
his  body  and  tortured  him  for  two  years.  On 
recovering  from  this  illness,  Mr.  Hayes  as- 
sumed the  management  of  the  farm,  aTid  has 
since  carried  on  general  farming  and  dairying 


s8o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


with  very  satisfactory  results,  his  land  being 
in  a  good  condition,  and  yielding  well  of  the 
crops  common  to  this  part  of  New  Hampshire. 
Mr.  Hayes  has  never  taken  unto  himself  a 
wife,  evidently  having  had  no  desire  to  test 
the  much  mooted  question,  "Is  marriage  a 
failure?"  He  was  a  regular  attendant  of  the 
Universalist  church  in  his  earlier  days,  and 
still  believes 

'■  That  true  salvation  is  to  live  the  life  divine, 

And  that  heaven  is  now  and  ever  where  true  love  and 
goodness  shine." 

In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  Democrat,  having 
never  swerved  from  allegiance  to  the  faith  in 
which  he  was  brought  up. 


RISTRAM  A.  YOUNG,*  an  active,  able, 
and  prosperous  agriculturist  of  Dover, 
son  of  J.  Thompson  Young,  owns  and 
occupies  the  farm  on  which  he  was  born  in 
1848.  This  estate  has  been  in  the  possession  of 
the  Young  family  for  several  generations,  the 
first  of  the  name  to  whom  it  was  deeded  having 
been  Israel  Young,  great-grandfather  of  the 
gentleman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of 
this  sketch.  He  came  here  from  England  in 
Colonial  times,  settling  at  once  on  this  farm, 
which  he  afterward  made  his  home.  Jonathan, 
son  of  Israel  and  the  ne.xt  in  direct  line  of 
descent,  succeeded  to  the  ownership  of  the 
homestead,  and  here  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer, 
rearing  his  sons  to  the  same  independent  occu- 
pation. 

J.  Thompson  Young  was  born,  bred,  and 
lived  on  this  farm,  his  death  occurring  in 
1864,  when  he  was  but  forty-three  years  old. 
He  was  an  excellent  farmer  and  a  man  of  in- 
fluence in  the  town,  serving  for  several  years 
as  Selectman.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was    Elizabeth    L.    DeMerritt,    survived    him 


about  thirty  years,  passing  away  in  1894,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-eight.  They  had  eleven  chil- 
dren; namely,  Abigail  C,  Tristram  A.,  Israel 
I.,  Jacob  D.,  Martha  S.,  James  T.,  Clarissa 
L.,  George  A.,  John  T.,  Annie  A.,  and  John 
L.  John  T.,  the  ninth  child  in  order  of  birth, 
died  when  very  young. 

Tristram  A.  Young  received  his  education 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  Franklin  Acad- 
emy. After  the  death  of  his  father  the  care 
of  the  widowed  mother  and  her  family  de- 
pended largely  upon  him  as  the  eldest  son,  and 
although  but  a  youth  he  proved  himself  ener- 
getic and  capable.  The  farm,  whose  manage- 
ment he  at  once  assumed,  contains  one  hundred 
and  seven  acres;  and  during  the  time  it 
has  been  under  his  care  —  now  more  than 
thirty  years  —  he  has  added  to  the  improve- 
ments already  begun.  A  man  of  intelligence, 
enterprise,  and  persistence,  Mr.  Young  has 
carried  on  his  work  successfully,  ranking  now 
among  the  leading  farmers  of  this  part  of  the 
county.  He  keeps  quite  a  number  of  cows, 
and  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  has  sold  milk 
from  the  cart  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Young  was  married  in  1873  to  Miss 
Amanda  S.  Wiggins.  Politically,  Mr.  Young 
affiliates  with  the  Republican  party,  and  takes 
an  active  part  in  public  affairs.  He  was  Se- 
lectman from  Ward  Three  for  twelve  years, 
and  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  two 
years.  He  is  a  member  of  Mount  Pleasant 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Dover;  and  of  the 
Dover  Grange. 


RED  HERBERT  SMITH,*  a  member 
of  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  of 
1897-98,  is  a  successful  dairy  farmer 
and  fruit-grower  of  Meredith,  Belknap  County. 
He  was  born  in  the  adjacent  town  of  La- 
conia,  N.H.,  P'ebruary  9,  1856,  son  of  Moody 
H.   and   Caroline   (Warner)   Smith.      His  pa- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


S8i 


tcrnal  grandfatlier,  Hezekiah  Smith,  who  was 
a  native  of  New  Hampton,  N.H.,  settled  in 
iVleredith  in  1814.  His  death  occurred  here  a 
few  years  later,  but  not  till  after  he  had 
cleared  the  farm  adjoining  the  one  now  owned 
by  iiis  grandson.  Grandfather  Smith  married 
Folly  Sinclair,  and  had  a  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren. 

His  son,  Moody  H.,  was  born  in  Meredith, 
and  after  leaving  school  he  learned  the  shoe- 
maker's trade.  When  a  young  man  he  went 
to  Lynn,  Mass.,  which  was  then  but  a  small 
town,  and,  establishing  himself  in  the  shoe 
manufacturing  business,  carried  on  quite  an 
extensive  enterprise  for  twenty-five  years. 
He  then  sold  out,  and,  going  to  Laconia,  con- 
ducted a  repair  shop  there  for  twenty  years. 
He  next  removed  to  a  farm  in  Sandwich, 
N.H.,  where  he  resided  about  twelve  years, 
his  last  days  being  spent  with  his  children. 
He  died  at  the  home  of  his  son,  Fred  H.,  No- 
vember 19,  1888.  Previous  to  the  Rebellion 
he  was  a  Democrat,  but  from  that  time  until 
his  death  he  acted  with  the  Republican  party. 
His  wife,  Caroline  Warner,  who  was  a  native 
of  Salem,  Mass.,  became  the  mother  of  the 
following  children  :  Augustus,  who  resides  in 
Centre  Harbor,  N.H.:  Charles  B.,  a  resident 
of  Lynn;  William  E. ,  of  Meredith;  Fanny 
C,  wife  of  J.  Frank  Smith,  of  Campton, 
N.H.:  Horace,  who  is  residing  in  Biddeford, 
Me. ;  Arthur,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Frank  W.  ; 
Fred  H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  George 
Sumner;  Albert  Edward,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; and  Carrie,  wife  of  R.  L.  Smith,  of 
Tamworth,  N.H.  Mrs.  Moody  H.  Smith  was 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Fred  Herbert  Smith  attended  the  public 
schools,  and  at  an  early  age  adopted  agricult- 
ural pursuits  for  his  occupation.  He  bought 
the  farm  he  now  occupies  in  1887,  and  he 
cultivates   thirty  of    his   ninety  acres   of   land. 


He  has  a  large  apple  orchard,  raises  good  crops 
of  hay  and  corn,  keeps  ten  head  of  cattle,  and 
ships  considerable  butter  to  Lynn. 

On  November  28,  1888,  Mr.  Smith  was 
joined  in  marriage  with  Linda  C.  Smith, 
daughter  of  Lewis  Smith,  of  Sanilwich,  \M1. 
Two  children,  a  daughter,  Edith  M.,  and  a 
son,  Clarence  A.,  have  been  born  to  them;  but 
the  son  is  no  longer  living. 

Mr.  Smith  takes  an  active  interest  in  local 
political  affairs,  and  supports  the  Republican 
party.  He  has  served  as  Chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  and  in  \8q6  was  elected 
to  the  New  Hampshire  House  of  Representa- 
tives. He  is  a  Past  Master  of  Chocorua 
Lodge,  F.  &  A.  I\L ;  and  is  a  Past  Master, 
and  at  the  present  time  Secretary  of  Winne- 
pesaukee  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Smith  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church. 

'h.LIAM  H.  H.  TWDMHl.V,*  a 
prosperous  dairy  farmer  of  Mad- 
bury,  Strafford  County,  N.  H.,  was 
born  on  the  farm  he  now  occupies,  October 
16,  1840,  son  of  Hurd  Twombly.  His  father, 
Hurd,  and  his  grandfather,  Jolin  Twombly, 
were  born  on  the  tarm  now  occujMed  by  Judge 
Young. 

After  attending  district  and  high  schools  in 
his  native  town,  William  H.  H.  Twombly 
pursued  a  course  of  study  in  P'ranklin  Acad- 
emy at  Dover,  remaining  on  the  home  farm 
until  he  attained  his  majority.  .Si.\  months 
he  then  spent  in  Boston,  Mass.,  after  which 
he  returned  home.  On  May  5,  1864,  he  en- 
listed in  the  Strafford  Guards,  belonging  to 
the  State  militia,  being  mustered  in  at  Dover, 
N.  H.,  and  was  stationed  for  three  months  at 
Fort  Constitution,  a  United  .States  military 
post  at  Portsmouth,  N.H.  Since  that  time  lie 
has  carried  on  general   and   dairy  farming  witli 


58= 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


marked  success,  owning  a  finely  cultivated 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres, 
located  on  the  old  stage  road  from  Dover  to 
Strafford,  four  and  a  half  miles  south-east  of 
Dover. 

Mr.  Twonibly  and  his  wife,  who  before 
marriage  was  Miss  Mary  E.  Hall,  have  had 
nine  children;  namely,  Roscoe,  George  E., 
John  H.,  Oilman  H.,  Harry  L.,  Walter  T. 
(deceased),  Leonia  H.,  William  P.,  and  Fred- 
erick C.  Politically,  RTr.  Twombly  holds 
firmly  to  the  princi])les  of  the  Democratic 
party.  He  has  efficiently  served  as  Selectman 
of  Madbury  for  two  years. 


{5>j|'OSEPH  W.  cop;,  a  prominent  and  in- 
fluential citizen  of  Durham,  Strafford 
County,  for  many  years  engaged  in 
mercantile  business,  is  now  living  on  one  of 
the  finest  improved  farms  in  the  county,  giving 
his  attention  to  agriculture.  He  is  a  son  of 
Joseph  Coe,  and  a  grandson  of  the  Rev.  Ralph 
C.  Coe,  a  distinguished  divine  of  the  Congre- 
gational denomination. 

Ralph  C.  Coe  was  born  in  Middletown, 
Conn.,  and  there  fitted  for  the  ministry.  In 
1787  he  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Durham 
Congregational  church,  and,  moving  his  family 
to  this  town,  ministered  unto  the  spiritual 
wants  of  his  little  flock  for  twenty-six  years. 
In  181 3  he  was  called  to  the  New  Market 
church,  where  he  was  settled  until  his  death. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Judge  Thompson. 

Joseph  Coe  was  bred  and  educated  in  Dur- 
ham, and  from  an  early  age  was  noted  for  his 
enterprise  and  practical  ability.  When  a  boy 
of  sixteen  years,  he  established  himself  as  a 
saddler  and  harness-maker,  hiring  a  journey- 
man, from  whom  he  learned  the  trade,  of  which 
he  had  no  previous  knowledge;  and  for  several 
years  he  conducted  a  lucrative  business   in   the 


manufacture  of  horse  gear.  He  subsequently 
engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  Durham  for 
a  score  of  years,  running  two  stores  the  greater 
jiart  of  the  time;  and  in  addition  to  this,  in 
partnership  with  James  Jay,  father  of  Fred 
Jay,  the  well-known  railway  attorney  of  De- 
troit, Mich.,  he  carried  on  ship-building.  A 
man  of  far  more  than  average  business  ca- 
pacity, he  was  prospered  in  his  various  under- 
takings, and  accumulated  a  competency.  He 
erected  the  store  now  occupied  by  C.  E. 
Hayes,  and  for  some  time  carried  on  business 
in  that  locality.  To  him  and  his  wife.  Tem- 
perance Pickering,  seven  children  were  horn; 
namely,  Ebenezer  P.,  Temperance  A.,  Rich- 
ard E. ,  John  E. ,  Joseph  W. ,  Federal  B. ,  and 
one  other. 

Joseph  W.  Coe  is  the  only  surviving  mem- 
ber of  the  parental  household.  He  has  passed 
his  entire  life  in  this  place,  here  acquiring  his 
education,  which  was  completed  at  the  Dur- 
ham Academy.  After  leaving  school,  he  was 
engaged  in  farming  until  about  thirty  years 
old,  when  he  entered  into  mercantile  pursuits 
with  his  father;  and  after  his  father's  death 
he  continued  the  business  alone  for  about 
twenty  years.  Mr.  Coe  then  sold  his  store, 
and,  purchasing  his  present  farm  of  ninety 
acres,  has  since  carried  on  general  farming  in 
all  of  its  branches,  his  estate  being  one  of  the 
most  attractive  and  desirable  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Coe  married  Miss  Harriet  S.  Churchill. 
Seven  children  have  been  born  of  this  union; 
namely,  Mary  E.,  Richard  E.,  Jeannette  L., 
Gertrude  A.,  Margaret  A.,  Harriet  A.,  and 
Helen  E.  Politically,  Mr.  Coe  is  a  decided 
Republican,  and  for  fifteen  years  he  was  Post- 
master of  Durham.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  church,  and  is  Chairman  of  the 
Historical  Committee  appointed  by  the  town 
to  make  arrangements  for  the  preparation  and 
publication  of  a  history  of  Durham. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


SSj 


RANDALL  BUSSEY,  D.D.S.,* 
is  located  in  Dover,  where,  though 
young  both  in  years  and  in  experi- 
ence, he  has  already  demonstrated  his  skill  in 
dentistry,  and  has  gained  a  fair  share  of  prac- 
tice in  his  jMofession.  He  was  born  Novem- 
ber 2,  1869,  in  Chicago,  III.,  where  his  father, 
G.  Henry  Bussey,  was  then  engaged  in 
business. 

G.  Henry  Bussey  when  a  young  man  became 
identified  with  the  manufacturing  interests  of 
Chicago,  owning  a  large  stove  foundry  there, 
and  carrying  on  an  extensive  business.  On 
the  evening  of  the  8th  of  October,  1871,  oc- 
curred the  great  fire  in  that  city,  in  which 
countless  numbers  of  business  men  lost  every- 
thing, Mr.  Bussey  being  no  exception  to  the 
rule,  as  his  plant  was  entirely  destroyed.  Re- 
moving then  to  Troy,  N.  Y.,  he  was  there 
established  in  a  similar  business  for  several 
years,  after  which  he  transferred -his  interests 
to  Idaho,  where  he  is  an  extensive  dealer  in 
general  merchandise,  owning  several  stores. 

S.  Randall  Bussey  being  very  young  when 
his  parents  settled  in  Troy,  there  continued 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  and  the 
academy.  On  leaving  the  academy,  he 
worked  in  the  foundry  for  his  father  for  two 
years;  and  the  ensuing  two  years  he  was  a 
student  at  the  Troy  Preparatory  College.  His 
health  giving  out  at  this  time,  he  accompanied 
his  father  to  Idaho,  but  after  a  few  months' 
recuperation  in  that  State  returned  East,  going 
direct  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  took  a  five 
years'  course  in  the  Philadelphia  Dental  and 
Surgical  College.  In  April,  1894,  shortly 
after  his  graduation,  Dr.  Bussey  came  to 
Dover,  and,  purchasing  the  office  and  dental 
practice  of  Dr.  Knight,  has  since  been  ac- 
tively and  prosperously  engaged  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession. 

On    October   27,   1893,  Dr.   S.   Randall   Bus- 


sey was  uniteil  in  marriage  with  Miss  Martini 
W.  Miller,  of  I'hiladcli.hia,  I'a.  Politically, 
the  Doctor  is  a  pronounced  Rei)ublican, 
though  he  takes  no  active  part  in  local  affairs. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  the  Ancient 
Essenic  Order,  of  Dover;  of  the  Dental  Col- 
lege Order;  and  of  the  Bellamy  Club  of  this 
city. 


(^JVLBION     K.    P.     HARVEY,     M.D.,    a 
j^\      practising    physician    and    surgeon    of 

'^  V^^  Somersworth,  Strafford  County, 
N.H.,  was  born  in  Dixfield,  Me.,  May  9, 
1855,  son  of  Albert  and  Satira  (Eastman) 
Harvey.  Albert  Harvey  was  a  native  of  Dix- 
field, in  which  town  he  spent  the  greater  part 
of  his  life.  He  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
Civil  War  in  Company  A,  Thirtieth  Maine 
Regiment,  and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Pleasant  Hill  by  a  minie  ball.  He  died  from 
the  effect  of  his  wound  at  the  Barracks  Hos- 
pital in  New  Orleans,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six 
years,  leaving  a  wife  and  five  small  children. 
He  commanded  a  division  of  the  i)ioneers  in 
the  Red  River  expedition  under  General 
Banks.  In  politics  a  Democrat,  he  was  an 
active  worker  for  his  party,  and  had  held  town 
office.  His  widow,  who  also  is  a  native  of 
Dixfield,  is  now  living,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven  years. 

Albion  K.  P.  Harvey  attended  the  common 
schools  until  fourteen  years  old.  Desiring 
better  educational  advantages,  he  left  home. 
and,  finding  employment  on  farms  and  in 
logging  camps,  he  earned  enough  to  pay  his 
expenses  at  Yarmouth  and  Hebron  Academies, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  had  fitted  for  col- 
lege. He  now  engaged  in  teaching  for  a 
time,  when  he  went  to  Boston  to  learn  the 
drug  business,  at  which  he  worked  for  two 
years,  being  subsequently  engaged  in  the 
same  business  for  himself   at   VVinthrop,  Me., 


5S4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


for  a  similar  length  of  time.  He  then  went 
to  Lewiston,  Me.,  where  he  began  the  study 
of  medicine  with  Dr.  Bradford.  His  medical 
studies  were  continued  at  the  Eclectic  Medi- 
cal College  in  Lewiston,  Me.,  where  after 
attendance  at  three  full  courses  of  lectures  he 
was  graduated.  Two  years  later  he  entered 
the  Chicago  Homoeopathic  Medical  College, 
one  of  the  finest  institutions  of  the  kind  in 
the  country,  and  was  graduated  in  1888,  being 
second  in  a  class  of  about  one  hundred  mem- 
bers. Since  then  he  has  attended  medical 
lectures  yearly  at  the  New  York  Post-gradu- 
ate Medical  College,  which  admits  to  demon- 
strations in  all  the  various  hospitals  of  New 
York  City.  In  the  spring  of  1885  Dr. 
Harvey  engaged  in  practice  in  Lewiston, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  leading  physicians, 
being  operator  at  the  Sisters  of  Charity  Hos- 
pital for  five  years.  In  January,  1895,  he 
came  to  Somersworth,  where  he  has  since 
built  up  a  fine  practice,  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  State.  He  is  especially  noted  for  his 
skill  and  success  in  surgery.  His  office  is 
equipped  with  the  most  improved  surgical  ap- 
pliances, and  nothing  has  been  omitted  that 
might  be  required  for  the  most  delicate  or 
difficult  operation. 

On  November  11,  1878,  Dr.  Harvey  mar- 
ried Miss  Fannie  F.  Niles,  of  Canton,  0.\-- 
ford  County,  Me.,  daughter  of  Timothy  B. 
and  Maria  (Francis)  Niles.  Her  father  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  and  lost  his  life 
in  defence  of  the  Union.  Mrs.  Harvey  is  a 
well-educated  and  accomplished  lady,  retiring 
in  manner,  and  one  who  has  the  happy  faculty 
of  making  friends  wherever  she  goes. 

Dr.  Harvey  is  politically  an  independent. 
While  residing  in  Auburn  he  served  as  city 
physician;  and  he  subsequently  held  the  same 
office  in  Lewiston,  where  he  served  also  as  a 
member    of    the    City    Council    and    on    the 


School  Board.  He  was  a  member  of  Mount 
David  Lodge,  K.  of  P.,  of  Lewiston,  and  is 
now  Commander  of  the  Second  Battalion, 
First  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  Uniform 
Rank,  K.  of  P. 

Tt^VEV.  AJALON  D.  JONES,*  who  on 
I  r\  account  of  impaired  health  has  been 
*-  V_  ^  obliged  to  rest  from  his  ministerial 
labors,  and  is  now  engaged  in  farming  in  the 
town  of  Belmont,  Belknap  County,  N.  H.,  was 
born  in  Turner,  Me.,  January  24,  1838,  a  son 
of  Alonzo  and  Eunice  (Allen)  Jones.  Benja- 
min Jones,  the  father  of  Alonzo,  was  also  a 
native  of  Turner,  and  lived  there  until  middle 
age,  when  he  removed  to  Andover  in  the  same 
State.  In  Turner  he  owned  a  large  farm, 
which  he  carried  on  with  success,  raising  con- 
siderable stock,  which  was  then  a  profitable 
occupation ;  and  after  his  removal  to  Andover 
he  continued  to  follow  farming.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  was  twice 
married,  and  he  had  twelve  children  by  his 
first  wife  and  eight  by  his  .second  wife. 
Those  of  the  second  union,  named  in  the  order 
of  their  birth,  were:  Araminta,  Philo,  Alonzo, 
Judson,  Julia,  Eliza,  Jeannette,  and  William. 
Alonzo  Jones,  born  November  6,  1808,  in 
Turner,  Me.,  married  on  March  7,  1833, 
F2unice  Allen,  daughter  of  Levi  and  Deborah 
(Miles)  Allen.  Si.x  children  were  born  to 
them;  namely,  Waldo,  Ajalon  D.,  Electa  A., 
James  A.,  Oscar  A.,  and  Prescott  M.  Waldo 
Jones,  the  first-born,  enlisted  in  the  Twenti- 
eth Maine  Regiment  in  1S61,  was  taken  sick 
about  a  year  later,  and,  dying,  was  buried  on 
the  battle-field.  He  left  a  widow  and  two 
children.  Electa  A.,  who  never  married,  died 
at  twenty-three  years  of  age.  James  A.  en- 
listed in  Company  D  of  the  F^jurth  New 
Hampshire  Regiment  from  Laconia.  He  also 
died    in     service.        Oscar    A.     was    severely 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


5S5 


wiiuiulcil,  hut  li\-C(l  many  years  alter.  lie 
married  l''reedom  Sanhori),  who,  with  their 
two  children,  survived  him.  She  was  a  native 
of  Sanborntoii,  and  they  were  living  in  that 
town  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Prescott  M. 
Jones  died  at  twenty-three  years  of  age. 

At  the  time  his  parents  removed  to  An- 
dovcr,  Me.,  Ajalon  D.  Jones  was  but  four 
years  old;  and  his  elementary  education  was 
received  in  the  schools  of  that  town.  He  sub- 
sequently studied  at  the  New  Hampton  Insti- 
tution, and  following  that  entered  on  a  course 
in  theology  at  the  Bates  Theological  School, 
Lewiston,  Me.  ;  but  his  studies  there  were  in- 
terrupted on  account  of  his  health  breaking 
down.  In  June,  1873,  he  was  ordained  at  the 
Free  Baptist  church  in  Litchfield  Plains,  Me., 
by  the  Rev.  Albert  Perrington,  of  Lewiston, 
Me.  He  afterward  accepted  a  call  to  the 
Litchfield  Plains  church,  with  which  he  re- 
mained two  years,  going  ne.xt  to  North  Ber- 
wick, and  two  years  later  taking  charge  of  a 
new  church  in  North  Nottingham,  N.  H.,  with 
which  he  was  connected  for  two  years.  Later 
he  was  pastor  of  .the  church  in  P^ast  Albany, 
Vt. ,  four  years,  at  the  end  of  which,  on  ac- 
count of  failing  health,  he  went  West.  He 
was  so  much  benefited  by  his  si.x  months'  stay 
that  upon  his  return  he  accepted  the  position 
of  pastor  of  the  church  in  Corinth,  Vt.  ;  but 
while  there  his  health  again  failed,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  give  up  pastoral  work.  Com- 
ing to  Belmont,  he  has  here  taken  up  farming 
in  the  hope  that  the  outdoor  life  will  give 
renewed  strength  for  future  labors  in  the  work 
that  has  become  so  dear  to  him.  At  one  time 
he  was  sent  to  Moose  River,  P.O.,  Canada,  to 
conduct  evangelistic  work  in  a  church  that  had 
become  weak;  and  in  the  two  years  that  he 
spent  there  its  membership  was  increased  by 
thirty-two.  With  one  e.xception,  in  all  the 
churches   over    which    he   has   been    pastor  his 


speciLil  mission  has  been  to  awaken  new  life 
and  enthusiasm  in  the  work  of  the  church  aiul 
to  carry  on  revival  work.  His  first  charge  was 
a  church  that  had  been  unable  to  fittingly  sus- 
tain itself  for  twenty  years,  and  his  successful 
work  in  the  various  jilaces  in  which  he  has 
been  called  to  minister  testifies  to  his  ca|)abil- 
ity  for  the  work  he  has  chosen  and  to  which  he 
is  now  looking  forward.  When  actively  iden- 
tified with  the  ministry,  he  was  prominent 
in  the  P'ree  Baptist  Ministers'  Society,  and 
served  on  the  Committee  on  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings, also  on  the  Committee  on  Ordinations. 

On  October  22,  1866,  the  Rev.  Ajalon  D. 
Jones  and  Miss  Emma  H.  Smith  were  united 
in  marriage.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Barnard 
Smith,  of  Sanbornton,  N.  H.  Three  children 
have  blessed  their  union,  two  sons  and  a 
daughter,  namely:  Walter  S. ,  at  home;  Alice 
C.  ;  and  Harry  15.  Walter  S.  married  Ellen 
Avery,  of  Vermont.  Pie  is  a  graduate  of  New 
Hampton  Institution,  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Belmont  School  Board  three  years,  and  in 
1895  was  its  Chairman.  Alice  C.  is  a  com- 
positor in  a  newspaper  office  in  Laconia. 


'JTtOHN  SEGERHOMMAR  HAMMOND, 
D.D.S.,  who  has  a  large  dental  practice 
in  Somersworth,  was  born  in  Hogby, 
Sweden,  November  15,  1.S62.  In  his  native 
country  he  attended  Calmor  College,  a  prepar- 
atory institution.  Upon  completing  his  course 
there  in  1886,  he  came  to  America,  and  set- 
tled in  Elgin,  111.,  wliere  he  studied  dentistry 
with  C.  N.  Storer  for  three  years,  going  to 
Philadelphia  in  i8Sg,  and  entering  the  Penn- 
sylvania College,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1891.  Soon  after  this  he  opened  an 
office  in  Springvale,  Me.,  where  he  practised 
until  December,  1893,  when  he  came  to 
Somersworth,  and  fitted  up  the  rooms  he  still 


SS6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


occupies.  He  has  been  very  prosperous,  and 
has  made  many  friends  in  this  town. 

On  December  25,  1893,  Dr.  Hammond 
married  Miss  Mary  M.  Jordan,  of  Cumberland 
Centre,  Me.  They  have  one  daughter,  Mil- 
dred. 

Politically,  Dr.  Hammond  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican. Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of 
Morrison  River  Lodge,  No.  75,  K.  of  P., 
of  Springvale,  Me. ;  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America;  and  the  Order  of  Golden  Cross. 
He  is  a  communicant  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

<i**^» 

RTHUR     C.    FERGUSON,    M.D.,*  a 

rising  young  physician,  who  practises 
his  profession  in  Somersworth,  and 
resides  in  Berwick,  Me.,  was  born  in  Spring- 
vale,  York  County,  Me.,  May  2,  1869,  son  of 
Charles  T.  and  Martha  O.  (Hersom)  Fergu- 
son. 

His  paternal  grandparents  were  Nahum  and 
Mary  (Chadbourn)  P^erguson ;  and  his  great- 
grandfather, Joshua  Ferguson,  was  among 
the  early  settlers  and  pioneer  farmers  of 
Shapleigh,  Me.,  where  he  died  at  an  advanced 
age.  He  was  the  father  of  a  large  family,  of 
whom  three  sons  and  three  daughters  attained 
maturity.  Nahum  P"erguson,  also  a  native  of 
Shapleigh,  followed  the  ship-carpenter's  trade 
for  some  years.  Subsequently  succeeding  to 
the  possession  of  his  father's  farm,  he  resided 
thereon  until  his  death,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
eight  years.  His  wife,  Mary,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  South  Berwick,  Me.,  born  in  1818, 
became  the  mother  of  four  chil  'ren  — ■  Emih', 
Susan,  Charles  T. ,  and  Sarah  L.. 

Charles  T.  Ferguson,  f  Uher  of  Dr.  Fergu- 
son, was  born  in  Sh-^pleigh,  York  County, 
Me.,  May  20,  1843.  When  ten  years  old  he 
accompanied  his  mother  to  Springvale.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools;   and  at  the 


age  of  eighteen  he  went  to  Worcester,  Mass., 
where  he  learned  shoemaking  with  D.  Cum- 
niings  &  Co.,  later  becoming  a  member  of  the 
firm.  He  was  connected  with  it  all  together 
for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  retiring  in 
1887  to  a  farm  near  Berwick,  York  County, 
Me.,  which  he  had  purchased  five  years  pre- 
viously. He  is  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of 
Berwick,  and  was  elected  Selectman  in  1895. 
His  marriage  with  Martha  O.  Hersom  took 
place  May  16,  1868.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren—  Arthur  C,  Mattie  G.,  and  George  M. 

Having  acquired  his  elementary  education 
in  the  public  schools,  Arthur  C.  Ferguson 
entered  the  Berwick  Academy,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  course  of  study,  and  was  graduated 
in  1888.  Entering  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  New  York  City,  he  was  then 
graduated  in  March,  1892,  with  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  Soon  afterward  he  lo- 
cated for  practice  in  Somersworth,  where  he 
has  since  responded  to  calls  for  medical  advice 
and  treatment,  and  is  steadily  advancing  in 
his  profession.  In  politics  he  supports  the 
Republican  party,  and  has  .served  upon  the 
Board  of  Health  in  Berwick. 

Socially,  Dr.  Ferguson  is  a  general  favorite 
both  in  Somersworth  and  Berwick  ;  and,  as  he 
is  well  ec|uipped  for  a  successful  professional 
career,  his  future  prospects  are  bright  v.v.  1 
promising. 

BRAM  M.  DRAKE, '^  who  died  at  his 
home  in  Dover,  Strafford  County, 
N.  H.,  October  i,  1895,  had  been  a 
resident  of  the  city  for  upward  of  twoscore 
years,  and  in  that  time  had  won  for  himself 
an  honored  position  in  the  business  commu- 
nity and  in  the  social,  political,  and  religious 
circles.  He  was  born  in  1S23,  in  Efifingham, 
Carroll  County,  this  State,  and  there  grew  to 
maturity.      When  still  quite  young,  he  learned 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


587 


tlie  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  coiUiiuied  to 
follow  as  a  permanent  occn]iation,  being  for 
some  time  emplo\'ed  at  carpentering  in  Dover 
and  vicinity,  finally  locating  here.  Having 
been  obliged  to  depend  upon  himself  almost 
entirely  from  early  boyhood,  he  had  well 
learned  the  lessons  of  industry  and  economy; 
and  he  practised  them  so  efficiently  that  before 
he  had  reached  manhood's  prime  he  found 
himself  in  comfortable  financial  circumstances. 
In  1875  on  account  of  ill  health  he  was 
forced  to  retire  from  active  pursuits,  and  for 
the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  he  was  an 
invalid.  Although  a  sufferer  from  physical 
ailments,  Mr.  Drake  was  ever  cheerful  and 
brave,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  the  lead- 
ing events  of  the  times. 

Mr.  Drake  was  united  in  marriage  April  30, 
1848,  with  Miss  Mary  ]?ennett,  who  was  born 
in  Farmington,  N.If.,  October  22,  i8ig.  Mr. 
Drake  was  a  strong  adherent  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  was  for  some  years  identified 
with  the  political  affairs  of  the  city,  serving 
both  as  a  Councilman  and  as  an  Alderman. 
He  was  a  prominent  Mason,  being  a  member 
of  Strafford  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  Knight 
Templar.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drake  united 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  many 
years  ago,  and  when  that  denomination  built 
its  present  place  of  worship  Mr.  Drake  was 
one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Ikiilding 
Committee. 


JDWIN  ALONZO  STEVENS,*  superin- 
tendent of  the  Somersworth  Machine 
Company  at  Salmon  Falls,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Effingham,  N.H.,  where  he  was  born 
December  27,  1843.  His  parents  were  Silas 
M.  and  Nancy  J.  (Stevens)  Stevens.  The 
Stevens  family  was  a  well-known  one  in 
Effingham,  having  been  there  for  many  years. 
The     paternal     grandfather    of      Mr.      lulvvin 


Stevens  was  a  farmer  in  the  town  and  a 
highly  esteemetl  citizen.  His  four  sons  were: 
Samuel,  Saul,  I'Imery,  and  Silas.  Silas 
Stevens  grew  up  on  his  father's  homestead, 
acquiring  his  education  in  the  district  school 
and  the  Effingham  Academy.  After  leaving 
school  he  learned  the  cabinet-maker's  trade, 
and  worked  at  that  together  with  carpenter- 
ing. He  died  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-si.\, 
when  his  son  Edwin  was  only  two  and  ono-half 
years  old.  His  wife,  though  a  Stevens  before 
her  marriage,  was  of  a  different  family  or 
branch.  She  was  a  native  of  Shapleigh,  Me. 
Their  three  children  were:  Mary  E.,  who 
married  Lysander  Mayo,  of  Rollinsford ; 
Edwin  and  Silas  M.  Stevens,  of  Salmon  Falls. 

Mr.  Stevens's  maternal  grandfather  was 
Whiting  Stevens,  'M.D.,  born  in  Winthrop, 
Me.,  whose  father  was  James,  one  of  three 
brothers,  John,  James,  ami  Joseph,  who  came 
to  this  country,  it  is  said,  from  ICngland  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  James  and  Joseph  set- 
tled in  Maine.  John  settled  in  Massachusetts, 
and  died  there  unmarried.  Dr.  Whiting 
Stevens  acquired  a  large  practice  at  Shajileigh, 
where  he  had  studied  medicine,  and  was  emi- 
nently successful.  He  was  a  leading  niemlier 
of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Shapleigh,  was  not- 
ably generous  and  benevolent,  had  an  e.xten- 
sivc  acquaintance,  and  was  beloved  throughout 
the  county.  Dr.  Stevens  married  Abigail 
Walker,  and  they  had  the  following  named 
children:  Alonzo  J.  W.,  Luther  C,  Whiting, 
Mary  W.,  Elizabeth  W.,  Nancy  J.,  Rufus 
W.,  William  C,  and  I'hilene  A. 

Edwin  A.  Stevens,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  sent  to  the  jjiiblic  schools  of  his 
native  town  until  his  fourteenth  year,  when  he 
came  to  Somersworth  to  live  with  an  uncle 
and  attend  the  high  school.  In  his  later 
youth  he  was  clerk  in  a  store  for  two  years. 
In   August,   1862,    he   enlisted   as  a   lamlsman 


588 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


in  the  United  States  Navy,  and  was  on  the 
"Macedonian."  He  was  raised  to  be  sea- 
man, and  served  until  his  discharge  in  IVIarch, 
1863.  After  this  he  came  to  Berwick,  and 
attended  the  academy  for  a  time.  He  then 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Somersworth  Ma- 
chine Company  as  a  machinist,  having  worked 
in  the  foundry  during  his  vacation.  His  pro- 
motion since  his  connection  with  the  firm  has 
been  rapid.  He  was  made  shipping  clerk  in 
the  office  after  being  there  a  little  while,  and 
in  less  than  a  year  from  the  time  he  entered 
the  business  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
the  works.  At  that  time  only  twenty-five  men 
were  employed.  Under  Mr.  Stevens's  skilful 
management  the  business  has  prospered,  and 
has  been  enlarged  so  that  there  are  from  four 
to  five  times  that  number  of  employees  at 
present.  Stoves  and  iron  hollow  ware  are 
manufactured;  and  in  one  year  as  many  as 
two  million,  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  thou- 
sand, four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pounds 
of  manufactured  goods  have  been  shipped.  In 
politics  Mr.  Stevens  is  a  Republican.  In 
1876  and  1877  he  served  on  the  Board  of  Se- 
lectmen; and  he  was  nominated  for  a  third 
term,  but  would  not  accept  the  nomination. 
He  has  served  for  eight  years  consecutively  as 
one  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors.  In  1896 
Mr.  Stevens  was  sent  to  the  State  legislature 
to  represent  the  town;  and  while  there  he  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Re- 
vision of  Statutes,  one  of  the  most  important 
committees  in  the  House.  Aside  from  manu- 
facturing. Mr.  Stevens  has  been  largely  inter- 
ested in  banking.  He  has  been  Trustee  of  the 
Rollinsford  Savings  'Bank  for  twenty  years, 
Diiector  in  the  South  Berwick  National  Bank, 
Trustee  in  the  South  Berwick  Savings  Bank 
for  many  years,  and  for  ten  years  connected 
with  the  Salmon  Falls  State  Bank.  He  is  a 
member   of    Granite    Lodge,    No.    65,    F.    & 


A.  M.  ;  Edwards  Chapter  of  Somersworth;  St. 
Paul's  Commandery  of  Dover;  Orphan  Coun- 
cil of  Dover;  and  of  the  Dover  Consistory. 

Mr.  Stevens  married  Miss  Adelaide  C, 
daughter  of  Charles  Speed,  of  Rollinsforil. 
Their  children  are:  Charles  Edwin,  Mabel 
G.,  Florence  E.,  and  Caroline.  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Stevens  are  members  of  the  South 
Berwick  Baptist  Church,  and  Mr.  Stevens  has 
been  for  twenty-eight  years  treasurer  and  sec- 
retary of  the  Sunday-school  connected  with  the 
church  society. 


fft^ 


ALDRON  FAMILY.  — Among  the 
original  proprietors  of  lands  in 
Strafford  County  were  the  VValdrons 
or  Waldernes.  The  first  of  the  name  who 
came  to  America  arrived  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  returned  not  long  after- 
ward to  England;  but  he  came  again  to  this 
country,  accompanied  by  other  members  of 
his  family,  and  they  took  up  lands  all  the  way 
from  Portsmouth  up  through  the  Cocheco 
valley.  No  name  is  more  prominent  in  Co- 
lonial history  than  is  that  of  Richard  Waldron, 
borne  for  generation  after  generation  follow- 
ing that  of  the  Major  Waldron  who  was  killed 
by  Indians  in  Dover  in  1689,  whose  son  and 
grandson  served  as  President  and  Secretary  of 
the  Council  by  which  the  Royal  Province  of 
New  Hampshire  was  controlled  in  years  suc- 
ceeding 1680.  When  New  Hampshire  vvas 
governed  in  conjunction  with  Massachusetts, 
Richard  Waldron,  first  elected  in  1654  as  a 
member  of  the  General  Court  from  Dover,  was 
re-elected  twenty-three  consecutive  times,  and 
twenty-five  times  in  all.  In  1679  h^  was 
elected  from  Kittery.  He  served  as  Speaker 
during  eight  sessions.  He  was  also  a  Magis- 
trate, and  was  in  command  of  a  force  during 
the  King  Philip  War  in  1676.  William 
Waldron  was  a  Magistrate  on  the  Piscataqua 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


589 


in  1 64 1,  and  was  Recorder  of  Deeds  in  Dover 
in  1646. 

Tlie  Rev.  William  Waldron,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard,  was  pastor  of  the  Second  Church  in 
l^oston  in  1722.  In  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  have  been  in  the  present  century  Ed- 
mund Ouincy  Sheaf  Waldron,  President  of 
the  Borromeo  College  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  and 
John  Waldron,  whose  thirty  years  of  devotion 
given  to  good  works  in  the  Huron  district, 
won  for  him  honorable  distinction.  In  the 
Free  Baptist  denomination  has  been,  besides 
other  men  of  the  family  name,  the  Rev. 
W.  H.  Waldron,  who  was  born  and  who  died 
in  Farmington.  Among  native  townsmen  in 
the  legal  profession  have  been  the  late  Hon. 
G.  P.  Waldron,  of  South  Dakota,  an  alumnus 
of  Bowdoin  College,  and  Mr.  H.  C.  Waldron, 
graduated  from  Amherst  College,  who  is  mas- 
ter of  the  high  school  and  superintendent  of 
schools  in  the  Massachusetts  town  of  Westboro. 

The  Farmington  Waldrons  are  descended 
from  "Richard  Walderne,  gentleman,"  and 
from  Colonel  John  Waldron  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, who  lived  in  Dover.  Colonel  John 
gave  lands  in  the  "North-west  Parish  of 
Rochester"  to  his  son  Jeremiah,  who  in  1S12 
builded  for  his  family  a  new  dwelling-house 
at  the  upper  end  of  the  main  village  of  P"arni- 
ington,  which  has  sheltered  beneath  its  great 
roof  five  generations  of  the  name  of  Waldron, 
and  is  now  occupied  by  one  of  the  builder's 
grandsons.  Squire  Jeremiah  Waldron  had 
four  sons  who  lived  to  mature  age,  two  already 
named,  and  the  late  J.  W.  and  J.  H.  Waldron. 
The  second  son  of  the  latter  was  named  for 
his  great-grandfather,  and  is  the  only  descend- 
ant of  this  branch  of  the  family  who  holds 
any  sort  of  public  office  at  the  present  day  in 
his  native  town. 

Mr.  John  Waldron  was  born  in  the  house 
mentioned,  December  27,   1849.      He  attended 


local  schools  and  neighboring  academics  until, 
at  about  the  time  when  he  should  have  entered 
college,  he  was  called  home  to  superintend  the 
lumber  business  on  the  estate  of  his  invalid 
father.  After  putting  the  business  into  suc- 
cessful working  order,  Mr.  Waldron  left  it  to 
the  hands  of  an  elder  brother,  and  entered  the 
shoe  factory  of  A.  Nute  &  Sons.  He  has  re- 
mained with  the  firm  to  the  present  time, 
working  in  the  factory  or  acting  as  its  travel- 
ling salesman,  as  occasion  required.  He 
never  has  wished  to  be  considered  as  a  candi- 
date for  any  office  in  the  gift  of  fellow-towns- 
men, but  was  commissioned  by  Governor  Hu- 
siel  as  a  Special  Justice  of  the  I'd  ice  Court. 
He  enjoys  the  duties  of  the  ])osition,  as  he 
has  the  judicial  turn  uf  mind,  and  would  have 
studied  law  with  a  view  to  practice  had  he 
been  at  liberty  to  leave  home  in  the  years 
which  he  had  hoped  to  spend  in  university 
work.  As  are  many  of  his  kinsmen,  Mr. 
Waldron  is  of  noticeable  stature  and  personal 
appearance.  He  is  of  absolute  integrity  in 
daily  life,  kindly  in  manner,  i|uick  in  humor, 
and  of  a  temper  not  easily  ruffled,  yet  not 
lightly  appeased  when  once  e.xcited  to  indig- 
nation. He  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  he  attends  the  Congregational 
church.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  Harmony 
Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  belongs  to 
the  Society  of  Sons  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion by  right  of  descent  from  not  only  the 
Waldrons,  but  also  through  his  mother,  who 
was  formerly  Miss  Abby  Jones,  of  New  Dur- 
ham. Mr.  Waldron  is  married;  and  of  his 
two  daughters  the  elder,  Adelaide  Cecil,  sur- 
vives. 

Mrs.  John  Waldron  is  the  daughter  of  the 
late  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Daniel  Plumer  Cillcy,  and 
is  a  native  of  Manchester.  Karly  removal  to 
Boston,  Mass.,  caused  her  studies  to  be  pur- 
sued  almost   wholly  in   that   city,    in   schools, 


59° 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


with  tutors,  and  in  the  patonial  study,  full  of 
books.  The  recent  publication,  "New  Hamp- 
shire Women,"  says:  "To  descent  from  the 
well-known  I'luniers  and  Cilleys  she  adtls  that 
from  Frosts,  Sherburnes,  and  Pepperrells,  of 
Colonial  fame,  through  her  mother,  who  was 
formerly  Miss  A.  A.  Haines,  of  Canterlniry. 
Mrs.  VValdron  has  been  a  State  officer  of  the 
W.  C.  T.  U.,  belongs  to  the  New  England 
Women's  Press  Association,  the  Piscataqua 
Congregational  Club,  and  the  club  of  New 
Hampshire's  Daughters,  and  is  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. She  is  also  a  Daughter  of  the  Cincin- 
nati, her  great-grandfather,  General  Joseph 
Cilley,  having  been  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati  in  1783.  Since  her 
first  poem  appeared  in  Lippincott^ s  Magazine, 
while  she  lived  in  North  Carolina,  the 
work  of  'Adelaide  Cilley  Waldron  '  has  been 
printed  in  many  periodicals,  from  Harper  s 
Magazine  to  first-class  newspapers,  and  by 
publishers  of  holiday  books.  She  is  a  woman 
of  unusual  abilities  and  most  versatile  talent, 
writing  well  always,  whether  in  verse  for 
special  occasions,  a  hymn,  a  strong  sonnet,  a 
story  for  children,  letters  for  newspapers,  or 
articles  carefully  compiled  for  educational  and 
historical  journals.  She  craves  the  best  in 
everything  —  music,  art,  literature,  life  —  yet 
never  refuses  tasks  incident  to  a  country  home. 
With  a  splendid  ancestry  of  gallant  soldiers, 
her  record  is  not  less  brave  than  any  of  theirs; 
for,  with  the  exquisitely  sensitive  temiDera- 
ment  of  a  true  poet  and  accomplished  musi- 
cian, yet  handicapped  in  many  ways,  she 
battles  patiently  where  others  might  lose 
courage.  Full  of  kindly  thoughts  and  gentle 
humor,  sincere  to  the  core,  as  a  writer  never 
lowering  her  standard  for  popularity  or  pay, 
true  always  to  her  highest  ideals,  she  is  an 
honor  to  New  Hampshire." 


The  father  of  Mrs.  Waldron  served  as  an 
army  chaplain  during  the  period  of  the  Civil 
War,  accompanying  his  regiment  in  all  its 
campaigns  in  the  Gulf  Department,  save  dur- 
ing several  months  of  duty  at  the  Marine 
Hospital  in  New  Orleans.  His  eldest  son, 
the  Hon.  Clinton  A.  Cilley,  a  graduate  from 
Harvard  University,  was  an  ofificer  of  the 
staff  corps  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
with  rank  of  Colonel  when  mustered  out  in 
1866  in  North  Carolina,  where  he  has  since 
practised  law,  in  spite  of  invalidism  caused  by 
injuries  at  Chickamauga.  He  has  received 
the  medal  of  honor  for  distinguished  gallantry 
in  action.  The  younger  two  of  the  brothers 
of  Mrs.  Waldron  were  born  in  Boston.  One 
is  Dr.  D.  P.  Cilley,  of  Westboro,  in  his  na- 
tive State;  and  the  youngest,  the  late  Joseph 
B.  Cilley,  a  young  man  of  unusual  promise, 
died  in  Farmington  in  1886,  from  illness  in- 
duced by  exposure  in  encampment  while  in  the 
performance  of  his  duties  as  Captain  of  the 
Wilson  Guards,  the  latter  forming  Company 
F,  Second  Regiment,  New  Hampshire  Na- 
tional Guard.  The  Adjutant-general  said  of 
Captain  Cilley  that  no  more  accomplished 
ofificer  had  been  commissioned  in  the  service 
of  the  State  in  the  National  Guard.  It  had 
been  expected  that  he  would  be  ordered  to 
duty  as  inspector  of  rifle  practice,  with  rank 
of  Major,  when  his  fatal  illness  caused  him 
to  relinquish  all  thought  of  further  service  in 
the  profession  of  arms,  for  which  he  had  an 
inherent  gift. 


4^»^» 


"ON.  CHARLES  H.  SAWYER,  of 
Dover,  N.H.,  the  President  of  the 
Sawyer  Woollen  Mills  Corporation, 
was  born  March  30,  1840,  in  Watertown, 
N.Y.,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Martha  (Perkins) 
Sawyer.      He  is  a  descendant  of  John  Sawyer, 


/ 


CHARLES    H.    SAWYER. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


■J'M 


a  farmer  of  Lincolnshire,  ]-'.iii;laml,  who  is  he- 
lic\otl  to  have  been  either  a  Non-conformist 
or  a  Separatist.  John's  three  sons  —  Will- 
iam, Kdward,  and  Thomas  —  came  to  this 
country  in  1636.  Thomas,  who  was  the 
foiuuler  of  this  brancii  of  the  family,  settled 
in  Lancaster,  Mass.,  in  1647,  and  died  there 
September  12,  1706.  He  married  in  1648 
Mary,  daughter  of  John  Prescott,  the  founder 
of  Lancaster.  Caleb  Sawyer,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Mary  (Prescott)  Sawyer,  married  Sarah 
Houghton,  and  had  Seth,  who  married  Hepzi- 
bah  Whitney,  and  was  the  father  of  Caleb, 
second,  the  next  in  this  line.  Caleb  Sawyer, 
second,  married  Sarah  Patch;  and  their  son 
Phinehas,  who  married  Hannah  W'hitney,  was 
the  father  of  Jonathan  Sawyer  and  grand- 
father of  Charles  Henry,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  The  birthplace  of  Phinehas  Sawyer 
was  the  part  of  Lancaster  which  was  included 
by  the  act  of  incorporation  in  1732  in  the 
town  of  Harvard.  He  owned  and  conducted  a 
mill  in  Marlboro,  Mass.,  until  foreign  compe- 
tition obliged  him  to  give  it  up  shortly  after 
the  termination  of  the  War  of  18 12.  In  Har- 
vard he  married  Hannah  Whitney,  and  he 
died  in  1820.  His  children  were:  Hannah, 
Euzebia,  Sarah,  Sophia,  Alfred  Ira,  P^Iiza, 
Mary,  Arethusa,  Zenas,  Wesley,  Francis  As- 
iDury,  Edmund,  and  Jonathan.  Twelve  of  the 
number  survived  the  father.  Jonathan,  of 
whose  life  a  sketch  will  be  found  elsewhere  in 
this  work,  was  a  native  of  Marlboro,  born 
June  7,  1S17.  He  resided  at  different  times 
in  Harvard  and  Lowell,  Mass.,  Watertown, 
N.Y.,  and  Dover,  N.H.  He  died  in  Dover, 
June  20,  1S91.  His  wife,  Martha,  whom  he 
married  in  1839,  came  from  Barnard,  Vt. 

Charles  H.  Sawyer  was  ten  years  old  when 
he  came  with  his  parents  to  Dover.  His  edu- 
cation, which  had  been  begun  in  the  schools 
of   Watertown,    N.Y.,    was   completed    in   this 


town.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  lie  was 
employed  as  a  common  workman  in  the 
flannel-mills  of  Dover,  owned  by  his  father 
and  uncle,  Jonathan  and  I*"rancis  A.  Sawyer. 
Ouick  of  observation  and  athirst  for  practical 
knowledge,  he  was  thoroughly  versed  in  the 
work  of  the  place  by  the  time  he  was  twenty- 
si.x,  at  which  age  he  was  ajipointerl  the  super- 
intendent. Some  time  after  he  became  a  part 
owner  of  the  mill.  In  1873,  when  the  firm 
was  incorporated  under  the  style  of  the 
Sawyer  Woollen  Mills,  he  was  made  its 
agent.  In  1881  he  succeeded  to  the  presi- 
dency, then  left  vacant  by  the  dcatii  of  his 
uncle.  Since  that  time  he  has  had  the  chief 
management  of  the  mills,  acquiring  for  them 
a  high  reputation  for  faultless  work,  and  dis- 
playing a  peculiar  fitness  for  the  business  by 
the  inherited  traits  which  have  made  him  per- 
sistent, apt  in  mechanics,  an  e.\i)ert  in  the 
work  of  every  department,  and  a  superior 
business  man,  while  leaving  him  incapable  of 
practising  any  other  than  honorable  dealing. 

Early  in  his  career  Mr.  Sawyer  obtained 
the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  community. 
He  was  elected  in  turn  to  the  City  Council 
and  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  In  1869-70  and 
1876-77  he  represented  the  city  in  the  State 
legislature.  Governor  Charles  H.  Bell  ap- 
pointed him  to  a  position  on  his  staff  in  1881, 
and  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Repub- 
lican Convention  held  in  Chicago  in  1SS4. 
Two  years  after  he  was  elected  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire  on  the  Republican  ticket. 
The  success  of  his  party  in  the  following  elec- 
tion was  largely  due  to  his  personal  popular- 
ity. While  Governor  he  represented  the 
State  in  several  of  the  centennial  celebrations, 
including  that  of  the  promulgation  of  the  na- 
tional Constitution  at  Philadeljihia,  of  the  in- 
auguration of  President  Washington  in  New 
York,   and   the   laying  of   the  corner-stone    of. 


594 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


the  monument  commemorating  the  battle  of 
Bennington.  His  most  remarkable  act  as 
Governor  was  the  veto  of  the  Hazen  ]iill,  de- 
signed to  facilitate  the  leasing  of  certain  rail- 
roads, upon  the  ground  that  its  promoters,  the 
agents  of  a  powerful  railroad  corporation,  had 
attempted  to  buy  votes  in  support  of  it. 

Mr.  Sawyer  married,  February  8,  1865, 
Susan  Ellen,  daughter  of  Dr.  James  W.  and 
Elizabeth  Cowan,  of  Dover.  Their  children 
are:  William  Davis,  who  married  Susan  Ger- 
trude, daughter  of  Hon.  Joshua  G.  Hall,  of 
Dover;  Charles  Francis,  who  married  Gertrude 
Child,  daughter  of  Hon.  Henry  W.  Severance, 
of  San  Francisco;  James  Cowan,  who  married 
Mary  Pepperill,  daughter  of  Judge  George 
S.  Frost,  of  Dover;  Edward;  and  Elizabeth 
Coffin. 


'OSEPH  W.  HAM,*  for  many  years  one 
of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  Straf- 
ford County,  was  born  June  25,  1825, 
in  Rochester,  on  the  old  homestead,  where  his 
death  occurred.  His  father,  James  Ham,  was 
also  born  in  Rochester,  a  son  of  Stephen 
Ham,  who  was  among  the  early  settlers  of  this 
place,  having  come  here  from  Littleworth. 
James  Ham  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He 
served  for  a  time  in  the  War  of  181 2,  sta- 
tioned in  the  garrison  at  Portsmouth. 

Joseph  W.  Ham  was  early  trained  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  and  devoted  his  life  to  gen- 
eral farming  and  poultry-raising,  carrying  on 
an  extensive  business  in  the  latter,  shipping 
eggs  and  chickens  to  the  Boston  markets.  In 
his  younger  days  he  was  for  some  time  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits  as  a  grocery 
clerk  in  Gonic,  but  preferred  the  vocation  to 
which  he  was  reared  as  his  life  work.  He 
was  a  strong  Democrat  in  his  political  prin- 
ciples, and,  being  ever  mindful   of  his  duties 


as  a  citizen,  served  his  fellow-townsmen  in 
various  official  capacities.  For  several  years 
he  was  Chairman  of  the  School  Committee, 
and  he  was  Surveyor  in  the  town  of  Rochester 
a  number  of  terms.  A  man  of  domestic 
tastes,  devoteil  to  his  family,  he  was  also 
much  interested  in  the  work  nf  the  church, 
and  officiated  as  Deacon  of  the  Free  Will  J5np- 
tist  Church  of  Gonic. 

In  1850  he  married  Miss  Sarah  li.  Roberts, 
who  was  born  in  North  Berwick,  York  County, 
Me.,  a  daughter  of  David  S.  Roberts,  of  that 
town.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Flam  became  the  parents 
of  seven  children,  as  follows:  M.  Josephine, 
the  wife  of  Benton  Haley,  of  Barrington ; 
Abbie  J.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years;  George  B.,  who  died  when  but  seven 
years  old;  Augusta  E.,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Susan  A.,  who  lived  but  two  years;  Henry 
W. ,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years; 
and  J.  Edgar,  who  resides  on  the  old  home- 
stead, where  he  carries  on  general  farming, 
and  is  tenderly  caring  for  his  aged  mother, 
who  bears  her  deep  bereavements  with  Chris- 
tian fortitude.  Henry  W.  Ham,  the  sixth 
child  in  order  of  birth,  was  formerly  sta- 
tion agent  at  Salem  Depot  in  Rockingham 
County.  His  wife  survived  him  but  a  short 
time,  passing  to  the  higher  life  July  13, 
i8g6.  Florence,  one  of  their  orphan  chil- 
dren, lives  with  her  grandmother,  Mrs.  Ham; 
while  the  other,  Abbie  J.,  resides  witli  her 
uncle,  Mr.  Went  worth. 


ARREN  H.  WHITEHOUSE,*  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  who  is 
now  engaged  in  farming  in  Middle- 
ton,  Strafford  County,  N.H.,  was  born  in  this 
town,  March  27,  1843,  son  of  Amos  W.  and 
Eliza     H.     (Colbath)      Whitehouse.        Amos 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


SOS 


Whilehousc,  graiuU'iither  of  Warren  H.,  was 
the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  here. 

Amos  VV.  Whitehouse  was  a  Iifeloii<;  resi- 
dent of  Middleton,  and  followed  the  shoe- 
maker's trade  in  connection  with  fartning 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was 
sixty-four  years  old.  In  politics  he  was  a  Re- 
publican; and  he  served  with  ability  as  Select- 
man, Town  Treasurer,  and  Tax  Collector. 
He  married  Eliza  H.  Colbath,  who  became  the 
mother  of  seven  children,  five  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing, namely:  Elmira,  wife  of  L.  D.  Colbath; 
Warren  H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Ellen; 
Lydia;   and  Lizzie. 

Warren  H.  Whitehouse  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  and  when  a  young  man  he 
learned  the  shoemaker's  trade.  In  1S64  he 
enlisted  in  Company  G,  First  New  Hampshire 
Heavy  Artillery,  and  was  stationed  in  Wash- 
ington until  the  close  of  the  war.  Upon  his 
return  from  the  army  he  resumed  his  trade, 
and  worked  in  Middleton  until  1S76.  He 
then  moved  to  Farmington,  where  he  followed 
shoemaking  until  1892;  and  in  1895  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  town.  Settling  upon  the 
old  Hall  place,  he  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil 
and  other  farm  work,  such  as  the  care  of 
stock.  Politically,  he  votes  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  and  while  residing  in  Farmington 
was  Supervisor  for  some  time.  He  is  now 
serving  as  Supervisor  and  Town  Clerk  in 
Middleton,  and  is  deeply  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  the  town. 

Mr.  Whitehouse  married  Emma  A.  ^'ork, 
daughter  of  Charles  York,  of  this  town,  and 
has  six  children,  as  follows:  Charles  W. ; 
Addie  E.,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Knox;  Lizzie  S., 
wife  of  E.  S.  Wallace;  Nellie  I\I. ;  Albert; 
and  Lena. 

Mr.  Whitehouse  is  connected  with  Wood- 
bine Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  Mad  River  luicamp- 
mcnt;  and   the    Rebecca    Lodge.      He   is   also 


a  member  of  Harmony  l.ud^e,  Kiii.:;ht>  n\ 
Tythias,  and  was  Master  of  the  Kxehequer  four 
years.      The  family  attend  the  15ai)tist  church. 


I  LI. I  AM  II.  TANNER,'  a  well- 
kiiuwn  and  prosperous  agriculturist 
of  I-'armington,  N.ll.,  was  horn 
in  this  town  in  September,  1827,  a  son  of 
John  Tanner,  Jr.  His  grandfather,  John 
Tanner,  Sr. ,  is  said  to  have  come  from  I'Jig- 
land.  (An  earlier  John  Tanner,  it  may  he 
mentioned,  was  numbered  among  the  inhab- 
itants of  Portsmouth  and  Strawberry  Hank  as 
early  as  1665. ) 

John  Tanner,  Jr.,  served  in  the  American 
army  during  the  War  of  1812.  He  was  a 
resident  of  Farmington  throughout  his  life, 
occupying  a  good  position  among  the  well-to- 
do  farmers  of  this  part  of  the  county.  He 
was  a  strong  Democrat  in  his  political  affilia- 
tions, but  never  aspired  to  public  office.  To 
him  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Mary  Thompson,  eight  children  were  born, 
three  of  whom  are  living,  namely:  Hannah, 
wife  of  Moses  K.  Leighton;  William  IL,  the 
special  subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Josej)!!, 
who  resides  in  the  village  of  l-'armington. 
The  father  passed  to  the  life  beyond  at  the 
age  of  seventy  years. 

William  II.  Tanner  receivetl  his  education 
in  the  district  school,  remaining  at  home 
attending  school  in  the  winter  seasons,  and 
working  on  the  farm  summers.  He  worked  at 
the  shoemaker's  trade  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury or  more  after  attaining  his  majority,  but 
has  since  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to 
agricultural  pursuits.  He  has  one  hundrcci 
acres  of  land  that  under  his  wise  manage- 
ment have  undergone  the  transformation 
which  only  the  persistent  and  willing  hand   of 


59^^ 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


inilusliy  couki  bring  about.  lie  takes  no 
active  part  in  local  affairs,  but  supports  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party  at  the 
polls. 

Mr.  Tanner  married  Miss  Martha  Giles, 
who  was  born  in  Milton,  Strafford  County,  a 
daughter  of  Orrin  P.  Giles.  Three  children 
have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tanner, 
namely:  Grace  L. ;  Lizzie,  wife  of  Irving 
Percy;  and  Charles  H.,  deceased.  Mr. 
Tanner  and  his  family  are  highly  respected 
members  of  the  community  in  which-  they 
dwell.  They  attend  the  Methodist  P^piscopal 
church,  whose  doctrines  harmonize  with  their 
religious  beliefs. 


<^»^> 


OMEVN      B.       HURD,*     of      Alton, 


N.H.,  who  is  engaged  in  carrying  on 
LIP  V  ^  the  farm  that  was  formerly  owned 
by  his  grandfather,  George  Hurd,  was  born 
here,  September  ii,  1S38,  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Lydia  W.    (French)  flurd. 

George  Hurd  and  his  brother  Meshech  came 
to  Alton  from  Rochester,  Strafford  County,  in 
18 10,  on  horseback,  which  was  then  the  usual 
mode  of  travel,  and  took  up  two  hundred  acres 
of  land  that  is  now  owned  by  Romeyn  B.  Hurd. 
Both  were  married  when  they  came,  and  for 
the  first  year  or  two  they  lived  in  a  blacksmith 
shop,  which  made  but  a  rude  dwelling-place. 
After  working  together  for  two  years,  they  di- 
vided their  land  into  two  farms  of  equal  area, 
each  taking  one.  When  they  were  fully 
settled,  they  were  joined  by  their  father,  Jo- 
seph Hurd,  who  continued  to  live  with  them 
until  his  death  in  1843  at  eighty-eight  years  of 
age.  He  had  five  sons  and  three  daughters; 
namely,  Shadrach,  Betsey,  Meshech,  George, 
Ann,  Henry,  Polly,  and  Isaac.  George  Hurd, 
born    May  15,   1781,  died    February    15,    1848. 


His  wife,  Sally  Tibbetts,  who  was  born  De- 
cember 27,  1779,  died  July  11,  1870.  The)' 
had  three  children;  namely,  Henry,  Flli,  and 
-Susanna.  I^li,  a  farmer  by  occupation,  was 
twice  married,  and  at  his  death  left  one  child. 
Susanna  married  Isaac  Wentworth,  of  Roches- 
ter, N.H. 

Henry  Hurd,  son  of  George,  was  born  April 
6,  1805.  He  received  a  fair  education  in  his 
early  years,  and  he  taught  school  several  win- 
ters. Purchasing  the  homestead,  he  always 
resided  here;  and  under  his  management  the 
premises  were  considerably  improved.  As  a 
land  surveyor  his  services  were  sought  for 
miles  around;  and  as  an  official  of  the  town 
he  had  an  enviable  reputation,  being  a  man  of 
unusual  executive  ability.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  had  been  on  the  Alton  Board  of  Se- 
lectmen a  longer  time  than  any  other  man  up 
to  that  date,  and  he  had  acted  as  Moderator  at 
town  meetings  for  a  longer  period  than  he  had 
served  as  Selectman.  His  memory  was  so 
good,  it  is  said,  that,  when  there  were  four 
hundred  voters  in  the  town,  he  could  call  off 
the  full  name  of  each.  P'or  a  number  of  years 
he  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  as 
Representative  to  the  lower  house  of  the 
State  legislature,  and  was  there  at  the  time  of 
the  change  in  the  Constitution.  He  was  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum  many  years, 
and  wrote  more  deeds  than  anybody  else  in 
town ;  and  he  also  for  some  time  served  as 
Town  Agent.  Henry  Hurd  died  July  8,  1888. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Lydia  W. 
French,  was  born  in  Alton,  F'ebruary  8,  1805, 
and  died  July  6,  1884.  They  were  married 
April  16,  1829,  and  had  five  children; 
namely,  Catherine  A.,  Romeyn  B.,  FLmeline 
A.,  Marcus  M.,  and  one  that  died  in  infancy. 
Catherine  and  luneline  both  died  young. 
Marcus  is  in  the  Ijlacksmith's  inisiness  in 
Alton  \-illage. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   REVIEW 


597 


Being  the  elder  son,  Ronieyn  B.  began 
early  to  assist  his  father  in  the  farm  work, 
grailually  taking  full  charge;  and  Li|.)(in  his 
father's  death  the  homestead  came  to  him. 
To  the  original  farm  he  has  added  eighty 
acres.  Me  keeps  a  dairy  of  good  cows,  and 
makes  a  s[)ecialty  of  the  iirndLiction  of  milk. 
L.ike  his  father,  Mr.  Hurd  is  a  prominent 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of 
Merry  Meeting  (irange  of  Alton. 

Romeyn  B.  Hurd  married  Sarah  F.  Varney, 
daughter  of  Jonathan  M.  Varney,  and  has  four 
chiklren  ;  namely,  Abbie  G.,  Ada  K.,  Mabel, 
and  Ernest.  Abbie  G.  is  the  wife  of  Alonzo 
.S.  Brooks.  Ada  E. ,  who  taught  school  a  few 
years,  is  now  the  wife  of  Lewis  H.  Lamprey. 


^AMUEL  YOUNG,*  who  formerly 
V7A  carried  on  the  lumber  business  in 
Middleton,  and  is  now  engaged  in 
farming  in  this  town,  was  born  in  Farmington, 
N.H.,  in  1S32,  son  of  Joel  and  Mary  (Durgin) 
Young.  His  grandfather,  Samuel  Young,  was 
an  early  settler  in  Farmington. 

Joel  Young  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade, 
which  he  followed  in  Farmington,  New  Dur- 
ham, and  Middleton.  He  came  to  this  town 
when  his  son  Samuel  was  ten  years  old  ;  and  he 
resided  here  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
when  he  was  si.xty-three  years  old.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Whig.  He  wedtled  Mary  Dur- 
gin, and  had  a  family  of  si.x  children,  three  of 
whom  are  living,  namely:  Samuel,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch;  James,  who  is  now  residing  in 
Portsmouth,  N.H.  ;  and  Clara,  wife  of  John  H. 
Fi  field. 

Samuel  Young  grew  to  manhood  in  Middle- 
ton,  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  this  town.  When  a  young  man  he  adopted 
agricultural   pursuits  and   bought  a  place   situ- 


ated at  the  foot  of  Moo.se  Mountain.  lie  re 
mained  there  but  two  years,  when,  selling  tlie 
property,  he  jnuchased  the  Jones  f;irni,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  l-'or  eight  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business;  hut  his  prin- 
cipal attention  has  been  given  to  agriculture, 
which  he  carries  on  energetically  and  with 
success. 

Mr.  Young  has  been  three  times  married. 
His  fust  wife,  who  was  in  maidcniiood  Martha 
Stevens,  died  leaving  five  children  —  Charles, 
Susan,  Ella,  Lester,  and  Harry.  By  his 
union  with  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Stevens,  his  second 
wife,  there  were  no  children.  11  is  present 
wife  was,  before  her  marriage  to  him,  Mrs. 
Mary  O.  Lougee,  of  I'arsonsfield,  Me.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Young  are  attendants  at  the  Baptist 
church,  and  they  are  respected  in  this  com- 
munity as  contributing  to  its  reputation  for  a 
high  class  of  citizenship. 


LONZO  D.  NUTIC,'  an  active  and 
well-to-do  farmer  of  the  town  of  Mad- 
bury,  Strafford  County,  occupies 
the  old  homestead  that  his  paternal  grand- 
father, Andrew  Nute,  purchased  more  than  a 
century  ago,  settling  here  after  the  close  of 
the  Revolutionary  War,  in  which  he  com- 
manded a  company.  Captain  Nute  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Wolfboro  for  many  years,  having  been 
there  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits,  which  he 
followed  through  his  active  years.  A  man  of 
great  physical  force,  temperate  in  his  haliits, 
his  years  of  earthly  life  were  prolonged  to 
nearly  a  century. 

Daniel  Nute,  father  of  Alonzo  D.,  spent 
his  entire  forty-six  years  of  life  on  this  farm, 
succeeiling  to  the  homestead  and  to  the  occu- 
jiation  of  his  father.  To  him  and  his  wife, 
Susan  Hanson  Nute,  four  children  were  iiorn, 


598 


BIOGRAPHICAL    REVIEW 


two  of  whom  lived  but  a  short  time,  the  others 
being:  George,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  years;  and  Alonzo  D.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

Alonzo  D.  Nutc  was  born  January  23,  1831. 
He  remained  at  home  until  fifteen  years  old, 
receiving  his  early  education  in  the  district 
schools;  and  after  that  he  attended  school  for 
a  time  in  Wolfboro,  whither  he  went  to  learn 
the  wheelwright's  trade.  In  1862  Mr.  Nute 
returned  to  the  ancestral  homestead,  which 
has  become  his  by  inheritance,  and  has  since 
devoted  himself  to  the  care  and  improvement 
of  his  property,  carrying  on  general  farming 
pursuits,  tilling  the  soil,  managing  a  small 
dairy,  and  raising  some  stock.  He  is  known 
throughout  the  community  as  an  honest,  up- 
right, and  industrious  citizen,  a  man  whose 
success  in  life  is  due  to  his  own  efforts.  A 
Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  Nute  has  been 
Selectman  of  the  town  for  three  years,  and  for 
the  past  two  years  has  served  as  Supervisor. 
He  is  a  member  of  Strafford   Lodge  of  Dover. 

Mr.  Nute  and  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Mary 
J.  Reynolds,  have  four  children;  namely, 
George  D.,  Annie  S.,  Mary  A.,  and  John  A. 


-OSIAH  NASON,*  a  farmer  of  Alton, 
Belknap  County,  N.H.,  was  born  in 
New  Durham,  Strafford  County,  Feb- 
ruary II,  1825.  His  father  was  Thomas,  son 
of  Moses  Nason.  Thomas  Nason  came  to 
New  Hampshire  from  Acton,  Me.,  and,  after 
residing  for  some  time  in  New  Durham,  re- 
moved to  Alton,  where  he  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. He  married  Polly  Gilman,  of  Acton, 
Me.,  and  they  had  eleven  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Mary,  Hannah,  Mehitable,  Thomas, 
James,  Sally,  Richard,  Alva,  Josiah  and  Jere- 
miah (twins),  and  Newell. 

Josiah,    the    subject    of    this    sketch,    came 


from  New  Durham  to  Alton  with  his  parents 
when  nine  years  old,  and  lived  at  home  with 
them  until  the  death  of  his  father,  which  oc- 
curred December  13,  1855,  at  the  age  of  si.xty- 
one  years.  After  remaining  for  some  time 
with  his  mother,  he  bought  a  farm,  and  started 
general  farming  for  himself  in  the  same  town. 
He  married  Marilla  M.  Varney,  daughter  of 
Joshua  A.  and  Deborah  (Varney)  Varney. 
Mr.  Varney  was  a  cabinet-maker  by  trade,  and 
was  a  citizen  of  influence.  He  held  various 
offices  of  trust  in  his  town,  serving  as  Justice 
of  the  Peace  for  some  years,  as  Town  Clerk, 
and  as  Postmaster  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
was  also  Representative  to  the  legislature  in 
1836  and  1837.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church  in  early  life,  and 
later  became  an  Adventist,  and  a  Deacon  in 
the  church  with  which  he  was  then  connected. 
He  was  a  man  of  strict  habits,  a  strong  advo- 
cate of  the  temperance  cause,  and  a  true 
Christian.  His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Deb- 
orah Varney,  but  they  were  not  known  to  be 
related  by  blood.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Varney  had 
five  children,  namely:  Lucinda;  Marilla  M., 
Mrs.  Nason;  Avilla;  Clara  A.;  and  George. 
Avilla  Varney  married  Amos  F.  Place;  Clara 
died  at  the  age  of  eleven  years;  George  is 
married,  and  is  at  present  residing  in  Lynn, 
Mass.,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nason  have  no  chil- 
dren. Mr.  Nason  has  been  engaged  in  gen- 
eral farming  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life, 
having  taken  no  active  part  in  public  affairs. 
He  is  well  regarded  among  his  fellow-towns- 
men as  a  good  citizen. 


'AMUEL    Y.    MESERVE,*  a  vener- 
able and   highly   esteemed   resident 
of      Rochester,      Strafford      County, 
N.H.,   was   born    in    1807    in   the   neighboring 


mOGKAl'UlCAL    REVIEW 


SO') 


town  of  iMilldii,  loiiiiiiL;  troiii  pioneer  ances- 
tors. His  father,  Colonel  Jolm  I\Ieserve,  was 
a  distinguished  officer  in  tiie  Revolutionary 
War.  He  was  afterward  for  many  years  one 
of  the  foremost  farmer  citizens  of  Milton, 
and  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  principles 
of  the  Whig  party,  though  he  never  cared  to 
hold  public  office.  He  married  Sally'^  daugh- 
ter of  Kzekiel  Haves,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  eight  children. 

Samuel  Y.  Meserve,  in  common  with  the 
majority  of  farmers'  sons  in  his  day,  received 
his  education  in  the  district  schools,  antl  in 
his  early  life  was  trained  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. When  a  young  man  he  learned  the 
bricklayer's    or    mason's    trade,    at   which    he 


worked  for  half  a  century,  the  greater  part  of 
the  time  in  Kocliester,  N.II.,  where  he  was 
known  as  a  skilful  and  superior  workman  dur- 
ing his  active  years.  In  jiojitics  he  has  always 
supported  the  Democratic  ticket;  ami  he  takes 
an  intelligent  interest  in  local  i)uhlic  affairs, 
but  has  never  been  an  aspirant  fcjr  (ilTicial 
honors,  preferring  the  quietude  of  domcstie 
life.  Mr.  Meserve  is  one  of  the  oldest  Free 
Masons  in  this  locality,  being  a  member  of 
Humane  Lodge,  V.  &  A.  M.,  of  Rochester. 
He  is  a  faithful  member  of  the  Walnut  Grove 
Free  Will  Baptist  Church,  and  has  been  an 
active   worker   in    religious  circles. 

Mr.    Meserve  married   Miss   Mary   Hanson, 
anil  they  are  the  parents  of  six  children. 


.Sil^-^r-yU^    ^U^y   -i^^^^     <^     J"«-J-^-^      ^--<. 


INDEX 


BIOGRAPHICAL, 


PAGE 

A 

Abl)ott,  Joseph  S 149 

Adams,  Herbert  C 241 

Adams,  Joseph  M.  R 425 

Aldrich,  John 360 

Allen,  Amasa 259 

Allen,  Charles  W 521 

Allen,  Levi  W 63 

Ames,  Andrew  A 561 

Annis,  A.  S 341 

Avery,  Joseph  H 1 10 

Aye-",  Stephen  S 290 

B 

I'aljl),  ITo'ace  T 107 

r..d.l>,  iMulvn  E 317 

IJalxorlc,  N'.s.  Panthea  V.      .     .  4S4 

l!..dger,  Joseph 263 

Baer,  Annie  Wentworth  433 

Ijailey,  Charles  M 163 

ISallard,  Wilbur  \V 172 

liarker,  Hiram  H 502 

]!artlett,  George  W 177 

ISartlett,  James  D 11 

ISatchekler,  John 545 

Beaman,  Frank  G 562 

Ijeaman,  Otis 46 

Uean,  Alpheus  L.                 ...  96 

Bean,  Edwin  C 420 

Bell,  Samuel  H 292 

Bennett,  Morrison 85 

Berry,  Charles  H 331 

Berry,  Eben  E 211 

Berrv,  Fred  E 125 


PAGE 

Berry,  John  H 503 

Berry,  Joseph  E 340 

Bickford,  Charles  W 33 

Bickford,  John 45 

Blaisdell,  Joseph  P 437 

Blaisdell,  Samuel  H 412 

Blanchard,  Koscoe  G 220 

Boodcy,  Horace  P 238 

Brawn,  Henry  E 245 

Brown,  Byron  W 167 

Brown,  George  H 21 

Bruce,  T.  Kilson 554 

Burnham,  George  W 496 

Burnham,  James  W 392 

Burnham,  K.  De  Witt    ....  547 

Busiel,  Charles  A 375 

Busiel,  Frank  E 59 

Busiel,  John  VV.    .     .  5S 

Bussey,  S.  Randall 583 

Buz/.ell,  Charles  E 435 

C 

Card,  George  V 332 

Caron,  Oavid  H 538 

Cass,  William  T 154 

Caverly,  John  H 403 

taverno.  Geori^e  S 152 

Chamberlain,  Henry  E.     .     .     .  69 

Chase,  Nelson  J 77 

Chesley,  Daniel 512 

Chesley,  George  H 320 

Chesley,  John  E 192 

Chesley,  Stephen  P.                      .  3S9 

Child,  James  E 1 70 


Clark,  George  H.           ...  85 

Clark,  Joseph  S.    .  85 

Clement,  Moses  W 120 

Clough,  Aaron  .S.       ...  267 

Clough,  Elbridge  G 351 

Clough,  William  K 225 

Cloutman,  John  F.                         •  '4 

Coburn,  .Alonzo  G.  535 

Coburn,  Franklin  W.  532 

Coburn,  Franklin  W.,  Jr.    .          .  532 

Coe,  Daniel  W 28 1 

Coe,  Joseph  W ;,S2 

Coffin,  Mrs.  Dorothy  S  414 

Colbath,  Horace  \  370 

Cole,  Benjamin  J.  73 

Cook,  Charles  C.  '39 

Cook,  Gardner  33S 

Copp,  Gust  A.  477 

Corson,  Frank  W.  20S 

Corson,  James  159 

Cox,  Edwin       .                            .  291 

Cox,  George  B.     .  201 

Cram,  Francis  II.  467 

Crane,  Ma/.ellah  L.    .  1S4 

Crawford,  Erastus  A.  117 

Critchett,  Luther  C.  191 

Crockett,  John  555 

Currier,  John  W.  loS 

Cushman.  William  W  347 


Dallon.  Henry  Q. 
Davis.  Charles  II 


104 
IVl 


6o2 


INDEX 


I'AGB 

Davis,  Henry  S 248 

Davis,  Jolin  G 425 

Davison,  Mrs.  Sarah      ....  49 

Dcmeritt,  Albert 504 

Demeritt,  George  H 232 

Dcmeritt,  George  P 497 

Demeritt,  James  H 3S3 

Demeritt,  Jolin 283 

Demeritt,  Samuel  E 275 

Doe,  Augustus 30 

Dougherty,  Thomas  J 529 

Dow,  Charles  H 178 

Dow,  John 343 

Dow,  Jonathan  G 513 

Drake,  Abram  iM 5S6 

Drew,  J.  Horace 452 

Duncan,  Oscar 398 

Durgin,  George  E 16 

Durrell,  Joseph  B 480 


E 

Eastman,  Ira  A 557 

Eaton,  Daniel  15 173 

Edgerly,  Dwight  E 511 

Edgerly,  John  W 571 

Edgerly,  Walter  J 152 

Emerson,  George  I' 561 

Emerson,  George  W 509 

Emerson,  Willis  P 13 

Emery,  Smith  F 348 

Estes,  Charles 54 

Evans,  Edward  E 84 

Evans,  Harry  P 192 

Everett,  George  H 26S 


F 

Fairbanks,  Charles  A 35 

Faunce,  A.  Lester 266 

Felker,  Martin  V.  B 410 

Fellows,  Rufus 365 

Ferguson,  Arthur  C 586 

Fernald,  George  W 470 

Fernald,  James  E 324 

Fernald,  Joseph  H 123 

Fernald,  Loren  S 114 

Flagg,  William 546 

Flanders,  Alvah  B 10 1 

Flanders,  Louis  W 98 


Folsom,  Albert  G. 
Folsom,  Edwin  W. 
Ford,  Inez  H.  .  . 
Foss,  A.  Melvin  . 
Foss,  Albion  N.  . 
Foss,  Oscar  .  . 
Fox,  Elbridge  W. 
French,  Alonzo  S. 


rAGE 

344 
353 
253 

430 
492 
366 
>3i 


G 

Gage,  Walter  F 1 74 

Gale,  Moses  S.      .....  315 

Gale,  Stephen 312 

Gale,  Sylvester  J 314 

Garland,  Albert 499 

Garvin,  William  K 384 

Gerald,  Francis  L 458 

Gilman,  Oliver  J.  M 463 

Glass,  John  S 195 

Greene,  Jared  A 572 


H 

Haines,  John  N 42 

Hall,  Asa  A 529 

(kail,  Daniel 39 

Hall,  George  L 80 

Hall,  John  F 515 

Ham,  John  R 64 

Ham,  Joseph  W 594 

Ham,  Penuel  C 526 

Ham,  Thomas 372 

Ham,  Tobias 117 

Hammond,  John  S 5S5 

Hanson,  David  S 462 

Hanson,  Dominicus       ....  576 

Hanson,  Enoch  T 535 

Hanson,  James  T 549 

Hanson,  John  C 464 

Harmon,  William  F 133 

Hart,  Malcom  A.  H 216 

Harvey,  Albion  K.  P 583 

Hawkins,  Frederick  L 273 

Hawkins,  Hosea  F 495 

Hawley,  George  H 150 

Hayes,  David 197 

Hayes,  Ezekiel 130 

Hayes,  George  0 230 

Hayes,  Israel 77 


Hayes,  James  D 579 

Hayes,  James  E 95 

Hayes,  James  M 468 

I'Hayes,  Joseph  N 66 

mayes,  Joseph  0 522 

Hayes,  Sidney  B 124 

Haynes,  James  M 142 

Haynes,  Martin  A 259 

Herring,  William  M 202 

Hibbard,  Ellery  A 212 

Hill,  Ira  B 328 

Hill,  Waldo  K 329 

Hoitt,  Charles  E 385 

Hoitt,  Thomas  L 309 

Holt,  Frank 56 

Hough,  Ralph 510 

Huckins,  John  15 395 

Hurd,  Romeyn  15 596 

Huse,  Elizabeth  S 250 

Hussey,  Freeman  A 76 

Hussey,  John  P 247 


J 

Jackson,  Elizabeth  B 120 

Jameson,  Thomas  C 475 

Jenkins,  Calvin 100 

Jenkins,  Jonathan 15[ 

Jenkins,  Lyman  H 537 

Jenness,  Cyrus  L 169 

Jewett,  John  A 473 

Jewett,  John  G 70 

Jewett,  Stephen  S 92 

Jones,  Ajalon  D 584 

Jones,  Dana  P 398 

Jones,  Herbert  J 181 

Jones,  William  F 516 


K 

Kelley,  George  F 527 

Kelley,  Ivory  H 494 

Kelley,  Samuel  G 336 

Kenniston,  Greenleaf  C.    .     .     .  391 

Keyser,  Walter  H 548 

Kimball,  Daniel  W 519 

Kimball,  Henry 10 

Kimball,  Nathaniel  T 483 

Kimball,  Warren  K 356 

Knapp,  William  D 265 


INDKX 


fiO^ 


Kiiijjlit,  William  I-'.  .  . 
Knowlcs,  Charles  W.  . 
Knowles,  Rev.  Daniel  C. 
Knowlcs,  George  F.  .     . 


i-AGn 
2S6 
390 
209 
367 


L 

I, add,  Attlini   S.     .      .  43 
Liniprcv,  Arllinr  II.                        .26 

Lamprey,  Samuel  409 

Lane,  Ldwin  W.   .  239 

Lang,  Alonzo  C    .     .               .     .  200 
Lang,  Joseph  W.                           .216 

Langley,  Jerry 311 

Lathrop,  Moses  C 279 

Leavitt,  John  R 36 

Leighton,  James  P 35S 

Lewis,  Edwin  C 330 

Locke,  Ira  A 41 1 

Locke,  Israel  H 494 

Locke,  James  C 461 

Looney,  Charles  H 102 

Lord,  Albert  C 476 

Lord,  Elmer  J.       .     .          ...  169 

Lord,  George  \V 353 

Lord,  Martin  L 474 

Lothrop,  James  E 21 

Loiigee,  Mary  A 45 

Loiigee,  Oscar  A 122 

Levering,  Jonathan  L 90 


M 

MacDonald,  John  .A. 
Malvern,  Rev.  Lewis 
Manson,  Charles  E. 
Marison,  Joel  H.  . 
Marsh,  Herbert  J. 
Marshall,  William  C 
Martin,  William  W. 
Mathes,  George  F. 
Mathes,  Mark  H. 
McUiiffee,  George  D 
McDuffee,  J.  Edgar 
McDuffee,  Willis 
Meader,  James  D. 
Meader,  John  F.  . 
Merrill,  Frank  N. 
Merrill,  John  F.    . 
Meserve,  .Samuel  Y. 
Meserve,  Winthrop  S 


7S 

iSS 

57 
455 
214 

377 
35S 
129 

9' 
183 

257 
543 
198 
478 

'44 
5(i4 
598 
337 


Miller,  James  A.  .     . 
Mitclull,  George  II. 
Mitchell,  Josiah     . 
Morgan,  George  1'     . 
Morrill,  George  W.  . 
Morrill,  John  J.     .     . 
Morrill.  Leonard  H.  . 
Morrison,  Abraham  L. 
Morrison.  Charles  W. 
Morrison,  Edwin  G. 
Morse,  Charles  G. 
Morton,  William  II. 
.\Ioulton,  Daniel  II. 
Moulton,  John  C. 


N 


Nash,  Moses    .     . 
Nash,  Stephen  G. 
Nason,  Josiah  . 
Nason,  William  K. 
Neal,  John  H.  .     . 
Neal,  Smitli      .     . 
Nealley,  John  H. 
NJichols,  James  N. 
Nute,  Alonzo  D.  . 
Nute,  Thomas 
Nutter,  John  D.     . 


Odell,  Joseph  L.  . 
Orne,  Frederick  A 
Osborn,  Hiram  S. 
Osborne,  lienjamin  I 
Osborne,  James  I'. 
Otis,  John  I).    .     . 


114 
413 

559 

'47 

«. 

9 
550 
161 

393 
25 
405 
3^-2 
'99 
332 


488 

49' 

59S 
60 
172 
119 
I  So 
"97 
597 
426 
319 


327 

.)o6 

12 

55'' 

29 

68 


I'cttce,  Charles  II 
I'hilbrick,  George  A. 
I'hilbrick,  John  I).     . 
I'ickering.  Joshua  C. 
I'ierce,  John  I. 
Pike,  Charles  J. 
Pinkham,  Nathaniel  G 
Place,  A.  Converse    . 
Plimpton,  George  L. 
Plummcr,  IJard  H.     . 
Pliniimer,  Charles   E. 
Plummer.  Daniel  E. 
Plummcr,  William  A. 
I'ray,  Amasa 
Price,  Reuben  W 
Proctor,  Lewis  A. 
Pulsifcr,  Charles  I  . 


Ram.sdcll,  Alvali   T. 
Rand,  Hiram     .     .     . 
Randall.  Frank  D. 
Randall,  John  A. 
Rice,  Edward  E.   . 
Ricker,  Leslie  W. 
Ricker,  Marilla  M.     . 
Roberts,  James  F. 
Roberts,  Oren  N. 
Roberts,  S.  Edson 
Roberts,  William  H. 
Robinson,  John  1 1. 
Robinson,  John  .M. 
Rogers.  Richard   T.  . 
Rollins.  y\mos  L. 
Rollins,  Charles  W. 
Rollins,  Ellsworth  II. 
Rowe,  Charles  IE 
Rowe,  James  M. 
Ryan.  James,  Jr. 


Parker,  George  W ifJi 

Parker,  Henry  K [31 

Parker,  Samuel  S 187  ' 

Parshley,  Augustine  S 272 

Peabody,  Selwyn  H 147' 

Peirce,  Benjamin  P 493 

Pepper,  William  II 419 

Perkins,  Alonzo    ....  275 

Perley,  John  L 207  \ 

Perlc)-,  Stephen 221 


Sanborn,  Fred  C.  .     . 
Sanborn,  George  F.  . 
Sanborn,  Herbert  .N'. 
.Sanborn,  Jacob 
Sanborn,  WiUard   I'. 
Sanders,  (Icorge  A. 
Sanders,  George  W. 
Sargent,  Franklin  R. 


V  '■ 

160 


-SI 


v  ■ 
I ;" 
I 

|(..S 


140 
379 
274 


274 
158 
3.S0 

1-1 


5.V' 
507 
530 
341 
4 1  - 


423 

53 

396 

63 

20 

34 

H  1 


6o4 


INDEX 


PA<.E 

Sargent,  Moses 479 

Sargent,  Stephen  W 404 

Sawyer,  Charles  H.  .     .     .     .     .  590 

Sawyer,  Joseph  B 162 

Scales,  (ieorge 303 

Scales,  John 300 

Scales,  Henry  B 30.S 

Seavey,  Albert  F 26 

Seavey,  James  F S3 

Shackford,  Amasa  W 79 

Shannon,  Edwin  H 32 

Shepard,  Henry 317 

Sherburne,  Joel  F 316 

Simpson,  George  A 76 

Sinclair,  Everett  W 203 

Small,  Charles  E 134 

Smith,  Asa  1 385 

Smith,  Curtis  F 465 

Smith,  Ervin  H 87 

Smith,  Fred  H 5S0 

Smith,  Freeman  G 246 

Smith,  George  H 41 

Smith,  John  H 4S7 

Smith,  John  P 536 

Smith,  John  Parker 397 

Smith,  Joshua  B 4S1 

Smith,  Orville  P 141 

Smith,  Samuel  B 15 

Snell,  Louis  H 549 

Snow,  Hiram  F 229 

Spaulding,  John 568 

Spaulding,  Melville  C 180 

Spinney,  Joseph  F 435 

Stackpole,  Harry  H 154 

Stackpole,  Paul  A 517 

Steele,  Thomas  M 419 

Sterling,  Alanson  J 399 

Stevens,  Benjamin  M 554 

Stevens,  Edwin  A 5S7 

Stevens,  George  W 55 

Stevens,  William  S 293 

Stokes,  Dudley  L 88 

Stone,  Charles  F 306 

Story,  David  B 112 

Sturtevant,  Josiah  T 276 


PAGB 

Sullivan,  Miah  B 297 

Sweet,  Robert  \' 126 

T 

Tanner,  Henry  H 249 

Tanner,  William  H 595 

Tasker,  Charles  W 143 

Taylor,  Stephen  L 482 

Tetley,  Edmund 522 

Thompson,  Henry  H 69 

Thyng,  Charles  D 135 

Tibbetts,  John  W 190 

Tilton,  Charles  E 422 

Tilton,  KImer  S 19 

Towle.  Charles  F 556 

Towle,  Frank  L 65 

Trickey,  Charles  H 136 

Tuttle,  Charles  H 526 

Twombley,  Chester  A 431 

Twombly,  James  L 31 

Twombly.  Neliemiah  C.     .     .     .  2S8 

Twombly,  William  H.  H,       .     .  581 


V 

Varney,  Andrew 143 

V'arney,  Elias  C 497 

\'arney,  Waldo  C 153 


W 


Wadleigh,  George  H.     . 

■     520 

Waldron,  Dudley  B.       .     . 

.     ,83 

Waldron  Family   .... 

.     5SS 

Walker,  Charles  E.   .     .     . 

.     29S 

Walker,  James      .... 

•      44 

Wallace,  William  T.      . 

■     54S 

Wallingford,  Samuel  \V.    . 

•     485 

Ward,  Noah  S 

.     196 

Ward,  Thomas  J.       .     . 

■     357 

Warland,  Mrs.  Henrietta  . 

311 

Warren,  Joseph     .... 

.     408 

Waterhouse,  William    .     . 

■     342 

PAr.B 

Waterhouse,  William  E.    .     .     .  99 

Watson,  John  P 575 

Weeks,  Benjamin 560 

Weeks,  Hazen  1' 223 

Weeks,  John  S 405 

Weeks,  Samuel  D 469 

Weeks,  William  H 539 

Wells,  Christopher  H 320   ■»• 

Wells,  John  W 389 

Wentworth,  Luther  H 429  >^ 

Wentworth,  Simon 132 

Wentworth,  William      ....  339 

Wentworth,  William  T.     .     .     .  4S6 

Wheatley,  H.  P 369 

Whitcher,  G.  H 395 

Whitehouse,  Charles  S.     .     .     .  442  -^ 

Whitehouse,  Enoch  F 451 

Whitehouse,  Jones  W 379 

Whitehouse,  Nicholas  V.  .     .     .  438 

Whitehouse,  Warren  H.    .     .     .  594 

Whitney,  Henry  C 559 

Whittier,  Charles  C 35<; 

Whittier,  Josiah  H 378 

Wiggin,  Edward  F 171 

Wiley,  Rebecca  W.  W.      .     .     .  407 

Willand,  Edward  A 491 

Wingate,  Jeremiah  V 103   \^ 

Wiswell,  Thomas  H 4r4 

Wood,  Horace  H 386 

Woodman,  Jeremiah      ....  512 

Woodman,  Lafayette     ....  189 

Woodman,  William  S 456 

Worthen,  Henry  A 574 

Wright,  Rev.  Elisha  H.      .     .     .  500 


Y 

York,  Daniel  P 455 

Young,  George  W 89 

Young,  Jonathan        354 

Young,  Preston  B 350 

Young,  Samuel 597 

Young.  Stephen 240 

Young,  Tristram  A 580 


PORTRAITS. 


Brawn,  Henry  K  . 
Brown,  Byron  W. 
Busiel,  Charles  A. 
Caverly,  John  H.  . 
Cobiirn,  FrankHn  VV 
Coffin,  Mrs.  Dorothy  .S. 
Cole,  Benjamin  J.  (steel) 
Crane,  Mazellah  L. 
Crawford,  Erastus  A 
Dalton,  Henry  Q. 
Uurgin,  George  E. 
Evans,  Edward 
Evans,  Ransom  F. 
Everett,  (leorge  H. 
Fellow-s,  Kufus 
Fernald,  George  W. 
Fernald,  James  E. 
Folsom,  .Mhert  G. 


PAGE 
166 

374 
402 

533 

415 


Gage,  Walter  F.  (family  group) 
(Hass,  John  S.  .     . 
Gerald,  Francis  1,. 
'ffall,  Daniel      .     . 
^Hanson,  Dominicus 
Hart,  Malcom  A.  H. 
72  I  Jewett,  Stephen  S. 
185  I  Lathrop,  iMoses  C. 
ii6KMcOiiffee,  J.  Edgar 
losyMcDuffee.  Willis 
17  i  Merrill,  John  F.     . 
48  I  Morrill,  John  J.     . 
5  I  I  Nason,  William 
269  I  Osborne,  James  I'. 
364  ;  I'eabody,  Selwyn  B.  (steel) 

471  '  Perley,  John  L 

325  I  Pltimnier.  Hani  1!. 
345 


PAGB 

'75 
"94 
459 

3« 
577 

217 

93 
278 
256 
542 


Plummer,  William  A. 
Price,  Keiiben  W. 
Robinson,  John  H. 
Rogers,  Richard   I' 
Rollins,  Amos  L.  . 
Sawyer,  Charles  II. 
Seavey,  James  F. 
Snow.  Hiram  F. 
Tetley,  Edmund    . 
Trickcy,  Charles  H. 


564"vj(Ventworlh,  Luther  H. 
S    Whittier,  Josiah  II.   . 

61    Willand,  Edward  A. 

28  Wood,  Horace  H. 
i4riVAVhitehouse,  Charles  S.  (steel)  . 
206  I  Whitehousc,  Enoch  F.  (steel)  . 
156    Whitehousc,  Nicholas   V.  (steel) 


295 
234 
127 

53^> 
506 

59« 

■  82 

22« 
523 
137 
42S 

37S 
490 

3S7 

443 
45° 
439 


mm^^^mmm 


i 


